FIFA's dominance in soccer gaming came as a shock to nearly everyone a few years back. But in retrospect, it's really not that surprising: EA Sports simply walked the line. And to say that the company has lost its balance with FIFA 17, as many are, is a gross overstatement. Last month, EA Sports announced a heavier focus on banning coin-sellers — people who illegally sell the virtual currency used in "FIFA's" Ultimate Team Mode.
There’s not one all-encompassing back-of-the-box feature this year à la the Impact Engine or 360 degree dribbling, but if you’ve played any recent FIFAs you’ll notice the additions. Everything slots in effortlessly. Passes with Purpose are more balanced than they were at the preview stage, letting you fire a rapid but harder to control ball at teammates, and as a countermeasure, defenders more aggressively intercept them. The biggest difference in the newest "FIFA" installment is the addition of the Women's National Teams, as suggested by the inclusion of U.S. star Alex Morgan on the cover alongside Lionel Messi.
You can use any of the 12 Women's National Teams in offline tournaments, online seasons and online friendly matches. If you're a trophy hunter, "FIFA 17" isn't the most difficult game to conquer. I racked up nine trophies in a relatively short period of time, with some coming from gameplay and others coming from simply testing out some game modes. The easiest to achieve were "Social Craving," where you share an activity on social media and "I am the boss," where you substitute your best player out of the game.
We continue to target coin sellers and farmers aggressively in FIFA 17. These bans have a positive impact on FUT health," reads an EA Sports blog post. But it is one thing for the game to de-emphasise pace. It is another if Ronaldo, Bale, Arjen Robben, or any other grease-lightning player you can think of has trouble out-sprinting even the most ordinary of defenders. I suspect the developers were trying for a more realistic representation of the game, but in doing so, they ironically created an unrealistic world where Memphis Depay can be caught by Per Mertesacker even when the winger has more than a yard of a headstart.
However, Fifa 17 continues to excel in presenting an immersive environment for those who want to imagine they are in charge of teams like Manchester United, Juventus, or Bayern Munich, just to name a few of the countless clubs available to choose from. According to EA, if anyone is caught selling or farming coins, they will be permanently banned from all EA games. Promoting the selling of coins will also get you banned from "FIFA" online.
It's just a stumble, but one that also happens to coincide with the incredible evolution of EA's bitter rival. Funny how things work out sometimes. Available for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC, FIFA 17's biggest fault is an over-reliance on how things should look rather than feel. As predicted last year, 17 has a lot of glitz and glamour: cameramen on the sidelines, referees spraying that line before you take a free kick, commentators cutting to the scores of rival matches.
