Though FIFA Ultimate Team kindly gives you a Gold level player from your favorite club to start out, the rest of your initial lineup isn’t going to be so hot. You’re going to need better footballers, and unlike Real Madrid, you can’t just buy anyone you want. There isn’t really a need to spend much time going over the controls in FIFA 16 Ultimate Team, because they’re pretty self-explanatory. The thumbstick moves your selected player, while buttons on the other side of the screen are context-sensitive and clearly labeled as to what they do under the current circumstances.

 

So you need to buy players with strong connections with team mates. In other words, you need to try to match their real-life nationality, league and club. A good relationship with the manager, loyalty and playing in the right position also helps the players performance. Each pack contains a variation of stats boosts, techniques and potentially a signature move from a UFC fighter, the last of which is as close to mimicking the company's real-world athletes as you'll get. Applying such items to your combatant shapes their strengths, weaknesses and overall arsenal.

 

As it happens in the real life, money is crucial to build something. Part of the FUT 16 fun is to know how to make profit in the market. The more coins (FUT currency) you have, the bigger will your dreams are. Use the Player Exchange and hope for the best. New for this season is the Player Exchange, where you can trade in unwanted players or items for random rewards. It’s an interesting system if you’re inclined to be a gambler, because when you select the players you want to exchange, you’ll be given a range of possible rewards, which could lead to you ending up with something worse than you were hoping or better than the best individual player you give up.

 

For a goalie, there are different stats. Diving, handling, kicking, reflexes, speed and positioning are your reference points. Arguably, diving, positioning and reflexes are the most important, here. Kicking is stupidly unimportant for a goalie, for the most part – find a goalie who specializes in the important stuff. Consider a gamepad if you’ve got one. FIFA 16 Ultimate Team is a lot more fun when you dont have to use the virtual stick, as it’s simply easier to be more precise with your movements, shots and passes with physical controls. And again, you can still use the tap and swipe controls in situations where they’re more suitable, so there’s really no downside. 

 

However, who are new to FUT. Not necessarily new to FIFA, of course. Perhaps you’re a veteran mates-on-the-sofa type of player; one that’s quietly battled against a select group of friends; winning trophies, promotion and acclaim from the sidelines, but is now eager to try something different, deeper and potentially more satisfying. The good news is that in terms of the proverbial match day experience, Ultimate Team doesn’t differ too much from whatever FIFA mode you know and love, save for one fundamental distinction.

 

Quick Simulation is great for saving time and fitness, but that’s about it. It’s unquestionably shorter to play matches via Quick Simulation, and you can use the Effort slider to save wear and tear on your best players. But I guarantee you’ll lose some matches to inferior opposition this way too. Fine tune your team even further by optimizing the stats per position. Strikers, for example, should have a high shooting rating, while defenders should have (obviously) a high defense rating.