The FIFA series has fallen victim to what I like to call "crabbing" over the last few years. This is where an obvious exploit - such as the over-emphasis on pace or through balls - is fixed, but in the transition, an old annoyance is carved open like the Sunderland defence. Sideways “progression,” also known as the Tom Cleverley effect, hasn’t been helped by the re-emergence of the Pro Evolution Soccer series, which has benefited massively from Konami opening London-based studio PES Productions in 2012.

 

However, I was so incredibly mistaken. FUT 16 is easily the disappointment of the year for me, and it's really sad that EA has turned the best football game on mobile into this shell of a game whose emphasis is either messing around convoluted menus or playing a football game that lacks even those basic features that have been a staple of the FIFA franchise and football games in general for so many years. While FIFA 15 had started the shift from a football game to a menu peruser, in FIFA 16 UT EA has really transformed the franchise into a disappointing mess with no clear direction unless you count milking the football-loving cows. Thanks, EA.

 

If you were paying attention to the display image in this article, you may have noticed something that is unfortunately almost unheard of in the world of sports gaming. Yes, that is a woman (gasp!). And not just any woman, that is the supremely talented Alex Morgan who helped lead the U.S. Women’s National Team to a World Cup victory earlier this year. With the exception of my girl Ronda Rousey (I call her ‘my girl’, but there’s a decent chance she would see it differently) and the rest of the UFC female bantamweights in EA’s UFC game, we really haven’t seen any kind of female presence in sports games.

 

While casual players will always accuse each new FIFA game of just updating the database, those of us who play it religiously notice the subtle differences. This year’s are perhaps more subtle than usual but this general tune-up does the job it’s meant to. It sometimes makes playing FIFA more frustrating, but as a result it’s more rewarding when things click and you pull off a neat passing move to scythe through an opposition’s back four.

 

I was struck first by the appearance of the simulation. Animations are smooth and largely realistic, and the surrounding stadium and fans aren’t bad either; at a very quick glance I could mistake it for a real football match. In an era dominated by hyper realistic graphics, FIFA 16 doesn’t shine, but nor does it really need to. The precision that the game demands is incredibly fine, but this only serves to make the game more rewarding; slipping your striker through on goal is a good feeling, but when the computer doesn’t help you, it’s a great one.

 

In terms of the gameplay improvements compared to its predecessor (FIFA 15), EA Sports FIFA 16 is outstanding and this is the reason why many believe FIFA is far better than PES. The gameplay is simply much better and enjoyable. There has been a new type of pass called the driven pass which will execute a normal pass with a bit more speed on it. Defending in general also has been majorly improved with the defensive AI now defending as a unit and covering for one another making it extremely difficult to break down defences.

 

And yet, undoubtedly, FIFA 16 will dominate the sports game charts as it has done so successfully for so long - the brand alone will ensure of that. This is a great game for delivering a quick fix of football action wrapped up in the sharpest of visuals and the flashiest of presentations. But releasing a game as safe and as conservative as FIFA 16 while rival PES continues to push the boundaries and diversity of play means that, for the first time in a long time, FIFA isn’t the best football game out there.