EA has officially announced this year’s new FIFA game, with the game confirmed for release this September. The fact that there’s going to be a new FIFA this year isn’t really news, but EA do have some unusual plans for FIFA 16. For the first time ever the series will feature 12 women’s national teams, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the USA. How do FIFA 16 staff scout players or even more importantly, rank them. James Rodriguez is better than Silva at everything a football player can do on the pitch except for passing ability.
Silva’s through balls and short passing are much more accurate and it is true that he does put a lot of thought into his plays. James Rodriguez is too young for those sort of plays on the pitch but that does not mean that James Rodriguez is a tier below Silva. Silva cannot score goals with the same frequency as James can and on top of that James can score goals that are beautiful. FIFA 16 will offer better overall coordination of players. You can now safely pass the ball and expect someone in an onside position to collect it. FIFA 16 will offer stronger defenders. No more will they limp around while the likes of Ronaldo run past them.
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Starting your career as a pro puts you in the shoes of a plucky 20-year-old, but we’d rather see the clock winded back further and have you start out as a youth. That way, you’d develop your pro as you would at a real academy, letting you get a feel for different positions and have you rise through the ranks until you’re old enough to be eligible for the regular team. We’re all for more realism, and this could put it head and shoulders above the latest PES. You could even pass the time between training sessions actually playing games of FIFA - talk about meta. While FIFA is often touted as a game that extols the virtues of the 'moments of magic', it never feels like you are controlling players that actually feel different to one another.
There are exceptions, and the poster boy players always feel better, but better doesn't mean different. PES 2016 delivers individuality in spades, and not just with players. Diego Costa feels like a pitbull up front, who is difficult to muscle off the ball. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi feel like magic, but even they feel different from one another: Ronaldo is stronger and will win headers often, whereas Messi's low center of gravity means he is an absolute monster when dribbling. Players who find themselves infuriated by the lack of changes that FIFA 16 and other installments haven't introduced have grounds to be annoyed - EA does screw us over in certain ways.
But there's a football game called UEFA Dream Soccer on the Sega Dreamcast which was released in 2000 that had male and female footballers. You could also pitch them against one another, which you can't do in FIFA 16. Where has this feature been in FIFA or PES, why has it taken this long to implement it and why has it been put in, in a backwards manner? To my mind, the reason PES was so well-received last year, and the reason it will also be this, is that it's a freer, looser experience than its rival. When selected, players switch on just that little bit more quickly than in FIFA and, perhaps with some sacrifices made in terms of animations, you feel less constricted, particularly when passing through midfield, by the angles in which you receive and then turn with the ball.
The ball itself also feels more within your control - whereas a long pass in FIFA often feels like activating an AI pass mechanic, particularly when it goes to the wrong man. In PES it almost seems like you're guiding it through the air. If you don't plan to upgrade your PC or purchase a PS4 or Xbox One, don't worry. The core gameplay remains intact with no touch dribbling and improved midfield control. And yes, much touted additions such as FIFA Ultimate Team Draft and Women's National Teams will be present as well. Still deciding which version of the game to get? We've extensively checked out the FIFA 16 demo on all platforms. Look our for our full teardown soon.
