FIFA again has the advantage when it comes to content, while PES looks a touch bare-bones. Most of this is down to the fact that Konami simply can’t compete with EA’s hold on licenses, and its vast array of real clubs and accurate squads. Sure, PES can try to compete with the UEFA Champions League, but without updated transfers in the game or real club names for the majority of teams it is a situation that is hard to beat. PES 16 also tries to compete with MyClub, an alternative to FIFA’s Ultimate Team, but in comparison there just isn’t enough of a draw. In MyClub you don’t open packs or scour the transfer market for players. Instead you use in-game points to acquire a scout and then send them off to search. This search consists of going to a screen where different coloured footballs rotate, and you press a button for the rotation to slow to a halt.
The ball then bursts to reveal the player your club has acquired, who you can then put into your squad or use as a trainer to improve another player before leaving the squad. As ever, there’s a number of tweaks to the gameplay introduced with this latest instalment. Dribbling, crossing and defending all get minor makeovers, but a more helpful element for players new to the series is the ability to tap the right control stick during play, to bring up a context-sensitive overlay. The game then displays what the most useful button presses available to you at any given moment would do. If you’re the sort of casual gamer who, whenever they’re faced with FIFA, ends up passing rather than shooting with frustrating regularity, you’ll find this an absolute god-send.
In FIFA 16, EA has taken this to the next level with FUT Draft. FUT Draft is for those of us who want to play a customized version of FIFA but do not have the time or inclination to build a team over a period of months. It's also the perfect addition for a party game. Sit down, choose a formation, captain and squad players from five randomly chosen cards in each position and get on with the match. There is a certain element of luck to this based on the random draw, but it does allow players to experience FUT without having to commit months of hard work like the top players do. This is a smart addition to the game and a natural extension of the FUT concept.
Don’t get me wrong, pace and power are still as important as any other attribute to attacking players, but timing is now critical in using them correctly. With these changes a more tactical game emerges. You need to pass possession among your midfielders and full-backs until a defensive gap offers a through-ball opportunity or a space open up to make a sudden run into the box. As you play it in and out of midfield, gaps also open up on the wings as out of position players allow you to make all important crosses into the box. Graphically FIFA 16 shines but it definitely needs a new engine to cope with what EA is trying to do with the series. Commentary is excellent and the atmosphere in the stadiums is very impressive with over 900 individual team chants.
FIFA 16 has done pretty much everything right. An extraordinary amount of minor innovations and improvements have made it into this year’s installment, including a totally overhauled FUT Draft system, a coach that teaches new players how to tie their shoes, new tricks, and new animations. They’ve also done a great job improving the defensive behavior of AI-controlled players on both sides of the ball. The 12 women’s national teams are extremely well done, and so far they’re unique among soccer video games.
Graphics and sound are playing at the highest levels, and combining these with the official licenses, EA has managed to create an experience that is absolutely authentic. However, there isn't much daylight between FIFA 16 and its main competitor PES 2016 this year, and players are going to have to decide which one they want to buy based more on personal taste than hard facts. But if you’ve been loyal to the FIFA series all these years, you simply cannot go wrong renewing its contract for one more year – and you’ll get lots of cool new features to boot. (Tim-Oliver Siegwart)
