Texan Mosaic

by NICK ALVARADO//Sports Editor

FIFA 17 has been a game that has been highly anticipated since the first trailer was released.

Despite licensing issues, this game has lived up to the hype.

FIFA 17 has featured new gameplay that includes the new gaming engine, Frostbite. With the new addition, the gameplay turned realistic with all of the big-name stadiums that include Old Trafford, Signal Iduna Park, Allianz Arena and all 20 Barclays Premier League stadiums.

With new additions come some losses. EA Sports lost the license to FC Barcelona’s stadium, Camp Nou. With the loss, some Spanish fans have to turn down the game. However, the loss is covered up with some new teams.

EA Sports added the Japanese soccer league, J-League, into the game. Before, you could not play with any Japanese teams except for the national team of Japan.

The biggest feature that is new to the top-selling soccer game is “The Journey.” This feature allows players to start a career in the Premier League. Players will be playing with a character named Alex Hunter. The character is labeled as a rising star, and players control the character’s future.

With more leagues and a new feature, new realistic broadcast graphics also make an appearance. Since the last FIFA game last year, the Barclays Premier League was the only league where the actual graphics were used on both television and the game. Now, the Premier League and the German Bundesliga have the exact same graphics used when watching the game on television.

In FIFA 17, commentators go in-depth with stats and a team’s performance throughout the season. So, if a player was in a slump, the commentators would talk about the slump the player is in for the game, or how impressive the player is performing. In career mode, commentators would be analyzing the team’s performance.

Like past FIFA games, FIFA 17 has a matchday feature that takes the exact team form in real life and applies it to the game. The same goes for players who are on top of their game, or those who haven’t been on top of their game.

Another feature of the game that players are familiar with is tournament mode, where the player can select a range from 50 tournaments across the world. For the second consecutive year, women’s national teams are recognized on the game, and players can play a women’s World Cup tournament.

While fans love the gameplay style, there are some negatives. Some fans have been disappointed in the team selection since their favorite team did not make the cut for FIFA, allowing game creators to cut them from making an appearance.

The most criticized part of the game is the license loss of Camp Nou. Numerous fans were disappointed with EA losing the license to soccer game rivals, Konami, with their soccer series, Professional Evolution Soccer. Despite the loss, it is covered up with smooth gameplay and new features that have never been experienced.

In the upcoming years, fans would like to see the major soccer tournaments licensed by the FIFA game series. With both the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and now, Camp Nou with a Konami license, it will be a while for EA to get that license from their rivals to produce one of the best soccer games in the world. Despite the licensing issues, this game is a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars.