FIFA 17, now almost halfway through its life, was pretty average when you look at it in hindsight. Yes, it was miles ahead of FIFA 16, but to be quite frank, the latter was just terrible. With PES breathing down EA’s neck in the battle for the best football game of the year, the folks at EA have to begin to wonder what they can do in the next issue in the series to assert their dominance.
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Here’s a start for them - why not try and listen to the fans. “What do the fans want?” is the question EA have to ask themselves. As a religious follower of the series since FIFA ’09, I feel I speak for most fans when I say we need the following 10 things in FIFA 18.
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#1 Revamp Manager mode
It’s no secret that Ultimate team is the best game mode in the series now, but there was a time when Manager Mode wasn’t far behind. Despite minor tweaks, the manager mode has pretty much been the same over the past few years. EA need to do something to make it lucrative and lure players to play it, regardless of whether or not they did so last year. They could start off by removing the email system and adding cut-scenes to Career mode as well.
We’ve seen PES already do it, with the game showing a cut-scene every time you sign a player, for example. Further, it would be great if there is some way to respond and negotiate with players. For example, if a youth star wants us to give him a chance in a match, the manager should be able to respond to him, by either saying yes or asking him to come off the bench or even promising to start him a couple of games later instead.
Yes, that would be quite hard to code, but taking the easy way out isn’t going to bring in the sales. Users should also be able to customise managers; maybe EA could start with the regular manager options at the start of the season, and then allow users to use the salary that they earn throughout their career to buy accessories or change the wardrobe or hairstyle.
Finally, another change we’d like to see in career mode is the contract system. The contract system has been the same for ages, and it is one of the things that truly deserves a revamp. Adding more clauses into the contracts would make the mode far more interesting; a release clause or a minimum number of starts clause are a couple of clauses we’d like to see.
#2 Merge The Journey and Be a Pro
This one is going to happen sooner or later, so why not just implement it into FIFA 18? The Journey in FIFA 17 got mixed reviews, with many complaining that just one season was not enough; or that it didn’t feature enough cut-scenes and dialogues. Merging it with Be a Pro would make sense, as it solves most of the issues fans had with The Journey. Users could start off by customising their own pro instead of playing with Alex Hunter.
Season 1 could be the rise of your player, like the Journey 17 was (with a different storyline, of course). The created player could continue to grow over 9th/10th/11th season, like the traditional ‘Be a Pro’ had it. Maybe even add in sponsorships offers over the remaining seasons, where created players get to sign with Nike/Adidas or other big brands.
The occasional video clip every now and again would add more to the game. Alternatively, EA could just keep the two game modes separate, with this year’s The Journey being a continuation of last years, allowing players to carry forward their progress.
#3 New Game modes
It is quite unlikely that we will see new game modes in FIFA 18, given that we just saw the release of The Journey last year. While many have suggested various other game modes that could be added, we feel that EA could look at its past for inspiration. The reintroduction of FIFA street (5-a-side football) would be quite amazing.
We haven’t seen 5v5 action since the days of FIFA 11, and it’s one of the things that fans have been demanding for. One of the best ways to incorporate it into the game would be to introduce it into The Journey and recreate the magic of the FIFA 11 game mode – streets to stadiums.
If not 5v5 though, some other game modes that seem interesting are an online manager mode, where players have to take over clubs and negotiate with other players for transfers. While this may be time-consuming, it would certainly add something for the players who have online gaming access.
Alternatively, EA could go scenario mode, where you complete challenges based on past events in order of increasing difficulty. For example, taking over a Liverpool team that is 3-0 down against AC Milan and having to score 3 goals in a given time would be quite challenging. Maybe even add in objectives, such as scoring one of the three goals with Steven Gerrard.
Not only would this be a breath of fresh air, there is also potential for EA to introduce ‘Live’ challenges every week, probably based on recent matches. This would force players to keep logging into the game often.
