The football season is done, the Euros are just out of reach and there’s not much in good transfer rumours to keep us occupied.
Even the Jose Mourinho to Manchester United news got sorted out and England’s Euro 2016 squad was rather… expected.
We need some football stuff to talk about. Something. Anything. We can’t keep playing games of FIFA 16… OH HEY WAIT LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE WANT IN THE NEW FIFA GAME.
FIFA 17 is out there, watching, waiting. Gathering strength somewhere in EA Sports Canada’s studios to destroy our social lives sometime in Autumn 2016.
The JOE team here have clocked up hundreds of hours playing playing FIFA 16, (you can add us on PSN – JOEMediaUK) and the though there’s a lot to love about the game, there’s a few tweaks and changes we’d like included for FIFA 17.
Reworked set pieces
Taking a throw-in in FIFA is a pain. You know where you’re going to throw the ball, your human opponent knows where the ball is going to be thrown. It just turns into a boring war of attrition where you hope you can get your cross away before you lose possession.
Similarly, taking a long free kick and corners in FIFA games far too often devolve into you punting it long and hoping the eager goalkeeper doesn’t come to gobble the ball up. Sure you can play it short, but again, a human opponent can too easily mark you out of space.
Set pieces need re-working in FIFA. Let us jostle for the ball, change up tactics and try to trap long passes, rather than hopelessly head it up. There must be some way we can make a long throw-in a dangerous option.
Smarten up the goalkeepers
There was an old rumour that PS2 era football games used David James as a model for their goalkeepers – good all rounder, capable of the odd amazing save, but just as likely to fluff a line. Goalkeepers controlled by the computer are meant to be good, but not too good that you think they’re unbeatable.
Unfortunately every now and again, someone stumbles on a glitch in goalkeeper AI that allows you to score to easy. Like how in FIFA 15 it was far too easy to lob the keeper from halfway because of how far he stood out off his line.
Goalkeeping needs a proper intelligence boost for FIFA 17. For too long have gamers screamed at their man between the sticks coming waaaaay too far out to collect a stray ball.
The return of Lounge Mode
Nestled deep in the menus of FIFA 09 and FIFA 10 was Lounge Mode, a fantastic version of the game you could use for multiplayer match ups.
Lounge Mode kept a running tab of up to 15 players results against each other, and in a added twist gave each player certain cards you could use against an opponent.
Wanted to play an ultra attacking pressing side? Play “+50 stamina” so your players kept on ticking into the 95th minute.
Know you were up against sometime who likes a tactical foul? Use “Random yellow cards” to assign 5 yellow cards on your opponent before a ball had even been kicked.
Lounge Mode was a fantastic way to record bragging rights from your “winner stays on” sessions of FIFA with mates and fans have been wishing its return ever since the PS3/Xbox One days. Bring it back EA. Give it online capabilities to boot.
A proper single player mode
https://twitter.com/Ankaman616/status/717792606139363328
Whisper it… but single player FIFA is kind of dull. A repetitive slog of “advance-play game-tweak squad-advance-play game”, the formula could do with jazzing up.
Imagine a single-player FIFA mode where you got to recreate the career of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, playing all of his biggest matches?
Or how about trying to recreate all the great moments from the Premier League? Imagine having one chapter trying to overhaul Newcastle’s 12-point lead as Manchester United in 1995/96, only to be transported to Manchester City winning the league in 2012 the next?
Really bring out the emotion of big games
This ties into the repetition of singleplayer FIFA, but winning silverwear in FIFA 16 can be rather abrupt. A little virtual confetti, a short cut scene and a pat on the back from Martin Tyler & Alan Smith on commentary.
C’mon lads, some of us have spent HOURS getting that title won. Give us something. For years gamers have donned a suit and a tie for a big cup final in Football Manger for the way it made us believe something big was happening in the world of virtual football.
FIFA 17 needs helicopters, pre-game cut scenes and Sky Sports promotional packages to really sell a big game. Imagine logging online for a match against your best mate and getting a “tale of the tape” video detailing the last couple of times you’ve played. FIFA 17 needs a virtual Andrea Bocelli to serenade you when you win the league. At least.
Expanded women’s teams
The addition of women’s teams in FIFA 16 improved the game wholesale. Thanks to the slower game speed and quicker deterioration of player stamina, there was an extra emphasis on building moves in midfield, rather than just pinging it long and using the fastest players to score.
We’d like to see FIFA 17 to increase the amounts of women’s teams available and make it a refreshing change from the usual match up at FIFA. There’s only so many times you can play as Chelsea/Bayern/Real/Barca/Dortmund anyway.
Leicester City Mode
5000/1 odds. A new custom difficulty setting. You are locked into Leicester City. Style and experience points unlocked if you can replicate goal scorers and assists from real life Leicester fixtures. No resets. Switching the console off when you’re losing results in an instant 3-0 loss. 38 games to win the Premier League title. Let’s do this.
What changes do you want to see in FIFA 17? Make sure you let us know at hello@JOE.co.uk, or drop us a message on Facebook.
