FIFA 17 doesn't come out until late September, but there were some demo stations available at E3 2016 for those who were interested in a sneak peek. I tried it on the Xbox One and recorded the gameplay against another player. What do I think so far? Hit the play button to find out.
Note: The game isn't final yet so that things may change before its release.
The presentation looks mostly the same, but you'll notice a significant difference when the camera zooms in on the faces. There's so much more detail. You can see scars or even pimples on the players' faces. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, because players now look older (though that alone doesn't change how they play).
Penalties, free kicks, corners, and throw-ins look different from the previous version as well. There's no more left or right indicator during penalty kicks. During corners, there's a ball indicator that you move before a kick. The longer you hold the X button, the stronger the kick will go to the spot.
Free kicks further from the net stay in Tele Broadcast view. You can press the Left Stick to change it to the close-up view that we're used to in FIFA 16. Free kicks closer to the net look better. During the kick, the camera zooms in, and then automatically zooms out if it gets deflected or doesn't go inside. Also, I noticed you can now move the player throwing in the ball.
Moving the ball is mostly the same, but there's an improvement in how players physically interact with each other, whether it's blocking a run, or shielding the ball. Your player will slow down if he gets bumped by an opponent. It feels more realistic than the previous version, which makes me happy.
I noticed that passes were a little more difficult. Passing blindly didn't work most of the time, and I found myself needing to be more patient to target whom I'm passing to.
A new major feature for FIFA 17 is The Journey, where you live your story on and off the pitch as the Premier League's next rising star, Alex Hunter. Unfortunately, I did not get to play this mode, since there were people behind me who were also eager to play.
Overall, I'm happy with FIFA 17 so far. I'm planning to pre-order from the Xbox Store. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
