FIFA 17 News Post

FIFA 17 Review

06:35 PM - September 24, 2016 by Steve_OS

It’s 2 a.m. and I’ve been playing FIFA 17's new mode ‘The Journey’ for the past five hours. Well, at least I think it's 2 a.m. -- I’m far too hooked by the mode's addictive qualities to look at my phone. Alex Hunter’s tale is an intriguing one, and my personal mission to achieve glory as a member of the AFC Bournemouth squad has engulfed my interest.

I don’t want to venture elsewhere, but there's more to discover. After I've sampled its entire feature set, I come to realize that FIFA 17 is somewhat of a divided experience on the pitch –- a game of two halves, if you will. While it succeeds in creating a primarily authentic experience against the CPU, it undoes a lot of that work when more users get involved, fluctuating between arcade and simulation tendencies along the way.

Read More - FIFA 17 Review (Written by: Fraser Gilbert)

Game: FIFA 17Reader Score: Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 0 - View All

Member Comments

# 21 Fraser G. @ 09/26/16 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCB1990


	The writer of this review is clearly not a "real football fan".

I can assure you that isn't the case.

I've had the pleasure of watching football for the past twenty years, from yearly season tickets at my local club to hundreds and hundreds of games on TV. FIFA 96 was my first football video game, and even the bizarre ones like Three Lions and Ronaldo V-Football were stuck in my PS1 disc drive as a kid. Football Manager (known as Championship Manager in the early days) regularly ruined my social life over the years! Actually, it still does...

My review of FIFA 17 gave it the moniker of 'great'. Our PES 2017 review also received the moniker of 'great' (albeit with a higher score). We've got two games with different pros and cons on our hands, both offering an exciting football experience in their own ways. I'm not in favor of sparking the debate further -- I'm just glad we've got two great football games on the market.

# 22 wordtobigbird @ 09/26/16 07:14 AM

I've never paid PES but it is somewhat annoying how every single FIFA thread seems to turn into a PES vs FIFA debate which the same exact points get repeated over and over. If I I go to the PES forum are people constantly bringing up FIFA instead of discussing the game? In the NFL/NBA forums I feel like they are pretty strict about this..

Anyway, good review. Looking forward to seeing how deep I get into the Journey. With EA Access I got a few games into the season and really like the way they did it with the training drills and conversational cutscenes/interviews. The game shines for me playing against my friends though. We just have too much fun every single time. Going to be a fun weekend.

Quote:


	Nevertheless, it has its downsides, and it feels like the mature approach of the game goes out the window in a multiplayer setting, transforming into a one-dimensional game of pace-dominated, zig-zag gameplay in its worst moments.

This is entirely up to the person on the sticks.. the the game doesn't force you to sprint or zig zag. I have a friend who is a slide tackle maniac and always goes forward down the middle with through balls/pace once he gets the ball. I have another friend who will almost never push the tackle button and will play possession to his detriment trying to walk the ball into the net.. Have competitive games against both. If the multiplayer is the weak point of this game FIFA 17 is definitely a great game.

# 23 Fraser G. @ 09/26/16 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wordtobigbird


	This is entirely up to the person on the sticks.. the the game doesn't force you to sprint or zig zag.

Firstly, thank you for your kind comments about the review!

In regards to the point you made, I agree that it doesn't force you to sprint or zig-zag, but it certainly encourages it. Far too often, I felt punished for trying to move the ball around the pitch, and found that I got much more success when I simply took hold of the ball as a speedy winger (or even as a speedy defender!) and started hitting top speed and making quick turns to exploit the underpowered defense.

Of course, multiplayer contests are always going to have more instances of this than CPU encounters due to player skill, but the mechanics are still very unbalanced. I played many multiplayer matches with everything from people who were clearly new to the series, to friends who I've been playing FIFA with for a decade. It was still a very similar experience -- one of frustration when I simply felt powerless to do anything, despite doing very little wrong in terms of defensive positioning, and dissatisfaction when I scored easy goals that didn't require any footballing skill. I won about 75 % of my multiplayer matches during the review period, but I can't say many of them were that enjoyable.

It's in those instances where FIFA 17 feels like a huge step backward in my view. Luckily, it balances that out with some fantastic content in other areas.

# 24 nunogomes @ 09/26/16 08:33 AM

I must say that i was a bit confused by the review in the sense you say games against CPU are great, but AI lacks personality and does a poor job defensively.

Even after all the other good things you mentioned in CPU AI, this two things seem like a cocktail for bad games against AI, not good games.

