6 Ways to Improve FIFA 18's Career Mode

Although FIFA Ultimate Team is the most popular mode in the world's biggest football game, fans still enjoy embarking on a 15-year campaign as a player or a manager in Career Mode. After all, what football fans don't want to take their team to the title?

However, it is fair to say that the old mode has stagnated over the past year as The Journey took centre stage in FIFA 17. It needs an upgrade – here are eight ways in which FIFA 18's career mode could be improved.

             

1. Additional leagues

Career Mode is already populated with a wide array of leagues from across the globe, but there's always room for more. The Chinese Super League is an obvious choice for the wish list, as are leagues such as Germany's 3 Bundesliga and the Indian Super League.

Additionally, FIFA 18 provides EA with an opportunity to include domestic women's football for the first time. It would be tough to implement without adding multiple leagues, but USA's National Women's Soccer League is just one of many worthy inclusions.

2. Online Career Mode

FIFA is always more fun with friends. It's great to play one-off games or Co-op Seasons with our mates, but Online Career Mode sounds even better. You could host virtual leagues with user-controlled teams, playing games and making transfers as you go.

In Player Career, you could potentially link up with other human players on one team, or two friends could play Manager Career co-operatively and share the highs and lows of a season together. The possibilities are endless.

3. Improved transfer system

Career Mode's transfer system in FIFA 17 offers plenty of room for improvement. CPU managers have a tendency to make bizarre decisions, and negotiations can leave you scratching your head in confusion.

It's also quite a basic system in some ways. Contract clauses are limited, lacking options such as sell-on fees and release clauses. Additionally, player exchange deals are restricted to players from your team alone. In general, greater complexity would serve Career Mode's transfer system well.

4. Detailed cutscenes

FIFA 17's The Journey features high-quality cutscenes that really immerse players in its narrative. We'd also love to see the Frostbite engine's potential utilised in Career Mode to bring memorable elements of a season to life.

Career Mode's press conferences are currently quite simplistic. In key situations, a diverse selection of interactive cutscenes would boost their appeal considerably. Important milestones such as cup draws and player awards could benefit highly from the cutscene treatment too.

5. Improved AI

The aforementioned transfer system often falls short due to a lack of AI intelligence. Smarter CPU logic would prevent teams from engaging in strange behaviours, such as buying multiple players to fill one position.

A lack of AI identity is also an issue. FIFA 17 plays a good game of football, but CPU encounters are fairly samey. Whether you're playing as Chelsea or Chesterfield, the tactical approach barely differs. More authentic CPU tactics would greatly enhance Career Mode's longevity.

6. Stadium upgrades

It would be great to see a Create-A-Stadium feature in FIFA 18's Career Mode. If that's not possible, we'd be more than willing to make do with stadium upgrades instead. Ideally, this would offer the ability to enhance your stadium's layout or even switch to a pre-made ground at a cost.

At present, it's bizarre to manage Newport County at the 9,821 capacity Town Park following promotion to the Premier League. It's an immersion killer, and is just one example that signifies the need for an upgrade feature.