7 reasons FIFA 18 is the best video game this year

FIFA 18 is an upcoming football simulation video game in the FIFA series of video games, developed and published by Electronic Arts, and is scheduled to be released worldwide on 29 September 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It will be the 25th instalment in the FIFA series. Cristiano Ronaldo appears as the cover athlete.

1. Career Mode Better Than Ever

FIFA 18's new Career Mode transfer features ever dreamed of sitting a potential star new signing down in your office and thrashing out a deal to bring him to your club well you're in luck because that's what you'll be able to do in this year's career mode everyone knows that transfers are now basically more important than actual football so it made sense to upgrade the whole negotiation process from top to bottom.

Gone are the days of being able to get a player into your club without having to stare into the whites of an agent's eyes as he tries to screw you for an extra 1 million pound signing on. Let's bring it on then.

It looks like signing Ronaldo and Messi won't be easy this year. Well, someone actually tried. Check it out.

2. Alex Hunter is back with much more than just playing football

Continuing the journey after winning the FA Cup and with an England call-up on the horizon Alex Hunter is hot property and a whole host of clubs including PSG, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and LA Galaxy are queuing up to sign the young man.

He may have a big decision to make - stay put or, unusually for a young English player, look to challenge himself in a different league culture and country. Add an all-star cast of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Dele Alli, Rio Ferdinand and more into the mix and it looks like we'll be obsessed with the journey again this year.

Check out the trailer here:

3. FIFA Ultimate Team icons

If that in-form Neymar card just wasn't good enough for you eh well fear EA have ditched the Xbox only legends and brought in icons across all platforms that means you'll be able to sign players like Pele, Maradona, Ronaldinho, Lev Yashin and more for Expendables or whatever you're calling your FUT team this year. They'll probably cost the cash equivalent of a 1BHK house in a small city so your best bet might be getting them in a pack. Hey, it's good to dream, right?

Check out if your favourite legend is an ICON.

4. Better Audience, Better Stadiums, Better Everything..!!!

The days of blurry 2D crowd singing You'll Never Walk Alone at a Man City vs Arsenal game might be quite a long way behind us but there's still been a sense that more could be done with the fans in FIFA. Now, with new immersive atmospheres, the game gets closer to capturing the real experience of a match-day at all your favourite grounds, whether that's ticker tape streamers or doing a Marcus Rashford and celebrating with the crowd at a packed Premier League stadium.

This year, fans are playing more of a central role in this year's game. There are only small touches but they add another layer of realism and fun to the game which makes it a lot more enjoyable.

Check out the Madrid derby in FIFA 18 demo:

5. Quick Dynamic Substitutions

We've all been there. You can see one of your players out on their feet but if you go into the team management screen to take him off, the guy/girl you're playing against will take 10 minutes adjusting as false-9 tactical instructions. Well, now you can avoid all that hassle with quick substitutions. If it's just a case of swapping one flagging winger for a fresh one rather than changing your whole formations you can do it in seconds as soon as the ball goes out of play. It's another small but welcome addition to the game that'll make your life that little bit easier.

Check out James Rodriguez coming on for Thomas Muller.

6. Better, realistic crossing

Fans of exploiting the wings, your prayers have been answered. In FIFA 17, it sometimes felt like crossing the ball was a waste of time as if you were just dumping the ball into an invisible force field we're untouchable goalies were king. This year EA have made an effort to ensure this will no longer be the case and you'll now be able to send over the perfect whipped ball, low-driven cross or floater to the back stick that bit easier. All this might mean there'll be less dribbling into the box for easy cutback finishes which would be no bad thing.

Well, here is your guide to scoring every time you cross.

7. Players are carbon copies of their real selves

With more realistic player physics and new real player motion technology, all the biggest names are going to feel even more like their real-life counterparts in FIFA 18. The new animations will add another layer of responsiveness and realism to all of your favorite players. Cristiano Ronaldo in FIFA 18 really runs like Cristiano Ronaldo in reality and Eden Hazard's low centre of gravity and tricky movement will be on point.

Here's Cristiano Ronaldo scoring free-kick with his trademark celebration.