With an emphasis on realism and authenticity, FIFA 16 also subscribes to a clear footballing philosophy, and the result is a much more balanced, deliberate game that arguably loses a little bit of magic. FIFA 16 undoubtedly addresses some of the issues of past games that emphasised either speed or power at the expense of the other. These attributes are still as important as ever, and it's more than possible to power through defences with the likes of Christian Benteke, or make a dash down the wing using no touch dribbling with Gareth Bale - it's just no longer weighted to one or the other.
And so that is everything, in terms of its gameplay pillars, which no doubt is the area on which I place the most importance when judging FIFA. But FIFA’s success during the last few years has been as much to do with the collecting and trading compulsions of Ultimate Team as it’s been about actual (pretend) football. So the arrival of Draft mode, a significant addition to Ultimate Team, is also worth a good look.
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There has been a mixed response regarding the changes that EA Sports have made to the passing side of the game, as the consistency of last year's title has seemingly long been forgotten. While playing FIFA 15 players would arguably be allowed to play free-flowing, passing football, regardless of the quality of the team in question. For example, teams that are famous for their dazzling football such as Barcelona could be played off the park by literally anybody, simply put, it was a level playing field.
Now I feel like it’s far more evenly matched. Defenders are now much more agile when tracking an opponent, being able to turn as quickly as the attacker, providing you with more time to pick the right moment to make a tackle. You’re still vulnerable to through balls but that will always be the case no matter how fast your CB’s are. That’s another point I’ll make. Last year most FUT players picked CB’s that had decent pace. This year, whilst still a good attribute to have in a CB, standing/sliding tackles and interception stats will be even more crucial. This brings me to new mechanic number two…
Now all that remains is to wait for the final version of the game, not only to see the final alterations that EA Sports has implemented (the demo is always an older version of game), but also see how the game will grow on us over time. This would not be the first FIFA to require a lengthy period of adjustment to before becoming a high-quality experience, so let's see if that's the case with FIFA 16.
The one big addition to the game is the introduction of 12 National Women’s teams that can be played both Offline and Online, giving more options and potentially opening the field to become more attractive for the Female sports fan to jump in and play with players they may follow more closely than the Male league. It’s about time we had this option in FIFA, as the sport seems to be attracting more female fans and players worldwide than ever before.
Overall, FIFA 16 is now faster, more balanced, more accurate and therefore harder than ever before, making for a more enjoyable game.
