The Sports Desk – Hands-On With EA Sports' Titles At E3

Sunday was the beginning of Electronic Arts' EA Play E3 event, featuring their yearly press conference at the convention, as well as my first chance to go hands on with three upcoming sports titles from the company: Madden NFL 17, FIFA 17, and NHL 17. Head inside for my first impressions of these titles.

You can also read more about these games – including some trailers – in The Ticker section below.

Of course, EA Sports' games aren't the only ones at E3, so stay tuned for more sports coverage at gameinformer.com.

FIFA 17

• As part of an increased emphasis on physicality, the L-trigger is the catch-all button for jostling or anything physical. It works pretty well in that you get results like trying to back down defenders as a striker with your back to the box, or as a way to buy some time on the ball without feeling like you're just initiating drawn-out animations. It feels easy to do, but it doesn't break up the flow of the game. It apparently works on headers, but I didn't get a good feel for the L-trigger commands in that context.

• The ball still feels a little loose at players' feet at times, and I noticed a few weirdly explosive first touches or times when the ball would sort of moon ball out of play.

• Shooting feels better and more satisfying than it did in FIFA 16 (before it was tuned post-launch). The new low, driven shot is pretty good, too. This is done by shooting and then pressing the B button again.

• Calling in an extra defender is still more or less useless.

• It was hard to get a read on the effectiveness of the new finesse through ball. These are harder, longer through balls that can act similar to early crosses depending on where on the pitch you are. Perhaps there are certain times and places the finesse through ball will be really effective.

• FIFA 17 is promising more varied and smarter runs by teammates, but I didn't notice too much in my time with the game. I'll have to fool around with that more.

• There are also throw ins and goal kicks with purpose to match last year's faster passing with purpose.

• Placing corners now comes with a reticle that shows you where the ball roughly will be placed. This can be paired with last year's tactical commands as well (near post, crowd keeper, etc.). You can also float the ball in or drive it. Finally, you can move a player in the box. I had about five or six corners, but didn't get a good feel for it. The driven corner feels pretty good, though.

• You can move free kick takers around with the right analog (while moving the camera with the left), but I'm not sure how that changes the kick itself.

THE JOURNEY

• I played one of the earlier moments in the story, where Alex Hunter steps on the pitch for the first time as a member of Manchester United. Luckily you can pick your initial club, so you don't have to suit up for that particular club if you don't want to.

• There's a cutscene where Hunter arrives in the lockerroom for his first game, and quickly you're treated to a conversation option. The assistant coach comes in and names the starting eleven and the subs, and while Hunter's best friend Walker is chosen as a starter, Hunter's on the bench as a sub. Thus, you can choose what Hunter says to his friend (non-spoiler spoiler alert: he's a dink), whether it's a frienemy dig or heartfelt encouragement. I played the whole Journey demo twice, and either way your friend acts the same.

• Once the game starts, you see events unfold in a cutscene. It starts out with your friend opening the scoring, but later in the game the opponent equalizes. Then it's time for you to go in. It's a pretty cool scene, actually. Mourinho gives a nod to the assistant, who then walks over and taps you on the shoulder, telling you you're in. You start to warm up as the opposing fans start jeering at you quite loudly.

• When you're right about to go in, you see your objectives come up. Before you go in you can also choose if you want to play only as Hunter, a striker (on player lock) or as the entire team (like a normal FIFA game). If you play as Hunter only, there are times you have to watch the radar, since if your defenders have the ball, you'll be far enough up the pitch that you'll be off the screen. If you play as the entire team, you can of course hit the switch player button to control Hunter when appropriate.

• During the match, at breaks in the action, you'll get feedback from the manager.

NHL 17

• One of the improvements touted for this year is the play of the goalies, and you can tell right away. The reaction saves are pretty cool, as it was nice to see goalies try to throw a shoulder up to stop quick wristers to the corners. In general, they seem more agile and not so stiffly tied to a specific set of save animations.

• Goalies seemed to lose the puck more in their pads. This is kind of neat to see, since it happens in real life. I do wonder, however, if this will lead to some cheap goals, as I scored one somehow after the goalie thought he froze the puck.

• I'm also curious about how susceptible to dekes goalies will be. They would come out to the top of the crease to challenge danglers, and I scored a couple by going around them. And if I can do that, I can't imagine how those of you with soft hands are going to be lighting them up.

