What is FIFA 17?
FIFA 17 is an officially-licensed football game which sets out to recreate the passion, emotion and excitement of the beautiful game on your console or PC. With over 30 leagues and 650 teams to choose from, stretching from the Premier League all the way down to EFL League Two, there's a wide range of clubs, players and modes to get to grips with. Whether you're up for a few quick games with your friends in local multiplayer, a dabble in this year's incarnation of footballing-meets-collectible-cards Ultimate Team mode, or you simply fancy getting stuck into the ever popular online matches, there's plenty of footballing fun to be had.
Players on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC will also have access to a brand new story mode called 'The Journey'. Putting you into the shoes of young hopeful Alex Hunter, you'll set about trying to make your mark in the Premier League, playing for a club of your choice, as you follow your professional footballing dream. Unfortunately, this mode is not available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 players.
How do you play FIFA 17?
FIFA 17 comes with a wide range of footballing modes to get stuck into, from bite-sized matches to more complex career modes. Kick Off lets you jump straight into a quick game between two teams of your choosing, perfect for an instant fix. Career mode is much more in depth, and lets you take control of all aspects of running an existing club, from taking part in their matches, to managing their finances and team between games, giving it a lite football-manager-esque feel. Meanwhile, Ultimate Team also returns, letting you create your own footballing dream team from packs of collectible cards, competing in tournaments to raise your rank and become the best in the world. For multiplayer fun, up to four players can play either together on the same team, or against each other in local multiplayer, while online, you can play up to 11 v 11 games, where every player is controlled by a human.
Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC players also have the aforementioned The Journey mode to play through, which offers a much more story-driven experience. Following the protagonist Alex Hunter, an up and coming player, you'll train and play as you rise through the footballing ranks, interspersed with cutscenes and dialogue options during interviews, chats with the team's manager and the like.
How easy is FIFA 17 to pick up and play?
In general, FIFA 17 is fairly easy to pick up and play, assuming you know the general gist of football. With six different difficulty levels on offer, as well as a number of assists you can turn on that affect how hard (or easy) it is to shoot, cross and perform other key footballing moves, FIFA 17 lets you tailor things to your own skill level. Those looking for an easier, more arcade ride can also opt to play in two button mode, which condenses FIFA's surprisingly in depth controls onto just two buttons - essentially, one for pass and one for shoot. Standard controls include a number of fancier footwork moves, using a variety of buttons, as well as different types of shot (lob, volley, through ball etc), which may be a little complex for the younger footie fan. Should you feel the need to brush up on your footwork, though, skill games give you a fun way to perfect your moves, offering a variety of activities that help improve your passing, shooting and such.
Generally speaking, there's little to no reading required in FIFA 17, as it's all fairly self-explanatory. For Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC players however, The Journey story mode does have the odd unvoiced/subtitled section, either during cutscene interviews with foreign players, or in the conversation options you can pick at certain points during the story. With that in mind, a reading ability is required.
Sample Sentences:
- "Yes, well... We always want to win. It's a long season. We have a big team and there's still much left."
- "Maybe you'll learn something."
- "The Gaffer's guidance."
Additional Notes
For those wanting to play online on consoles, a subscription to that console's online service is generally required, with the exception of the Playstation 3. Playstation 4 players will need a Playstation Plus subscription, while Xbox 360 and Xbox One folks will need Xbox Live Gold.
As a football game, there's no mature content in FIFA 17 whatsoever - no bad language, violence, gore or sex scenes to speak of in the slightest.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Playstation 4
