For years, FIFA has been crying out for a single player game mode with a bit of purpose to it.
Formulaic career modes offering no reward for season after season of grinding out results, ultimately running until you just got fed up of playing, were turning people away from the offline aspect of the game.
That's why I was so glad to see EA Sports introduce 'The Journey' this past weekend at E3. The trailer was crisp, and definitely piqued my interest as I saw what FIFA had been crying out for being teased in front of my eyes. A story, meaning, purpose.
Fantastic.
The use of the Frostbite engine with FIFA 17 means a lot of new things are possible, and the fact that we're going from boring career modes to playing out a young footballer's life and making crucial decisions along the way shows just how much change this year's release could ghve.
But I just mentioned a rather big problem that I became worried about after watching the trailer; "playing out a young footballer's life."
On first viewing I thought that 'Alex Hunter' was just a random template used to show how you can make yourself a superstar, and I was eagerly awaiting seeing a digital version of myself tell Jose Mourinho that I didn't need to warm up before going on as a sub, but it turns out that Alex Hunter isn't just a random bloke. He's the character I'll be playing.
You will control Alex Hunter, and the first thing that we learn about the man who's ridiculously dull English football nickname will presumably be 'Hunto' or 'Hunty', is that he has signed for Manchester United.
My first thought after learning that this game mode would not feature created players was that everyone would have to play with Manchester United, and despite being totally fine with that myself, I knew that this would simply be unacceptable for millions of others.
And sure enough, you can pick which Premier League club you wish to sign for. The story mode is limited only to the Premier League for the moment, but at least you've a choice.
Then I noticed something that made me quite worried...
Oh God.
I'm not going to have to play as England, am I?
...
I am.
Nationalities are not something that can be changed, so I'm going to have to live out Alex Hunter's dream of playing for England.
I have absolutely no interest in doing that.
I'm not someone who feels any sort of hatred towards English people or indeed the country, but I do not wish any success upon their national football team, and certainly would not take any joy from achieving success with the digital version of their football team.
It may sound like moaning, but I feel that many Irish gamers would be bitterly disappointed to learn that after breaking through at their chosen club side, a call from Roy Hodgson cannot be turned down in favour of a chat with Martin O'Neill, or any other international manager.
I'd even give it a go if it was Team USA Men's National Soccer Team, or Brazil or something, but I have absolutely no desire to see three lions emblazoned on my chest as I progress through the game, and I believe I will enjoy the game mode significantly less should I do so.
Why not let us pick our nationality? It's it because Alex Hunter has a cockney accent? Because, last time I checked, that certainly does not rule you out of playing for Ireland.
It may seem petty, but if they are insisting that you play international football during this story mode then it will be for a reason, and World Cups make for very dramatic stories. I don't want the virtual player I'm controlling to win a World Cup for England. You may say "it's only a game", but that's the entire point! This is a game! I should be able to control who I play for in a sports game.
Also, it may seem rich coming from someone who supports an English Premier League side week in, week out, but my Irishness is not something that can be questioned, and it is that same Irishness that makes me cringe at the idea of Martin Tyler singing my praises as I bang in goals in an England shirt. I can't see the idea going down too well in Scotland either, by the way.
If this was a standalone game, a game where the whole idea is to be England's next star, I wouldn't be arsed. But this is FIFA 17, a game I am extremely optimistic for despite having played FIFA 16 less than any other FIFA game since I started playing the series in 1998. I feel like I'll be missing out on the enjoyment of the main talking point of the new game, for something I believe was easily avoidable, and I feel that many Irish gamers will feel the same.
There's a player called Mike Havenaar who plays for Japan for fecks sake, why can't I pick what country Alex Hunter is from, or even that his parents are from so that I can take my country to success?
Then again, maybe I'll just play through it and score an own goal in the World Cup final for the craic.
