It has been almost four months since FIFA 17 hit stores around the world. Over the past four months, there have been moments of joy, sadness and anger as hardcore gamers struggled to win matches both online and offline.
The latest edition did have its fair share of goof-ups, with the corner glitch being the most obvious. ‘The Journey’ was quite disappointing, in all honesty, mainly due to all the hype that it had gathered.
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However, there were quite a few things that EA got spot on, and they deserve some sort of acknowledgement for that. Today, we take a look at the five things EA got right with FIFA 17.
#1 The Squad Building Challenges (SBCs)
Undoubtedly, the best game mode that was added to this year’s edition, the SBCs make sure that the game is always fresh. Until last year, the only way to discard average rated players in Ultimate Team (UT) was to quick sell them, since they didn’t really sell in the transfer market.
Stocking up these players was quite pointless and many gamers had complained about this issue in the past. The introduction of SBCs now provides an interesting alternate way to discard unwanted players. The prizes these challenges reward are quite interesting too and vary based on their level.
Beginners can trade in their bronze team for a few gold rated players, while experts can attempt live events and try to grab SBC-exclusive prizes such as the 90-rated PL Player of the Month, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. There is absolutely no doubt that the SBCs make the game far more interesting, and have been a crucial part of FIFA 17’s success.
#2 FUT Champions
Another new game mode included into UT, FUT Champions provides players the chance to prove themselves as the best in the game. Like the SBCs, FUT Champions provides exciting prizes too, except that these prizes are reserved for the crème de la crème.
Finishing number 1 is by no means an easy task; but if you manage to do so, you are royalty. 250,000 coins along with the accompanying packs, make it worth gaming the whole day.
Not everyone can be number one, though, and FIFA have even provided an alternative to this. Winning just 18 matches out of 40, gamers can achieve the Gold 3 category, which is quite a respectable feat. Like SBCs, the rewards for FUT Champions is enough to make it a popular game mode even with the top gamers, and is by far one of the best inclusions in FIFA 17.
#3 Gameplay
Unlike FIFA 16, the gameplay is quite realistic now, with passes being accurate, and pace not dominating the game. Until FIFA 17, pace merchants could easily win matches single-handedly. EA has fixed the issue in FIFA 17 and while players like Cuadrado or Ntep are still rated highly, they can easily be stopped with good defending.
Another thing that EA got right is the passing. Players can now pick out through balls with pinpoint accuracy. The kind of goals that can now be scored with quick incisive passing is quite baffling to be honest, with Tiki-Taka being a deadly strategy in the game.
Further, the counter-attacking tactic is much more lethal in FIFA 17, when compared to its previous iterations. If used well enough, a player can go from defence to attack and end up scoring in less than five seconds, which is quite impressive.
#4 Customised kits
The newest feature in the Pro Clubs game mode is the ability to customise kits. While it isn’t the best thing in the game, it is certainly a start and if EA keep up the pace, we may see custom kits in other game modes in FIFA 18.
It is certainly fun to be able to make and play in your own outfits, and if EA can keep working on this area, it will bode well for future editions of the game. So far, they are moving in the right direction.
#5 The ratings and potential
While not all player ratings are perfect, most of them are quite accurate, and that is important since the game revolves primarily around this attribute.
We finally have highly rated defenders and goalkeepers, with Neuer receiving a 92, David De Gea a 90, and Boateng and Ramos in the high 80s. Not only that, the potentials in career mode look promising too, with players like Dele Alli and Renato Sanches reaching the 90s (a rating they could start with in FIFA 20).
Also read: FIFA 17 Review: The best FIFA game but not quite perfect
While not all of it is accurate, the ratings are still an improvement from previous editions, and it’s nice to see that EA has removed the bias towards strikers this year.
There are a few other minor improvements too, but these are the five we feel that EA got dead right.
