WHAT VIDEOGAMES ARE YOU PLAYING RIGHT NOW?

Although the core footballing gameplay is basically the same (barring the tweaks that EA make to the FIFA engine year-on-year), some neat character-building features have been added (such as a very RPG-esque skill-tree), and the addition of more focused in-game objectives (based on certain storyline choices, or how a given game is panning out) gives you more to do than just win. You also get the opportunity to control other characters who are part of the story and, since these characters have different strengths and weaknesses compared to the main character, it's a nice way of forcing players to be a bit more versatile.

As for the storyline, the problem I have is best explained by comparing the two instalments. In the first instalment, major storyline decisions were outside the control of your character, which fed well into the triumph-over-adversity vibe that the developers were going for. The decisions that you could make (like the dialogue options seen in the video above) largely fed back into the gameplay rather than the story; a good example being that acting too cocky would give a bad impression to your manager and teammates (making it harder to stay in the team) but would make your character more famous on social media (thus increasing their earnings etc.)

The second instalment tries to achieve the same triumph-over-adversity vibe, but the main decision that creates said adversity is wholly within the control of your character without you being given any say in the matter. Triumphing over adversity doesn't work so well when it's your own idiocy that creates said adversity, and even less so when the game tries to sell you on the idea that your decisions are going to be more important to the storyline without letting you stop said idiocy! Admittedly, the game does a lot better with the storyline after the first couple of chapters, but it's pretty painful initally.

..have done a good job at making me question at least one thing or another. The first made me think that I'd gotten the wrong person at times (even though I guessed straight out who and how they'd done the kill).
The second case I had no idea who the culprit was (I only guessed by luck and had a hell of a time trying to prove it was them because I didn't know how the game expected you to parse together it was that person). I had a general idea of how it was done based on the clues and it slotted together fine, but yeah, hard time with the killer.
The third case I kinda guessed who the culprit was...kinda... and the pieces slotted together fine.

It was at this point that I realised all the characters I'd made friends with were the killers. Don't think that gives anything away - like I said, I like all the characters. I wanna make friends with all of them. I just so happened to pick to go after the ones at the time who ended up killing someone, so it was a bit like "Oh, friend!... oh, killer. Damn. Ah! NEW FRIEND! ...fuck. Fine. NEWEST FRIEND!!! GODAMMNIT!"

Now I'm kinda scared to make friends with anyone in case they get killed off. >.<;