Ta-da! FIFA 16 gets four stars. You already know that since those stars are right there, just above, and the first thing you looked at when you opened this page up. But what kind of stars are they? An enthusiastic ‘FIFA is better than ever and only narrowly misses out on a perfect score’ stars? A lethargic ‘well, it hasn’t changed much, but I can’t take any stars away because it’s still pretty good’ stars? What has changed however is my love for the game. Admittedly, over the last few years I’ve grown tired of FIFA. Since the launch and focus of the largely popular game mode, FIFA Ultimate Team, I’ve found myself playing less and less as the years have gone by. But why?

 

I know many of you will be thinking, “It’s because he’s not very good at PvP in FIFA” and my reply would be, you’re absolutely right. But that’s not why my love for the game has faded in the past. The main reason is because the PvP element of the game does not truly resemble how Football is actually played. It’s a warped, arcade version of the beautiful game and that does not sit right with me. The first thing you will notice when they jumped FIFA game is 16 km everything seems slower compared to last year. This decrease in speed, you can take the time to think about the next step, you need to think carefully about the game is not as tolerant as it was in the past. Stops injecting momentum in its tracks, to share with the defense through ball or long mazy is much more difficult to achieve, and rightly so.

 

In addition, a new pass aimed feature allows players to do, to help directly through the park. However, I believe that it is still too often a ping-pong passing game, an issue that has resurfaced in recent years. This has the advantage of stretching play quicker, or catching defenders unaware. The drawback is that it’s much easier to miscontrol, the ball bobbling off unprepared feet. The key to unlocking defences and keeping possession is to mix up your passing game to pull teams out of shape. Manage to get through and the shooting is exceptional, given real fizz and physicality. Smacking one into the back of the net has rarely been so gratifying.

 

A few hours later it was revealed that voters in France had selected Antoine Griezmann of Atlético Madrid as their cover co-star. The French forward had a prolific season for Madrid in his first season during 2014/15, following five successful years with Real Sociedad and was called up to the full international team in 2014. On the 9th July we found out that Marco Fabián of Club Deportivo Guadalajara will be on the FIFA 16 cover in Mexico. The goal scoring midfielder has spent most of his career with Chivas and is now a full Mexican international, having earlier helped his country towards a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics with the under-23 team.

 

For those unaware, this will be available in the middle of January as EA always stick to the same pattern. As for the FIFA 16 TOTY predictions this year, these can be guessed easily by the community as EA will largely base them on the real life FIFPro World XI team as well as the Ballon D’Or nominees. Since the Ballon D’Or shortlist and the final three have already been revealed to between Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar - it is guaranteed that these three players will automatically be in the TOTY.

 

EA hopes that FUT Draft will not only give players more rewards for winning, but helps players squad building ability. “Coming to FIFA 16 is FUT Draft, a brand new way to play FIFA Ultimate Team. This new mode will test your team building skills as you pick the best fit for each position from a five-player draw. Draft a squad and challenge opponents in a series of up to four matches to win big rewards for your club,” says EA. Change is good, and it has only been a month since the game has been released and the fact that it’s harder should not discourage anyone from playing it. Although critics have said that it’s a downgrade from previous years, haters will hate, and a video game can always be improved.