I’ve been playing two career mode games, one as a player at Bury and another as Bury’s manager. This immediately marks me out as an outlier in the FIFA world. Ultimate Team - with online and offline play, unlockable card packs and custom squads - is the main draw, as the menu makes clear, describing it as “FIFA’s Mode”. While I can see the appeal of building a team from the ground-up, I find Ultimate Team structurally chaotic and prefer the more comprehensible progression through traditional seasons. I want to play football, not a collectible card game based around football.
The downside of these changes is that matches can often turn into a ping-pong battle. The AI does a better job of knowing when to attack and hold onto the ball, but all too often does the opposition AI just kick the ball back and forth in the back-half of the pitch. If you do push forward in formation, the opposition will push further back, which is fine -- you’d expect to see that in a real match -- but on higher difficulties it’s nigh impossible to steal the ball unless the AI tries its luck with a long pass to a contest in the air, which rarely happens.
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Some matches can go minutes without the ball changing teams, and I think this might frustrate players after a faster, more attacking style of game. Even though I embrace and utilize FIFA 16’s enhanced focus on defense and maintaining possession, it can sometimes lead to a pretty dull football experience. That’s a balancing act EA Canada needs to address in next year’s iteration without ditching this year’s defensive focus. Almost all of these changes are showcased by the improved AI path and decision making. From the back four, through the midfield, and into the attacking third, not only is the AI quite obviously improved, they take full advantage of all the new moves available.
There's still the occasional quirk and mishap, but the AI does an excellent job showcasing not only its own abilities, but all of the new mechanics as well. For those that enjoy spending a ton of hours in the offline career modes, that's good news indeed. As already mentioned, my initial reaction to FIFA’s on-field characteristics was not a positive one. The gameplay felt like the development team was a little lost. The core of FIFA feels very familiar but there have been changes made either to try to manufacture some selling points or as a genuine response to feedback.
Whichever category it falls into, it simply doesn’t work. Pace has been nerfed to a sizable degree, though many matches have an unrealistically quick tempo. On the face of it, a reduction in speed can only be a good thing. However, it doesn’t quite mesh with the rest of FIFA’s gameplay and thus feels disjointed. FUT Draft differentiates itself by introducing some of the Ultimate Team features that has made the mode so popular for fans. For example, you must worry about the chemistry within your team if you want to succeed.
Playing a team with multiple individuals from the same country, league, or club can really help your chances at picking up a win, as it is not all about pure skill. This is a smart addition to a solid feature that makes it feel unique to FIFA, as opposed to a rip-off from Madden. FIFA Ultimate Team Draft brings about a new life to FIFA Ultimate Team, and attracts players that may not have dug the mode in the past.
FIFA 16 also continues the Match Day presentations for games of which there is no equal. The Bundesliga gets the same treatment the Premier League got last year and new to this year is vanishing spray. Referees now use it when setting up free kicks. It’s these little touches (like last year’s inclusion of solid corner flags) that give me joy! The graphics are top-notch, as usual, though clipping remains a problem as always. One of my defenders handed the opposing team a penalty thanks to a handball in the area. Unfortunately, it’s a foul that should never have happened because his hand floated through the attacker’s head thereby punching the ball out of bounds. It would have been funnier if I hadn’t been down a goal at the 70th minute.
