FIFA 17 Preview Analysis

This season, FIFA is taking what could be described as a quantum leap... sideways. To our great surprise, the much vaunted Ignite Engine has been dismantled for its finest parts, allowing FIFA to break free and jump with both feet into the newest iteration of Frostbite - the technology under the hood of Battlefield, Need for Speed and Star Wars Battlefront.

Stunning new visual and AI tech isn't the only shock, however. FIFA 17 also features an extraordinarily serious RPG mode called The Journey, following the highs and lows of a young hopeful Alex Hunter. It has conversation wheels, the works. Why? Well, why not.

Newly promoted FIFA producer Aaron McHardy says he has "never been more excited" to share what his team have been working on for quite some time. Yes, the plans shared with the press just recently in London have been underway at EA Canada for the past two years. You need earn fifa 17 coins to suppore gameplay.McHardy says that all is not lost from the Ignite Engine, but the pursuit of authenticity led the team to adopt Frostbite, which enables them to have more true-to-life action and to create new content very rapidly. It means that we can look behind-the-scenes at football grounds around the world, visit the changing rooms, even peak inside the team plane.

The tagline you're going to see everywhere for FIFA 17 is: "Football has Changed." Which, from EA's perspective, speaks to the team's desire not to stand still; not rest on its laurels. This step forward is taken so seriously that four "ambassadors" of the sport have been hired as consultants: James Rodríguez (Real Madrid), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Anthony Martial (Manchester United) and Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund). "They're the young guys," says McHardy, pointing to their valuable insights into the evolving world of their footballing lives.

It seems that these four youngsters have been primarily called upon to ensure that the RPG component of FIFA 17 stays as true-to-life as possible. 'The Journey' is hailed by McHardy as "the biggest new mode since Ultimate Team", taking us from lowly beginnings to a promising career at Manchester United in the boots of (fictitious) Londoner Alex Hunter. In addition to providing a substantial distraction from the meat of FIFA 17, playing against friends locally or online, The Journey showcases the range of depth and emotion built into FIFA 17. It's a mega-buck chest-beating reaction to all those criticisms of FIFA having lifeless players.

The Journey will dwell on the details worked into every facial feature, in particular the eyes. We're told that the Frostbite engine can animate flesh, not just bones, to look very realistic. EA has mo-capped Harry Kane to play a part in the Journey. There are real life managers in the dugouts too; José Mourinho and Jürgen Klopp performed expressively during our demo.

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