In real football, when a stopper strays from his line, hearts enter mouths because of the possibility, no matter how slight, that they'll misjudge the flight and present the attacker with an open goal. However, FIFA keepers never screw up, even when the striker makes the better run. Now, as soon as you see the keeper leave his line on a cross, there's no point even trying. It's boring. This sense of disappointing inevitability is also true in one-on-one tussles. Speed and strength are the two biggest physical components in football, and FIFA fails to get them right again, making core encounters redundant. In career mode, as Manchester United, my strike force consisted of Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku and Antoine Griezmann. The little and large combo, I hoped, would serve well for all defences.
However, it wasn't long before I realised that no matter the opponent, any and all were capable of outmuscling and outpacing my entire frontline. Nathaniel Clyne barged Lukaku off the ball with ease, while Leyton Orient's backline easily kept pace with Griezmann and Depay in a Capital One Cup tie. This shouldn't happen. It takes any strategy out of the game. All substitutions are made for fitness reasons, nothing more. Last year, we complained about defenders not being as agile as they could be in their movements and also not acting as a more cohesive unit to track attacking runs. Apparently EA has taken that feedback to heart and both the defensive AI and players' agility, particularly their side-to-side movements, is much more lifelike. The game now includes much overdue tackling controls for new mechanics, with the ability to fake a tackle as well. Defending players don't have to commit to a tackle as much as they used to.
People always focus (rightly) on the gameplay, but as with any recreation of sport, it’s about atmosphere and believability too. FIFA 16’s vast array of stadia, licensed leagues and players gives it that in abundance, and it always has. This year however we finally have a gameplay landscape more fit to grace these lavishly recreated football environments. Not a perfect one by any means, but a welcome shift from FIFA 15’s chaotic approach to defending and attacking at least. The other big gameplay addition is a new variant to the very popular Ultimate Team mode. While EA’s team building game, which is filled with micro-transactions, has never been up my alley, it’s a big selling point for a lot of fans. They’ll be glad to know that the mode is still largely the same in FIFA 16. But for those who have never found buying virtual packs of cards to be fun might enjoy the new Online Draft mode.
For a beta version, it’s a very promising start by FIFA 16. Its new features are welcome additions, EA has set about fixing past issues, and the game feels a lot more balanced than in previous game. Unfortunately, one of the main problems is that player movements can feel clunky at times. Obviously you can’t expect players to pull off full-speed U-turns on the pitch, but sometimes their movements feel a little laboured. That being said, I must stress again that this is the beta version, and every new FIFA comes with a settling-in period as users adjust to the new style. Slowing the tempo and boosting the midfield battles will naturally result in a more steady game, and maybe that will take a little while longer to click.
FIFA has abandoned some of the fast, furious, end-to-end play of FIFA 15 in favour of a tighter, more believable defensive game, but if that saps out a little of the fun, there’s compensation in the improved Career game mode and the more accessible Ultimate Team Draft mode. In fact, FIFA’s problem isn’t that it doesn’t play a great game of football, but that this particular version might not be great enough. With Pro Evo looking incredibly strong this year, the more conservative, authenticity-focused FIFA seems a little less exciting than it is.
FIFA 16 is undoubtedly an impressive beast of a game that's stuffed with official leagues and licenses, game modes and little touches that add flavor to the match day experience. It's a slightly undercooked offering, featuring only 12 international teams and one unofficial tournament, but after a summer of cheering on England's Lionesses, it's great to see EA Sports shine a light on these stars as they become household names. Hopefully the developers will begin to add more leagues and official licenses as the years go on.