# 25 Fraser G. @ 09/26/16 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunogomes


	I must say that i was a bit confused by the review in the sense you say games against CPU are great, but AI lacks personality and does a poor job defensively. Even after all the other good things you mentioned in CPU AI, this two things seem like a cocktail for bad games against AI, not good games.

In terms of personality, it's a game that plays a very similar style of football across the board, but it does it really well in a CPU setting. So, personality is a negative factor, but the personality that it gives you plays out in a very effective manner. It's a difficult one to sum up -- games are excellent to play for the most part, but they aren't all that varied from a tactical standpoint. It will affect the enjoyment of the game in different ways for different people.

In terms of defense, I made a point in there of saying that when the AI slips up, it's almost always because of defensive issues. It doesn't mean that they happen all that often -- it's just that its biggest weakness is in that area. It becomes much more prominent in multiplayer. More often than not, the AI presents a fun challenge and does its job well when you're playing against the CPU.

# 26 ShaiLeGran @ 09/26/16 09:41 AM

Different people, different opinions. In the end for me, I prefer PES' tactics and development of a match. I do think the referees are not very strict in giving penalties. I got one on my first match, but in all the plus minus 49 I played after: non. That's not good and some fouls should have been called for.

What I love about FIFA is the atmosphere: pitch details, sidelines filled with players, substitutes sitting on the bench, all the different stadiums that breath football. That is what PES is missing for me. To me the ultimate football experience would be PES' on-pitch gameplay, but with the ability to have more fouls called for, speedy players actually be faster then the opposition, better menu's and FIFA's football atmospere.

# 27 KG @ 09/26/16 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by extremeskins04


	I think it was more of the goalie AI that killed the game for me last year. I've read some reviews where PES 2017 beats FIFA in the "on the pitch gameplay", but lacks in everything else. To me I need the graphics, the licenses, the career mode, and the gameplay. I need the whole package honestly.

That's a fair point and the kind of mature response we expect on here, especially if ever want to get into an adult conversation on OS in regards to a PES vs FIFA breakdown article(s) series.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCB1990


	The writer of this review is clearly not a "real football fan".

How anyone can infer that is beyond me.

# 28 DBMcGee3 @ 09/26/16 10:24 AM

I think I've finally decided to buy it. Truly loving PES, but I really love FIFA as well and the games just play so much differently from one another.

I love the added bit of control you get with FIFA. I've always found the dribbling to be a bit more complex and fun, and for better or worse I like the option to be able to shield the ball manually. If EA can get the formula just right on this it will be a key part of the game's foundation. I know a lot of people have complained about the speed being OPd for pacey players, but I feel like sometimes in PES my guys are stuck in the mud, particularly when trying to explode off a first touch or from a stand still. In FIFA you can burn by the right guys with the appropriate players, it just works better in my opinion, and it forces you to adjust your back line accordingly to defend an Aubameyang type of player.

I also find the graphics to be amazing this year. There's still a wonky face or two in there (David Silva inaccurate for 5 years running now) but most of the notable guys look really good, and I've found that EA does a great job of keeping boots and accessories updated throughout the season, which is always cool.

It's hard to argue about the lack of diversity in the CPU gameplan, which is frustrating because the tools are there if they would just assign the right strategies to each team. I guess at the end of the day I'm just lucky enough to be a bit of a noob in terms of the more in depth nuances of the sport, so it probably bothers me less than it does the guys in Europe.

2 great games this year, I'm stoked. Anyone know if there's any truth to the BPL presentation being patched in?

# 29 Honome @ 09/26/16 11:09 AM

Very good review and too bad my concerns about the CPU AI seemed to be real, i was really hoping this year they could at least gave us a more variated and unpredictable AI to play against.

Since i´m more an offline player, gonna stick with PES for most of time but will probably end up getting Fifa for play online with friends, like all previous years.

# 30 WALTERBERRYPAOK @ 09/26/16 04:11 PM

As i am the one that called PES "arcadey" in the first place, let me elaborate.A game must mimic the real thing.Animations must be realistic in spite of reaction times. It must be like watching a game on tv. No need to say more. A.I. is good in both games but in FIFA there are sliders that can help you ever further, something that PES really needs to implement. For me FIFA is more like watching and controlling a real soccer game.But that is just my opinion.I wish you good gaming.

# 31 Lovesports @ 09/26/16 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WALTERBERRYPAOK


	As i am the one that called PES "arcadey" in the first place, let me elaborate.A game must mimic the real thing.Animations must be realistic in spite of reaction times. It must be like watching a game on tv. No need to say more. A.I. is good in both games but in FIFA there are sliders that can help you ever further, something that PES really needs to implement. For me FIFA is more like watching and controlling a real soccer game.But that is just my opinion.I wish you good gaming.

