It’s a great time to be a soccer fan. Mornings and afternoons spent in France watching the 2016 Euro’s. Evenings spent with Copa America, taking it all in from the comfy confines of my couch. All the while my laptop sits next to me, as I in true American ADD fashion, scour the internet for any semblance of new information, or better yet, gameplay videos from FIFA 17. To my delight, news has been plentiful and gameplay videos are slowly starting to emerge. With a few days to digest all of this information, let’s take a look at the early features highlighted in FIFA 17.

Frostbite Engine

We’ll start with the biggest news of them all, the migration from Ignite to Frosbite. The early returns on the Ignite engine were rough to say the least, but as EA Canada ironed out the kinks the Ignite engine provided players with smooth animations and a physics engine that showcased impressive collision detection. Marketed as a highly configurable engine, Frosbite makes its way over from the Battlefield series and boasts enhanced physics, artificial intelligence (AI), and graphics among other features. How this translates to 22 men on a field plus a crowd of boisterous supporters is yet to be determined. On one hand I’m hopeful the engine will prove a significant upgrade, but on the other hand I’m concerned it will take a few iterations to iron out the inevitable kinks.

Making The Journey (Story Mode)

For the first time in a while, the FIFA series will feature a new mode. Banking off the success of 2K’s MyPlayer Mode, “The Journey” attempts to mirror the success of players like Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford as you attempt the jump from Academy football to being the first name on the team-sheet and quite possibly representing your country. As a fan of player-only modes, I’m intrigued by the breath of fresh air this mode could offer, as long as it differs from the current Be A Pro mode and doesn’t/didn’t take much needed resources away from Career mode. With more details yet to emerge on this mode, one can only hope that it’s more than just a gimmick and presents gamers with an alternative to the more traditional modes.

All Twenty Premier League Managers

A few years back, the team at EA Canada made a wise decision. With the rights to the Premier League secured, they worked on replicating the matchday experience as we see every week in the world’s most popular league. Stadiums, player face scans and the matchday presentation package all made its way into the game, creating a feeling of authenticity never seen in the console world before (PC modders have created these for years). What’s next for EA? Adding the maniacal madmen that maraud the sidelines. As we’ve seen in the “Making the Journey” trailer, Jose Mourinho in his new clad red gear will be seen on the touchline. This is a nice addition, but it’s yet to be seen if this is more style than substance. Hopefully they will employ their own individual tactics, coupled with some sort of managerial carousel that reflects the highest coaching/managerial turnover in professional sports.

"Hopefully these AI improvements aren’t limited to attack as defenders, especially the cohesiveness/positional awareness that solid back-lines play with will be addressed"

Physical Aspect And AI Improvements

Hand-in-hand with the new Frosbite Engine, FIFA 17 boasts that “Pushback” technology will replicate the on-the-pitch tussles we see the likes of Diego Costa and Wes Morgan get into on a weekly basis. 50/50 battles (hopefully this means CPU teammates will be more aggressive in chasing these down) and new shielding animations should bring even more physicality to the pitch, hopefully at the discretion of a finely tuned referee. AI improvements were curiously sparse, as only improved spatial awareness and new run types were mentioned. Hopefully these AI improvements aren’t limited to attack as defenders, especially the cohesiveness/positional awareness that solid back-lines play with will be addressed

What’s To Come And What’s Missing

Look, it’s still early in the development and marketing cycles for FIFA 17. Expecting EA Canada to spill ALL the beans at this point is a little foolish as the game needs to pick up steam as it rolls towards launch. With that being said, it feels like the Career mode crowd (myself included) were curiously left out. Despite improvements over the past few years, Career mode could use some additions (youth/reserve sides, coach mode, stat tracking, etc.) as well as some fine tuning (loan and transfer system, scheduling, youth academy). I’m cautiously pessimistic we’ll only see minor upgrades in Career mode, but with a standalone mode the developers have the ability to work on this mode up until the game ships. When it comes to the actual gameplay on the pitch, more fine-tuning needs to be done. Hopefully someone over at EA will have ventured over to our sliders section (hands-down the best on the web) to see how our community has attempted to alter the AI in a way that more resembles simulation yet allows for fun at the same time.


As more information is released daily, what do you think of FIFA 17's early news releases? Do they make you anxious to get your hands on a copy or are you approaching FIFA 17 with a cautious eye?