• I still don't like how defenders can drift out of place in the game.

• Contact down in front of the net is another point of emphasis, which I did notice when I had the puck at the point. I'll be curious how easy it will be to initiate contact in front of the net for EASHL players, and conversely, whether you can move players out of the way on defense.

MADDEN NFL 17

• I noticed the improved commentary right away. The way it flows between Brandon Gaudin's play-by-play into post-play and then into Charles Davis' analysis is nice and smooth. Gaudin and Davis have some good banter between them as well. I also like how players' names will be specifically called out during a play and not just after it. The commentary covers stats, contextual situations, formations, and diagnosing why plays worked and didn't pretty well.

• I played two games back to back in one particular session, and I swear I didn't hear any repeats!

• Offensive line play is a big emphasis, and I saw it working without feeling like it was easier to run or easier to stop it with the new defensive gap play. One cool sequence I saw was a play to the perimeter where the o-line zone blocked. You could see them shuffle and downblock as the back searched for the perimeter. Two defenders came to fill their gaps, with one of them ripping through an arm block from a full back and blowing up the runner.

• On another play I saw the force defender go low on his blocker. The defender's job was simply to occupy the blocker and make sure the back didn't get outside. The defender did his job perfectly, allowing his teammates to come and make the tackle.

• The linebackers seem to be more mobile in their zones. It's a little tough to tell exactly who was responsible for what exactly, but I will say this: As a QB I thought the windows were tighter. It's not that slant routes didn't work all of a sudden, I just had to think, process, and react quicker. The pre-play play art helps in that it tells you the areas the linebackers will cover and how. Madden designer Clint Oldenburg told me he thinks that through calling plays and looking at the play art, gamers should be able to anticipate where their defenders will be.

• One cool sequence I saw was a linebacker head track a receiver before he reached the linebackers' zone, and then follow that receiver as he passed through.

• The optional running assist icons can be a bit much. You don't really have time to do a spin move when it tells you to, for example. However, one assist I surprisingly found useful was the dotted line showing you where the running is facing. It can be helpful for those times when you think you're pointing the analog stick straight up, for instance, but it's really off to the side slightly.

• I saw an instance of an A.I. running back break off from this lead blocker to take the backside hole, which was cool.

• Some new, different drops, like a WR dropping a ball that's just a little too much out in front of him.

• In franchise, you choose your season objectives at the beginning (make playoffs, win Super Bowl, etc.). If you're a coach, and fail to make the objective it could get you fired. If you're a player it could make your ratings regress.

• The player development trait is dynamic, so if you do well during gameplay, it can go from normal to quick, for instance.

• Play the Moment: This is Madden's sim feature that lets you skip to pre-chosen moments in a game like when someone's in the red zone or a key third down. It uses the normal super sim engine, and now there's an big onscreen graphic (above) that shows you what's going on in a drive when you're not playing it, which keeps you involved. You can change the speed from slow, normal, and fast at any time.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Got a question about the sports games we’re playing at E3? Let me know in the comments section below or via email (kato@gameinformer.com), and perhaps I can give you the answers you’re seeking!

THE TICKER

FIFA 17 Unveils Its Story Mode – The Journey
I'm very excited for this mode. I'm skeptical how much you'll be able to steer Hunter's story, but the grey area there is that choice actually takes away from letting the writers tell the tale they want to, and in the end I'd rather have a good story. Can it be better than NBA 2K16's story mode? 2K developer Visual Concepts has a big head start, but I'm glad FIFA is making the effort.

Lots of Details About Madden 17's Franchise Mode
I wish the draft and free agency were overhauled this year, but I'm interested to see how the various tweaks make the mode feel.

Madden 17's New Approach To Commentary

Madden 17's New Presentation
Pylon cams (!), more emphasis on head coaches, and more

Madden On The Old-Gen Systems

NHL 17's Full Feature Set & New Screens

EA Sports Starts New eSports Events

New Trailer for GT Sport

Moto Racer 4 Brings The Series Back, Supports VR

Forza Horizon Debuts, Goes To Australia

Ubisoft Announces Extreme Sports Title Steep
I'm curious how much of a game, per se, is here. I bet the views are great, and the social/sharing tools look cool, but how long with the thrills last?