The new ‘no touch dribbling’ in FIFA 16 allows you to press a shoulder button and immediately break away from the ball. This works fine, but giving it it’s own button feels clunky and less organic than PES’s approach to the same problem. Indeed, midfield action in general feels stodgy and fragmented, we assume because of complaints that FIFA 15 played too fast and arcade-like. In other areas the changes are definitely for the worse, with the unfeasibly competent goalies seeming to magically draw the ball towards them in any but the most extreme situation. No matter who the goalkeeper is they appear strangely infallible, and despite all of EA’s bluster about stats and realistic likenesses there’s precious little difference between any of the other players when it comes to key attributes like strength and pace.
I’ve been playing FIFA (and its rival, Pro Evolution Soccer) since FIFA 2003. Since then, when friends come over we have a tradition called the draft: pick a random squad with decent kits (the Mexican Liga MX is great), assign an ability points ‘budget’, and sign a squad of your favorite players – like a simple Fantasy Football. You should try it. It’s fun. At first, FUT Draft sounds similar: rather than Ultimate Team, in which you collect players like Panini stickers and slowly build a squad, you are given a random draw of five players per position, a choice of five formations, and encouraged to cobble together an unlikely squad of superstars. Win streaks are rewarded with packs of players for your regular team; when you lose, the squad is disbanded, and you start again.
.jpg)
This sense of disappointing inevitability is also true in one-on-one tussles. Speed and strength are the two biggest physical components in football, and FIFA fails to get them right again, making core encounters redundant. In career mode, as Manchester United, my strike force consisted of Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku and Antoine Griezmann. The little and large combo, I hoped, would serve well for all defences. However, it wasn't long before I realised that no matter the opponent, any and all were capable of out muscling and outpacing my entire frontline. Nathaniel Clyne barged Lukaku off the ball with ease, while Leyton Orient's backline easily kept pace with Griezmann and Depay in a Capital One Cup tie. This shouldn't happen. It takes any strategy out of the game. All substitutions are made for fitness reasons, nothing more.
As a result, this version of Fifa lacks the usual immediacy, and some of those seeking the end-to-end goal bonanzas of previous years won’t have the patience to persevere. More fool them. After a few days with the game, its more deliberate build-up play becomes second nature, and it’s then that you’re really able to drink in Fifa 16’s other little simulation improvements. Sam Rivera, one of FIFA 16’s gameplay producers, recalls the initial development process of creating the Women’s game mode beginning with a foundation of research and watching a lot of women’s football games. From there they noticed differences in the way women play the game compared to men.
Rivera noticed that while the women weren’t as fast or powerful as the men, they were very accurate and very aggressive, adding, “when they (the women) get hit for example, they don’t (dive and) cry (like some male players), they get up and play. They are tough and that’s something we wanted to capture for sure in the game.” FIFA 16 introduces “no touch” dribbling, which adds an extra layer of depth to its already intricate controls. Now, players can move and jute without touching the ball, similar to stars like Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo. The site even singled out that Cristiano Ronaldo's speed has become slower and less powerful with the Portuguese player struggling to get away from Per Mertesacker. However, there is arguably a big improvement when it comes to the players' physical strength, which is evident in the strongest team players in "FIFA 16. The idea is to fake opponents into thinking you’re going one way while you go in another direction. All you need to do is tap a bumper and nudge the stick where you want to feint.
