Career Mode
Shall we be honest; career mode stinks.
As fans of smaller clubs, we enjoy building our teams and taking them through the divisions, it is why Football Manager has had so much success. Sadly, EA have rarely put much effort into the career mode, simply tagging it on to the main game and occasionally giving it a bit of a makeover. The career mode doesn’t boast the depth of Football Manager, not even of the lite versions for mobile, and the AI is very much the same from game to game too, meaning that aside from building your team, there is little challenge.
This game element needs to be tweaked so that it incorporates some aspect of online play as well as the career mode. How delightful would it be to build your Bolton Wanderers team into world beaters and then be allowed to use that team to face off against other people? Maybe, alongside the main game, online matches could be played as exhbition tours or something, offering cool rewards for victories? Whilst we’re at it, the method by which you build your team needs looking at too, with transfer business conducted in a more in-depth and transparent way. With the next-generation of consoles just around the corner, adding depth shouldn’t be an issue.
The whole interface needs an overhaul as well. The career mode has looked the same for so long now, it is easy to forget which version of FIFA you’re playing. This mode could be a big seller for EA if they get it right, which the hunger for Football Manager shows. Back in the day (Gary tells us) there was a game called Player Manager which combined Kick Off 2 gameplay with actual management. It was groundbreaking and yet for some reason, no developer has managed to emulate it since.
Other things to consider would be a scenario mode, where you could take over as a team staring relegation in the face, or be given ten games to get a certain side into Europe. Plus, if you put 20 years into a career, why do the kits never change? If you get a League Two side promoted, you still have the EFL badges on the arm. these might seem like little details, but they affect realism, which is what a career mode should deliver.
Next Page – Compatibility
You can read our look at the Team of the Season Players from L1 and L2 here
Or maybe you want to know the fastest L1 and L2 players on the game? That’s right here.
