Last year, I reviewed FIFA 15 and I felt that the series was deteriorating into a ping-pong, pacey spam-fest. The passing was too easy. The speed was way over the top. And speaking of over the top, the now infamous L1+Triangle was an absolute nightmare which the FIFA on-line community exploited to the nth degree. I am happy to report that EA Sports has actually worked on these matters, somewhat. In terms of game play, the passing is a marked improvement of FIFA 15’s attempt. Passing now requires more thought.
Undoubtedly FIFA’s most popular mode, FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT), returns with the same level of addictive managerial elements and tough chemistry factors. This is a mode that becomes increasingly rewarding the longer you play, and it rarely (if at all) holds your hand in the early stages. I have always thought that the UI could be cleaned up a bit to simplify a lot of those team and transfer managing elements, but after a few hours you should be breezing through the menus without any major issues.
As always, FIFA continues to lead the way in presentation and authenticity. Lots of new players have had their likenesses scanned into the game. Like Premiere League last year, this time around the German Bundesliga gets a presentation face lift, with TV-like effects. There's also more new stadiums, time of day choices, cutscenes, replay angles, and other visual tweaks that take the game ever closer to true TV broadcast style. There are even new weather effect nuances, such as rain and showers, fog, and so on. Small details are also neat, like referees using vanishing spray for set pieces. As always, the selection on the official soundtrack is mostly excellent.
Commentary remains strong, with additional lines such as formation comparisons, and on wider topics like transfers, player performances, and so on. What I love about the mode is that it’s both intimidating and engaging, and the rewarding elements that land you important consumables and big-name players helps make it FIFA 16’s best game mode. It also requires more patience. Gone are the days of blindly pressing X until your heart’s content (unless you have always played manually).
Commentary is good on the most part, the dialog is definitely there and on the most part is accurate too, for example when the keeper makes a good save, it is a good save, unlike football games of the past that would scream what a great save when the keeper has simply caught the ball. The sheer amount of dialog and detail the commentators go into is fantastic. Commentary is from the fairly dull and monotone Martin Tyler and fairly irritating Alan Smith, but they are trying to replicate sky sports with some of the presentation so I understand why they are the chosen commentators.
Obviously comparisons will be made between FIFA 16 and PES 16, In my brief experience with PES the gameplay felt more complex than FIFA but the game also feels like it is missing a lot of the experiences that FIFA can offer. While previously FIFA won out every time due to the far superior licensing and gameplay I think it’s fair to now say that the comparison is much closer.
I prefer the FIFA experience due to the additions of extra modes, licensed deals and the overall experience. Whether it is superior when it comes to gameplay will continue to be argued by fans from either side. However what is quite clear is that FIFA 16 is the better game for newcomers with a built in, extensive training mode and a plethora of options to make the game easier with a range of passing and shooting assistance options.
