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FIFA 17 moves to the Frostbite engine this year, the same tech as seen in Battlefield One and the upcoming Mass Effect. It's a departure from the Ignite engine used between FIFA 14 and 16 - introduced to show off the capabilities of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One - and allows for a big improvement in the series' lighting and atmospheric effects. We pit the two engines against each other here to see exact extent of the change, and if this is the series visual overhaul we've been waiting for.The setup is simple enough. We use one gamepad to control two games simultaneously in real-time: one machine running FIFA 16 with Ignite, and on the other it's the FIFA 17 demo with Frostbite. Of course we can expect tweaks between this demo and the final version, but as a sign of the improvements this engine brings, our 'dual-wield' control method shines a light on the areas given the most work. However, the fact the core gameplay, camera, menu systems and animations are matched so closely using the same input is clear a sign there's still a lot in common between the two games. Despite the engine switch, it's amazing how similar FIFA 17 is to its predecessor in terms of control mechanics - though this thankfully makes a comparison like this possible.
Side-by-side, we can see places like Stamford Bridge and Centurylink Field (the two stadia available in this taster) have a few light changes in geometry and materials. New fences are added, support structures now line the roofing, and glass materials are swapped in to allow sun to shine through certain stands. Don't expect a colossal overhaul here; the revised grounds were a bullet-point feature of last year's game, but they do transfer over to the Frostbite engine with a few small embellishments in FIFA 17.
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