Fifa 18: hands-on with the latest version of the football phenomenon

Alex Hunter is back for a second season in Electronic Arts' latest football sim, but on-pitch changes such as variable AI tactics are the key to longevity

"To some, Fifa is life." This may sound like hyberbole from the game's creative director Matt Prior, but he has a point. Electronic Arts' football series operates on a scale beyond the dreams of most video game developers. Last year's entry achieved sales of 1.1m in its first week - 300,000 more copies than Adele's 25, the fastest-selling album of all time.

For a sizeable number of those 1 million Fifa 17 customers, a big attraction of the game was The Journey, a Mass-Effect-style story mode with branching elements, putting you into the boots of a young pro, Alex Hunter, looking to make it in the Premier League. Unlike anything previously attempted by any football title, it was also successful - Prior says 30 million people worldwide have played it. A follow-up felt inevitable, then, and sure enough one of Fifa 18's marquee features is Hunter's return.