FIFA Career Mode: It’d Be Much Better If…
With around 5 months until the release of FIFA 19, the latest instalment in the FIFA game series, fans of the game from around the globe will soon be speculating about how the game will differ from FIFA 18. As we all know, Career Mode is in need of a serious overhaul. Below are some of the improvements that should be made for FIFA 19 career mode.
Improved Transfer Negotiations
FIFA 18 saw a new transfer negotiation system introduced. Sure, it was fun, but the excitement really burns off after the first few transfers, especially when the players agent has the same game face as your manager! Whilst spending so much time on updating the negotiation process, EA got rid of the ability to include a permanent buy option in loan deals. There’s nothing worse than loaning James Wilson from Manchester United, seeing him blossom under your leadership for Birmingham in the Championship, and then seeing his value soar above your transfer budget.
Realistic CPU Transfers
Be it Jordan Henderson joining PSG, James Tompkins joining Lazio or Manchester United signing every striker above 85 in the game, CPU transfers need to be more realistic. Sure, most clubs sign 5–10 players each season, that’s understandable, but surely even Manchester United do not need Romelu Lukaku, Antoine Griezmann, Harry Kane and Luis Suarez all in their ranks at the same time.
Official UEFA Licensing
With Konami’s license with UEFA for the Champions League and Europa League reportedly expiring, FIFA must swoop in to secure the rights. Growing up, the only bonus of having both PES and FIFA was that with PES you could experience the Champions League; it is perhaps the only part of the game which was more enjoyable. If you’re to add in the Champions League anthem and cutscenes of previous European moments, then European football in Career Mode suddenly becomes more enjoyable. Even the Europa League has to be an improvement on the current Euro League. There would be no need to simulate the home ties against Club Brugge anymore.
Career Mode Challenges
In the past, FIFA has had challenge modes on various versions of their games. Normally this just involved a comeback based off a real life game. But what if this format can be introduced to Career Mode. Be it taking a relegation threatened team to safety, mounting a late push for European qualification, or even suffering financial difficulties, the reintroduction of challenges would add another much needed dynamic to career modes. Not only this, but it would also be more realistic, with managers often shipped into clubs when times are tough in real life.
Improved Player Career Mode
When EA released trailers for the journey mode for FIFA 17, fans were ecstatic. Finally, a fully customisable player Career Mode with cutscenes existed. But no. What we got was a story mode, based around Alex Hunter, a Marcus Rashford wannabe, that you spend 4 hours playing, before never returning to it. Is this possible though? Well, FIFA 19 need look no further than the NBA 2K series for inspiration. Their NBA 2K17 Career Mode joins the cinematic element of FIFA’s journey mode with a custom player career mode in a truly exciting and enjoyable Career Mode. We’ve waited long enough EA.
Training Overhaul
There is nothing more repetitive in FIFA Career Mode than training only consisting of a few players, doing basic drills that an U14 side wouldn’t even do, each week. Instead, FIFA 19 needs to allow you to select your training regime during pre-season. An improved player manager interaction would allow you to see how your training is going down with the players and would allow your scouts to search for players who would suit your training style and thus your style of play. The ability to retrain players in different positions would also be an upgrade on the current training set up. If Jose Mourinho can move Ashley Young to left back and Jurgen Klopp can move James Milner there, then the ability to transform Mark Noble into a left back must exist on FIFA 19.
More Customisation Options
Imagine being able to take over a mid table side with an ex superstar. EA already has access to game faces of legends such as Thierry Henry, Carles Puyol and Dennis Bergkamp through their Ultimate Team Legend Cards, so why can’t these be available to gamers as avatars for Career mode? Also, with clubs building new stadiums more than ever in real life, we need an option to either rebuild or improve current stadiums in the game in a similar way to how it’s possible in the Madden game series. This again creates a realistic aspect to the game. After securing Bournemouth Champions League football for the third successive season, what better way to celebrate than by building a state of the art 50,000 seater stadium along the seafront.
