Like the best professionals, FIFA 16 responds to an unexpected challenge with disciplined play driven by the knowledge of what it takes to win. Having slammed the door on its competition for much of the preceding console generation, EA Sports' FIFA was blindsided last year by the soccer video game equivalent of an equalizer goal. Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 delivered stronger gameplay than FIFA 15, a withering success against a franchise that prides itself on technical brilliance.
It's hard to know why I, and millions of other football fans across the world, get so excited about the release of a new game that is, let's face it, basically the same thing year on year. But we do and FIFA is back with it's usual raft of tweaks designed to keep the game moving forward as well as the usual staple of fan favorites. Gradual improvement has been replaced by a huge leap forward and advanced face-mapping technology really bares fruit in the 2016 version of the franchise.
The drawback for FIFA in downplaying physical attributes and offering the player more control in certain areas is that it's more obvious when the game makes any artificial intervention. Defenders are definitely given some unnatural help, firstly in matching attackers regardless of individual skills but more potently when dealing with crosses. Balls whipped in end up on a defender's bonce suspiciously more often than not, and if the supernaturally unflappable goalkeepers leave their line you can forget it. They won't miss.
I've seen their 'punch from the penalty spot' animation more times than I care to mention. You want to score from the wings? Zip it along the ground. He’s not indispensable, but Sunderland have enough headaches without having to replace a star. You’ve already got Defoe, Fabio Borini, and Ola Toivonen if needed, making Fletcher disposable. Sunderland won’t be winning the league anytime soon if you’re putting the difficulty up to a good level. And for that reason, cup games become all the more important.
Winning a cup with Sunderland would not only etch your name into the hearts of the virtual fans, but it’ll give you a nice cash and reputation boost. That man is Lazio’s Felipe Anderson. The Brazilian box-to-box midfielder will give your team a evident boost that you wouldn’t get from Michael Carrick or Andre Herrera. His FUT rating of 79 will grow as he is only 21 years old and he is available for around ￡13 million. If you sell Michael Carrick then you can make a quarter of that money back anyway.
With the training in mind, yes you do have the freedom to pick and choose the players you want to grow which is great. However knowing that there is a player that will grow to a really high rating, and knowing the player you want to see grow, will never be as high of a rating as the other player that is destined no matter what to have a high rating, makes you think, “what if I put the higher player growth potential player in the training slots instead?”
It’s knowing that you are missing out by not putting the scripted player growth player but knowing that if you did, it wouldn’t feel realistic to you. That is a problem to me. But we do and FIFA is back with it's usual raft of tweaks designed to keep the game moving forward as well as the usual staple of fan favorites. The star players do genuinely look like their real-life counterparts now and are, frankly, a work of art. The hugely popular - and massively lucrative - Ultimate Team has had a few tweaks but it is still guaranteed to deliver plenty of controller-slamming moments.
