For many years now we have been playing EA Sports’ FIFA career modes and every year they have gotten better. Of course there is the Manager Mode and the Ba A Pro Mode where players can take control of a real athlete or create their own. But we have yet to see a true Story Mode in FIFA which could actually work.
In many ways NBA 2K has done this well in the past and especially with its most recent iteration on Next-Gen consoles but even it doesn’t feature the kind of thing I am truly looking for. Several years ago another EA Sports game, namely Fight Night Champion, actually featured a true story mode that really explored what a boxers career may look like. Sure, it may not have been perfect but it was a true revelation to me at the time.
FIFA 14 is a game I am still hooked on and am putting way too many hours into and neglecting things like eating and sleeping, which means the gameplay is great and keeps me coming back. The career mode is good too, albeit being short of my desires. Yet I come back to that story mode. I understand that it is unlikely to happen or that many players even want this, unless I am wrong here, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting it.
Theoretically, if FIFA 15 shipped with a Story Mode, I could picture it working like this. The game opens with a cinematic that introduces the new mode and what it entails at the end of which you create your player. You start out as a young 15 or 16 year old in a youth academy of a prestigious or even average club from where you progress to become noticed through your objective driven progress such as scoring x-amount of goals or creating chances, nothing too heavy. Once you become desirable to other clubs and get picked up as a prospect or get signed into your current club’s pro-team, it is time for a nice story bit with cut scenes and the whole shebang. I am not looking for a massive amount of added work from EA Sports but just enough to get me more immersed in my player and career. Of course it really would add more work than I could even imaging with things like voice over and motion capturing the goings on in a locker room. But we can dream, right?
As I am advancing through the ranks or transfer from team to team as well as get called up to the international team of my nation, I picture something more than just newspaper clippings. Fight Night Champion went further than I would need to see and NBA 2K didn’t go far enough but somewhere in between that is a sweet spot. I am looking for some decision making which Fight Night Champion lacked but also some true cut scenes and cinematics and general story driven progress that is not as refined in the NBA 2K series.
Of course this isn’t easy to do and will likely not happen as the annual release cycle and strain on the studio is already tough but I think the game could benefit from it. A story mode would take it from feeling artificial to something more realistic. Getting more ambiance and backstory to your player and his progress is something that would keep me agonizing over every decision, ever game and every season – even more than I do now. Watching my player grow through his career and have this accompanied by some visuals that show off the club house, training grounds or coming off a team bus on the way to an important away game would just be fantastic.
The FIFA series is immensely popular and messing with its formula may be a stretch or even dangerous but adding a new mode that takes it to the next level would just be so exciting. For now, I will head back to my career mode.
Please also check out our feature of ‘5 Things we want to see in FIFA 15‘.
