EA has nearly always done a great job with its biggest sports game of the EA Sports stable, and before you tell me all about Madden in the comments, check the numbers – FIFA is the biggest sports franchise played worldwide. FIFA 16 is not a massive revolutionary step in the series, the subtle changes in this year’s game won’t be super apparent or blow you away right from the start. What you will notice after playing a while, FIFA 16 is the next step in the franchise’s refinement process. THE ability to reconcile an authentic game of football with an entertaining package has been the forte of EA’s prestigious footballing franchise in recent years. Once an isometric, arcade-style game, it has evolved into a critical and commercial behemoth that plays a fine approximation of the beautiful game.
With every annual update bringing the subtlest shifts, the 2016 offering opts for a move towards greater realism and midfield attrition. What little that has changed revolves around subtly tinkered with passing on the ground. Previously, the FIFA community would complain that zipping the ball about a packed midfield was like a giant game of human pinball being played out between 22 millionaires. Now, though, stroking the ball even 10 yards between midfielders can feel downright glacial, with passes demonstrably slower than they were last year. It's not necessarily a bad thing—it certainly gives FIFA 16 a more realistic tempo—but given the fact many matches against the CPU are already unspectacular, low-scoring affairs, it leaves you with an experience that feels diligent, thoughtful, yet ultimately a little—whisper it—boring.
Running out as Dagenham, AFC Wimbledon or Leyton Orient, complete with kits and full squads, continues to be a real selling point although if you thought Alexis Sanchez felt slow wait till you try and speed past players as Dean Cox… Adding the women’s game is a worthwhile touch too. FIFA haven’t created squads of Andriy Voronin lookalikes but instead have made sure the female sides play in a completely different way and they’ve got it spot on. (Before you ask, no you can’t play against the male sides) If you’ve watched women’s football before, and I have for about three years, you’ll know it isn’t so much based on strength, nor speed; it’s about the core elements that make football great. Passing, movement, and playing for love, rather than money, which has tainted the male version of the sport. With the women’s offering in FIFA 16, EA has created an even more realistic simulation, and one which can be more satisfying than the men’s, duplicating player attributes, team strengths, and the ‘feel’ of the football more closely than anything FIFA has done before.
Switching the play is something that I found useful, and no longer are players consigned to floating balls from one side of the pitch to the other, which would traditionally give opposition midfielders time to make an interception. There are, of course, times when this increased authenticity benefits the FIFA 16 experience, particularly in the career mode, where managers can set training drills, scout players and even mouth off at rivals during press conferences. Using virtual buttons to pass, tackle and shoot and a movable virtual thumbstick, play ultimately feels a little loose, and though it's possible to piece together free-flowing moves that open up your rival's defence, successful moves usually feel the result of the game giving you a helping hand to achieve your vision rather than you somehow cracking a stubborn opposition. Pass it around long enough and you'll often find your rival's defence parts in the middle to let you through, or simply doesn't tackle as you make a run.
Continuous change has been supplanted by a colossal jump forward and propelled face-mapping innovation truly exposes natural product in the 2016 rendition of the establishment. Last year’s big gameplay feature was the ability to use either virtual controls or gestures to control your team, but this time around, the thumbstick and buttons get top billing. They’re not bad, though early feedback from players suggests that many people aren’t fans of the tap and slide button used to control side tackles.
