The crowning of Reus marks the first time Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has not graced the cover since FIFA 17.  Reus serves as the face of the new Active Intelligence System, which impacts off the ball activity and the way players move, read and react. Complete innovation in gameplay transforms the way players think and move, physically interact with opponents, and execute in attack, putting fans in control of every moment on the pitch. The event’s sci-fi tilt continued with Mass Effect: Andromeda, the next major entry in the developer Bioware’s blockbuster Mass Effect series. 

 

The FIFA 17 game is a prequel of sorts, EA said — players follow humanity’s journey out of the Milky Way in search of a new home. It’ll run on EA’s Frostbite engine, the same engine that underlies Star Wars: Battlefront, Battlefield 1, and the new Mirror’s Edge, and will grant players “more freedom” than any BioWare game before it. It is scheduled to land sometime next year. Thousands of new animations and a focus on technology enable FIFA 17 to deliver true-to-life action, balanced gameplay, and excitement in attack. Four pillars of gameplay combine to put complete control in fans' hands by introducing new game mechanics.

 

The Argentinian megastar had been joined in recent years by the likes of Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and US women’s national team star Alex Morgan. We then move onto the post-match interview. Here, Hunter is asked about the team's performance and once again the Mass Effect-style dialogue wheel appears on-screen, and once again again three options present themselves: team player, calm, or arrogant. And once again, I went for the arrogant choice: "I always give my team a chance to win," Hunter says.

 

Here's where the demo ended. My snippet of FIFA 17's story mode was a bizarre experience, and nothing like I've ever played in a FIFA game before, which, I suppose, is a good thing for a series that's often accused of failing to innovate year on year. Last year's FIFA 16 also introduced women's national teams for the first time and we would bet that more national teams are added as the selection was rather limited.

FIFA team of the season

 

Not a lot else is known as to what features or balancing will be conducted for FIFA 17. EA's title has had somewhat of a 'tick-tock' approach to how it handles and nullifies the influence of pace each year, with some years faster players providing a distinct advantage to other years when their influence is intentionally reduced. We can at least expect some new animations and skills being introduced as we have seen in every release previously. Hopefully, we see some improvements to player AI, as well. 

 

But I can't help but feel the addition of a story mode has more to do with appealing to those who perhaps do not play FIFA, or perhaps used to but dropped off the radar, rather than attracting the series' gargantuan core players over from modes such as FIFA Ultimate Team and Online seasons. However, although EA has not made an official statement on the matter, one could assume Messi’s recent legal troubles may have kept him off the cover.