The yearly release of a new FIFA installment is almost upon us and EA have detailed some of the new features fans can expect for FIFA 18 in this in-depth post on their official site. Changes include improvements to matchday graphics, an expanded training mode, and interactive transfer negotiations featuring a conversation wheel with various dialogue options. A new video was released alongside the new FIFA 18 details showing some of these new features in action.
Last year's installment of the famous football franchise saw EA using the Frostbite engine for the first time in FIFA to create detailed cutscenes for the game's new story mode, The Journey. FIFA 18 looks to further utilize the engine's capabilities with the interactive transfer negotiations. Negotiations now happen in real time with the player making decisions using a conversation wheel. Important transfers will now require meeting the opposing manager to secure the deal and meeting the player and their agent to negotiate the contract. If this sounds too involved for your tastes, EA has confirmed you can leave this task to your assistant manager (presumably at your own risk.) Transfer ins and outs are also being brought to life with dynamic cutscenes, recreating the kind of PSAs a club puts out to announce a big signing.
Of course, it wouldn't be a new FIFA without some on the pitch updates as well. This year, we see the addition of 'Quick Subs.' This designed to be a more convenient way of making substitutions on the fly. It allows you to set which players to replace prior to the match and access them with a quick button press, rather than having to pause the game and make changes manually. FIFA 18 is also expanding on Team Styles which recreates the play styles and tactics of a team's real life counterparts. This attempt to bring greater individual differences to teams builds on the previous games' efforts and now features adaptive commentary to reflect those differences.
Other changes detailed are mostly to do with presentation. Atmospheres now differ from region to region, with details like booming South American announcers, noisy European fans, and more authentic chants for each region, including from MLS teams. Better presentation all round for the crowd, banners and matchday details round out the changes in EA's update.
FIFA 18 is set to release on September 22nd for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A special version is being released on Nintendo Switch, without The Journey. For more FIFA 18 details, check out our article from this years E3.
Are you planning to pick up FIFA 18? Are you skipping a year? What do you think about the franchises move towards The Journey and FUT? Give us your thoughts down in the comments!
