Somebody at EA is a very rich man thanks to their genius idea to combine the addictive nature of trading cards with everybody's favourite sports game. Since that first idea Fifa's Ultimate Team has gone from strength to strength since first being introduced as an add-on in Fifa 09 (a similar mode was used in EA's Champions League spin-off in 2007) and has made EA a ton of money thanks to its in-game micro-transactions that allow players to buy card packs with real-life money. Ultimate Team is arguably the 'main' mode of Fifa 14 now its prominent placement on the home screen shows us that, and how much faith EA Sports has in the mode. It's undeniably popular too, with thousands of players online at any time, and thankfully, the in-game economy is also impressive as millions of transactions are made on the transfer market every day. It's a mode that's always in need of improvement though. Fifa as a series is always criticised for its in-game gameplay, but there are a bunch of improvements that could be made specifically to Ultimate Team to improve the experience. Here's a list of twenty additions or changes that would please Fifa players and establish Ultimate Team as the best mode in Fifa.
20. Practice Mode
There's a lot to play around with on Ultimate Team with a variety of formations, players and squads to build, but there's no infrastructure that encourages variation. Ever wondered how a 3-5-2 might suit your team but without the risk of adding a loss to your precious record? The only way to see how it might work is to launch into it unprepared. A practice mode could solve that problem, especially if you could invite a friend for a true friendly no loss of contracts, no record of the result, just a way to improve yourself and try something different. Similar modes have been successfully implemented in fighting games recently (Fifa itself now has a Training Mode for various practices) and whilst Fifa may not be as technically difficult as a fighting game, there's clearly potential for a mode like this to be implemented.
I have an addiction to achievements, a craving for new bands and a dream to become Captain America. I once finished second in a Mario Kart 7 tournament so I'm kind of a big deal.
