For gamers, Tuesday is a holiday. 'FIFA 16' was released, and productivity and sleep will be reduced for many for the foreseeable future. There are plenty of new features in 'FIFA 16,' so let's take a look at the top ones to keep an eye on when playing: For the first time ever, gamers can play as women's national teams. Available squads from the Women's World Cup are US, Germany, France, Sweden, England, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Spain, China, Italy and Mexico. I would like to see FIFA add a higher number of tactical options, but most gamers will be satisfied with the way the game encourages players to deal with some of the management elements associated with a club while also making it clear that actually playing the matches is where the fun is. FIFA 16 shifts the focus of the series from the attackers to the midfielders, making it harder than in previous installments to score goals, but offering a more realistic take on the real-world sport.
One of the many criticisms of FIFA has been that it always felt like attacking was the main focus, with little reason to keep possession across the back line or in the midfield. Getting it to your strikers was always the priority and usually the best tactic, but this year things are a little more balanced across the pitch. Keeping the ball moving across midfield, while trying to draw out the opponents is a tactic that has served me well. Once a defender moves out of position, a gap usually appears and a well-timed through-ball (on the ground through-balls seem to be the way to go this year) or use of the new passing with purpose modifier that puts some serious pace on a pass to get it there quickly can often lead you through on goal.
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If you happen to be losing against the AI close to the 75 minutes mark, the other team will "park the bus", effectively blocking the path to the goal. Worse even, it will switch the ball with uncanny accuracy and, when it gets the chance, it will run up field into the opposite corner and sit there trying to keep the ball away from you. This obviously happens in real football, and we see these tactics every weekend, but it results in a very frustrating experience for the player. Continuing this line of thought, what will come next, faked injuries and long stops for medical assistance when players have phantom cramp? Fortunately the online experience was more satisfying. It's in this context that the gameplay improvements and refinements became really apparent. We played several matches that resulted in either losses and draws, but we were almost always having fun and felt like we were being treated fairly.
Even the losses that were most difficult to swallow, where we endured goals on the counterattack after overwhelming dominance, seemed to result from our own errors and the opponent's quick thinking, not due to gameplay bugs or the scripting that most players refer to as 'divine intervention'. The FIFA series has always been one of the more visually impressive showpieces on consoles. The same can be said in FIFA 16, as it looks wonderful, with every green speck of grass achieving great detail. As is typically the case with a new FIFA, the animations have been updated and improved. Players move more realistically and navigating through tight areas feels better; it is just an all around improvement on the visuals front. At long last, there are new weather patterns to experiment with as well.
Instead of your boring rain, sun, etc., you can now select options such as random rain, variable flurries, etc. While this being a new inclusion is a bit comical, it is a nice touch to an already very realistic product. All this comes together to make FIFA 16 one of the best looking sports games around. Sadly, thirteen players had to be removed from the roster just a week before launch because the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States was apparently looking into whether or not the players involved were violating eligibility rules that would make them ineligible at the collegiate level. For those of you in Europe who are reading this, a quick explanation is that collegiate players cannot have their likenesses used in any way, shape, or form. While the players did not receive any compensation for this, EA Sports had no choice but to remove them from the game.
What’s less clearly stated in game is that your draft team is temporary, and completely separate from your regular FUT team. After completing the squad, you’ll play up to 4 games. Win all 4, and you’ll receive a really nice FUT prize pack you can apply toward your standard FUT team. Win fewer and, well, you’ll get a lesser prize. Once those games are over, your team is GONE. Permanently. This was a bit of a shock, having gotten used to having Messi on one wing and Luis Figo on the other.
