Although there is a marked improvement on FIFA 16 goalkeepers, they aren’t perfect, and for the sake of realism, nor should they be. Heading the ball is a lot more challenging. Defenders are stronger than before and even if you make connection with your head to the ball, it won’t bullet into the top corner on the first time of asking. You really have to battle to get any chance of heading the ball. The new features don’t end there but is it enough to warrant a purchase? Having played FIFA 15 quite recently, I noticed the passing has been improved and feels better than ever. Pressing RB (R1) + A (X) sends a pass with purpose and is particularly deadly within the six yard box. Also, if you’re tired of relying too heavily on the “through ball,” the normal pass seems to adapt to the situation and can even act like a through ball because that’s how the play is developing. While hardly box art bullet points, these small changes put more power in the hands of the player and you’ll find yourself blaming missed passes on the game less than last year.

 

Now, you'll lose because you can't break down the CPU's defence when you have the ball and in attempting to do so, you over-stretch your FIFA 16 play and leave gaps through which the opposition can punish you. This makes the game a far more cerebral challenge, especially when added to your opponent's new-found appreciation of tactical play. If the AI is behind in a cup match with 30 minutes to play, you can bet your bottom dollar that you won't be able to play a short goal kick without risking giving the ball away, since they'll be pressuring high up the park. If they're ahead and you've been threatening the goal, they'll slow things down and try to take the wind from your sails. Also, the challenge isn't identical in every single match, which it pretty much was before. A game against Werder Bremen felt like a game against Notts County, which felt like a game against Silkeborg. This time around, teams play to their strengths a little more, which mixes things up.

 

Shutting down a midfielder that's running your FIFA 16 team ragged might turn things on their head, or a speedy striker might need to be watched a bit more diligently. With no ability to outpace your opponent through balls are far less useful and at times are literally useless, a huge difference from 15. I constantly tried to carve open defences with eye of a needle passes from the world’s best playmakers to no avail. Thunder in a goal from distance and the way the ball hits the net coupled with the player celebrations, the crowd reaction and the commentary feels just right. Martin Tyler and Alan Smith are on the mics once again and you won’t be surprised to hear the look of the game, especially the menus and layout, is so slick and well oiled. 

 

While the various Consumables, which allow you to raise the morale and stamina of your team or heal injuries, are pretty cheap, they definitely are still all about paying to improve your team. And by the way, while the game has a Live Transfer Market (which can save you a bit of money and help you build a team more cheaply), you can only access it if you sign in with your Facebook account, a very peculiar but not surprising decision, especially in the light of the recent article we wrote about Facebook and F2P developers. If you aren't willing to let EA snoop around your Facebook account or you happen to not even have a Facebook account, you are out of luck and locked out of the only feature that will let you save some money. This is an obnoxious move, even by EA's standards (and that's saying something).

 

FIFA 16 Draft is a very welcome addition to the series, although one that many players will not reap the benefits of on a regular basis. This is largely down to the fact a Draft Token is priced at 15,000 in-game coins - a fee which requires a substantial amount of grinding in regular Ultimate Team. The alternative is for players to purchase a Draft Token through microtransactions (in this case, 300 FIFA Points - approximately ￡2.50). As for the graphics, I don't even know where to start. They have updated some players with minimal details (Gareth Bale), and the only player that has been updated to today’s standards is Lionel Messi. That doesn't take away the fact that players just look chubby in general, and some players don't even look anywhere near how they really look like in real life (Dries Mertens from Napoli, or again, Memphis Depay from Man United).