Since I'm the second one that called PES arcadey, I agree with you 110%. The control I get with FIFA (this year) is nothing short of spectacular. One issue I had with PES for years is the way players shoot with the wrong foot. This happens ALL the time. You can tell that they're shooting with the wrong foot because it looks unnatural and awkward. Their body leans one way and the player switches his foot last second to take a corky shot. It's bothered me for years and FIFA does not have this issue.

# 32 Turbojugend @ 09/26/16 04:41 PM

Very much looking forward to this, hopefully my local Best Buy has a 9pm (West Coast) release.

And I totally agree with the comment about needing the whole package. I love PES' gameplay but that's only one facet of the game: Licenses, presentation, etc. go a long way toward the immersion factor. If it was strictly about the gameplay and nothing else, I'd probably still be playing PES 5 or 6 on my PS2. I loved those games.

# 33 Zac @ 09/26/16 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbojugend


	Very much looking forward to this, hopefully my local Best Buy has a 9pm (West Coast) release. And I totally agree with the comment about needing the whole package. I love PES' gameplay but that's only one facet of the game: Licenses, presentation, etc. go a long way toward the immersion factor. If it was strictly about the gameplay and nothing else, I'd probably still be playing PES 5 or 6 on my PS2. I loved those games.

I played some Winning Eleven 7 last night on my PS2. I hadn't played it in years. And it does not hold up well. But man do I have very fond memories of that game.

# 34 RoyceDa59 @ 09/26/16 05:27 PM

Nice review but I won't be picking this game up for a while due to a few other games that will be holding my attention but it is good to see there is some fun to be had with this years FIFA. I am positively sure that this game will be patched down the line so I will wait and see how the gameplay remains the same in a few months.

# 35 WALTERBERRYPAOK @ 09/27/16 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lovesports


	Since I'm the second one that called PES arcadey, I agree with you 110%. The control I get with FIFA (this year) is nothing short of spectacular. One issue I had with PES for years is the way players shoot with the wrong foot. This happens ALL the time. You can tell that they're shooting with the wrong foot because it looks unnatural and awkward. Their body leans one way and the player switches his foot last second to take a corky shot. It's bothered me for years and FIFA does not have this issue.

yeah, this really bothers me too.

# 36 Resurrection403 @ 09/27/16 06:05 PM

Going to have to brace myself and criticize steve and his review. 8? Really? No meaningful upgrade to the career mode has been made in how many years? 5? 6? And there's barely a mention of it, and the score is a respectable 8. If people keep buying this game and reviewers dont punish EA for their laziness and utter contempt for franchise/career mode players... then what will ever get them to change?

side note: I dont want to hear about the Alex Hunter mode. I'm not interested in a player only career, im talking about the career mode of running a franchise/club.

# 37 iohannfus @ 09/27/16 09:23 PM

i suppose this is a fair score, maybe a little higher than i expect but i will give for another year a chance to ea sports franchise ...

with pes 17 and his gameplay i cannot be frustrated like last year :-)

# 38 Anton10 @ 09/29/16 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WALTERBERRYPAOK


	yeah, this really bothers me too.

I hate the PES 17 shooting animations. Sometimes it looks good but most of the time it seems so unrealistic. I think playing PES 16 for 4 or 5 months last year has scarred me. The PES 17 demo didn't excite me too much. I saw a few PES 16 things in 17 demo just waiting to come to light. Fifa 17 for me!

# 39 Lovesports @ 09/29/16 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anton10


	I hate the PES 17 shooting animations. Sometimes it looks good but most of the time it seems so unrealistic. I think playing PES 16 for 4 or 5 months last year has scarred me. The PES 17 demo didn't excite me too much. I saw a few PES 16 things in 17 demo just waiting to come to light. Fifa 17 for me!

I totally agree, I've been saying that for years. It almost looks as if they're shooting with the wrong foot and it looks so awkward. IMHO PES gameplay is highly overrated. I bought it this year and was anxiously waiting for FIFA to come out after playing it.

# 40 TheDutchDad @ 09/29/16 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lovesports


	I totally agree, I've been saying that for years. It almost looks as if they're shooting with the wrong foot and it looks so awkward. IMHO PES gameplay is highly overrated. I bought it this year and was anxiously waiting for FIFA to come out after playing it.

oh dear....

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