#4 Better graphics
We all know how terrible the FIFA graphics are. Yes, the graphics on the pitch are quite average, but the crowds seem blurry and dull. Given that FIFA is now using Frostbite, the engine that Battlefield also uses, the graphics could be much better.
EA really need to pay attention to detail, as the Frostbite engine can work wonders if used well. Yes, EA will need time to master the new game engine, but that’s what FIFA 17 was for.
We wouldn’t want to see FIFA 18 have the same issues. Further, we need them to fix the glitches that occur such as players running through nets or going into the ground. Many times we’ve seen players run through each other, especially while celebrating; and while this is quite hilarious at times, it just takes away from how good the graphics are.
#5 Focus on women’s football and newer teams/leagues
This is one point that EA should introduce in FIFA 18. FIFA 16 saw the introduction of women’s football, but FIFA 17 hasn’t done anything to take it further.
If FIFA was to introduce a female be a pro, for example, so many more players (who enjoy playing women’s football) will buy the game.
More teams must also be added to the game. With China becoming such a dominant force in the transfer market, it is quite likely that the Chinese Super League will be added in the game.
The lower divisions of England could be added as well, introducing us to a larger pool of players to use in career mode or Ultimate Team. Further, we’d like to see the ISL/I-league in the game too, which might even allow FIFA to introduce an AFC Champions League to the game’s career mode.
#6 Better penalty system
The penalty system got a rewrite in FIFA 17, and to be quite frank, it is terrible. The current system makes it quite difficult to shoot accurately and scoring penalties is much harder now. The new system means that hitting into the bottom corner with full power shots is not possible, which is not realistic.
Yes, the new system now allows us to have a customised run-up but it isn't worth sacrificing accuracy. While there is potential in the current system, we feel that the amount of hate it received from fans should be more than enough to convince EA to move back to the old system.
EA could add the option of choosing the system that the users would like to use, allowing players to pick whichever suits them better.
#7 Better Soundtrack
We all can agree on the fact that the FIFA 17 playlist was pretty mediocre. Given that FIFA 17 had artists like Zedd and Kygo work on the soundtrack this year, we expected a lot from it. Even the songs by the lesser know artists weren’t great and EA is known for having brilliant artists like K’naan and Imagine Dragons.
We feel that EA can certainly do better in FIFA 18 if they allocated some more resources towards their soundtrack. Just imagine how cool it’d be to listen to your favourite song before playing a FUT Champion’s game.
#8 Improved Commentary
EA has always done a good job with the commentary during the match over the past few years with Martin Tyler and Alan Smith on commentary duties. Hence, it does come as a surprise when you hear Martin Tyler repeat the same sentence thrice in a match.
While commentary doesn’t make a big difference to the game overall, it is quite an important detail. Hearing the same commentary being played on a loop during matches is not ideal.
Further adding more bits of customised commentary would be nice, since we don’t want to hear the same statement introducing us to the stadium we are playing in, or the result we are playing for.
#9 Manager IDs and likeness
This year saw FIFA introduce Premier League managers into the game too, with men like Claudio Ranieri getting a virtual look-alike. While it was a step in the right direction, it would be nice if EA gave more attention to all the major leagues instead of just the Premier League.
While it is unlikely that FIFA will be able to get the rights to European clubs and stadiums such as the Camp Nou, there should be no issues in having managers from other leagues in the game.
Managers such as Luis Enrique, Zinedine Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti, and Diego Simeone could make them gave even more realistic. Also, as mentioned before, introducing cut-scenes with these managers would make the game more interesting.
#10 Celebrations
While it is a welcome change that Fifa 17 introduced a lot more signature celebrations, it does not seem right if pretty much anyone can do any celebration.
Most fans prefer what PES has done, with certain celebrations only being usable as signature celebrations of certain players. EA should program that into the game, with only certain players being able to use locked celebrations. At the most, even Be a Pro/Alex Hunter should be allowed to buy the celebration, for some EASFC credits. That would make the game more realistic while adding more to the EAS Football Catalogue.
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