EA dumped a lot of new info about FIFA 17 yesterday at the EA Play Conference (and just before). We learned the game has a new story mode and the gameplay is undergoing several key changes -- and that's only the beginning. Let's check out our reactions to yesterday's news after the jump.

Fraser Gilbert: Of all the things I expected to see from FIFA 17, a story mode was not one of them. That said, I'm excited at the prospect of trying something a bit different from the norm. It remains to be seen just how in-depth the experience will be, and this could be the determining factor between a defining mode and a fun side-attraction. In terms of on-the-field gameplay, I don't really know how to react just now. It all looks as fluid as ever, but EA always springs a few buzzwords on us at this time of the year. I can't really judge features such as the Active Intelligence System until I'm able to finally play the game for myself. The tweaking of set pieces is intriguing, though, and I'm interested to see how they will play out.

As Peter Moore mentioned, this is a "revolutionary year" for the series. I'm a big fan of FIFA 16, but I'm hopeful that the Frostbite engine will take the series to even greater heights.

Jayson Young: I've been waiting for Electronic Arts to start making story modes for their annual sports titles since Fight Night Champion left the ring in 2011. I've only played FIFA's online modes (specifically, Pro Clubs and 2 vs. 2 Online Seasons) in previous years because the series' AI doesn't provide capable teammates or compelling adversaries. FIFA 17's "Journey" is unlikely to fix any of those longstanding AI issues, but it could at least make the on-field gameplay tolerable if the off-field drama is exciting. After 18 months in production -- and plenty of time to see where NBA 2K's MyPlayer scripts have failed/succeeded -- I believe EA's "Journey" will be worth experiencing, but I am worried about its total length and potential replayability. Spike Lee's "Livin' Da Dream," for instance, was over too quickly, plus it lacked branching paths where the user's on-court actions and off-court decisions could influence the narrative's outcome. I hope "The Journey's" financial returns this fall will justify its elevated production costs, so that story modes start appearing throughout the entire EA Sports portfolio.

"I'm a big fan of FIFA 16, but I'm hopeful that the Frostbite engine will take the series to even greater heights." - Fraser Gilbert

Kevin Groves: As a fan of single-player sports modes I have to say I'm intrigued by the news surrounding "The Journey Mode". With the success achieved by 2K with their "Storyline Mode" it's a bit surprising that it took so long for EA to introduce one but with the cash cow that Ultimate Team is it's understandable (but not forgivable) that EA would be slow to roll our new modes. Hopefully more details will be released because as of right now I'd be disappointed if we all had to start out as Alex Hunter.

I'm intrigued by the inclusion of all the EPL Managers but I fear their likenesses will only be cosmetic. All other additions seem to be in-line with traditional EA buzzwords where the real truth will be uncovered come September.

Cicero: The amazing thing about playing FIFA 17 was how different it feels! The addition of the Frostbite engine is not hyperbolicorrect! The amount of dribbling is definitely tangible plus you can actually see and FEELING the players jostling for position.

The Journey is an amazing attempt at giving the player insight into what it really means to become a star player on the pitch. There seems to be more choice than what you saw in Livin' the Dream from NBA 2K. I haven't played it yet but I'm happy to see some variety that's added in this mode. I would still prefer a more dynamic story catered to your specific created player.

Caley Roark: FIFA has been focusing on small refinements and online features recently; it seems like a real departure to add a single-player offline story mode. However, I tend to like these modes and think it will shake things up enough to encourage new players to try this game (as if it needed more sales numbers!).

As with all things EA, I'll take a general "wait and see" approach; their marketing tends to build my expectations too much. That said, FIFA has been one of my most played games in the past few years; can't wait to get my hands on 17.

Chris Sanner: The Story Mode may be cool, and its fitting EA chose FIFA to debut that type of an effort this year. It is a bit of departure from the norm, but both FIFA and Madden seem intent on making the single player experience more fun this year along with the variety of online features.

The gameplay itself looks to undergo some big changes, with several key areas of action on the pitch seeing tweaks. For those of us who haven't yet played the game, we're going to have to take a wait and see approach because there's truly no way to know if the changes are for the better or not -- but the approach does sound promising.

What did you think of the news yesterday of a story mode plus the gameplay enhancements?