FIFA 17 is released this week and it goes without saying that I shall be all over it. I’ve not really been gaming much through the summer, but a spell off work recently has given me time to smash through all off Fallout 4’s DLC. Now it’s time to get FIFA’d up for the coming year.
The first question is where to buy from. I’m going to be buying from a place called Louth Electronics this year, and although I may pay a little more there is a reason I shall be doing so. The standard version is £47.99 from there with the deluxe version costing £60.99. Now if I wanted to go with Tesco for instance I could get those prices down to £42 and £57. However I believe very strongly in local outlets and therefore I want to purchase from Louth Electronics. For the record the service is always personal and I see it as much more than a shop, it’s an experience. Andy (proprietor) knows his games and despite recommending Carmageddon to me he’s usually spot on. If it wasn’t for him I would never have experienced Star Wars Battlefront. Imagine the horror!
So I’ve made my choice of where to buy. I’ll probably go for the midnight launch as well seeing as I’m not at work at the minute. Why not? They’re putting on a bit of an evening with a FIFA 16 competition ahead of the launch and some prizes on offer. I’ll wager I’ll be the oldest person there if I do make it! I never imagined that the only time I’d be looking at staying up past midnight in 2016 would be to join a group of men playing a football game. How times change.
Anyway back to the question in hand. Despite Lincoln City not being featured FIFA has become the only ‘must buy’ game every year. Every year I flirt with Pro Evo like a saucy liaison with a past lover, but somehow it never manages to hit the heights it used to as a teenager sat in my bedroom playing with myself…. I mean no online facility…. you knew that, right?
Since the explosion of online gaming I fell into the Ultimate Team trap and have been known to spend a few quid on trying to get Aguero or Bale into my team. My actual ‘game’ isn’t that great, I’m an average to fair player who relies on spending power to get a competitive team in order to beat kids half my age and twice as talented. It seems like a fair strategy. Once upon a time I was that horrible little kid who could beat the adults, firstly on Sensible Soccer and latterly on Pro Evo. Now I’m the one suffering indignity and it seems only fair that I utilise all the tools I have in my locker, which includes spending money on my team. Real money.
So the Deluxe version comes with 20 Jumbo gold packs for FUT (the ultimate team mode) meaning within 20 weeks I could have a pretty strong looking Ultimate Team for an extra £20. The packs cost significantly more if you were to buy them individually off your own back, so all in all it looks a good deal. There’s a few other little sweeteners as well like exclusive FUT Kits and draft players. Seeing as I spent £25 two years ago just to get enough coins to buy Gareth Bale it seems like a steal.
The question of whether to buy deluxe or not actually depends on how good I think the new ‘Journey’ mode will be. For the first time ever EA have introduced a proper story mode following young Alex Hunter as he rises through his Premier League academy into the first team. It’s a bold new move which is unlike FIFA as they usually just rehash the old game with a couple of little tweaks. However they’re hoping FIFA 17 will be one of those flag ship titles that stand out from the rest.
If the story mode is any good I’ll probably plough my time into that, but if not I’ll be building up my FUT team hoping to get a significantly better side than skint teenagers on a budget. It’s a tough decision to make. Can I risk not investing the extra £20 to gain an unfair advantage only to have to splurge out more of my hard earned when I complete the journey and am still (for want of a better word) crap?
I’m fairly sure that I’ll end up buying the deluxe version just because I can. I can’t possibly risk someone I barely know challenging me to a game and then mugging me off in my own living room. That happened far too much with Call of Duty.