It’s that time of year again. Millions of wives, girlfriends, husbands and boyfriends are abandoned for the company of the newest FIFA game. This one see the first inclusion of women’s international teams (YES! YES! YES!) much to the upset of many ignorant men on the internet. Guess what guys, we can play too and now we’re in the game! It’s something pretty special to those of us that have played, watched and enjoyed football for years. Our gender is finally reaching a level in which we can be recognized as good enough to warrant inclusion on the biggest football console game on the planet. Hopefully in the next couple of years, I’ll be able to create myself as a female player instead of making the most handsome boy I could and giving him my surname!
Last year FIFA 15 brought a massive change in the series on PC, after many people began to abandon the idea that Electronic Arts will release a new generation FIFA game on PC. The game delivered the new Ignite graphics engine on PC, being praised both by players and media specialist, is a complete change from previous years where the games began to be get way too repetitive and boring. Thus, PC gamers on a huge scale responded lots of fans bought the game and many maybe for their first ever time purchased a game from the FIFA series. Electronic Arts saw the potential of the game and starting with last year, the PC version is similar to the one on current generation consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox One, if not even better.
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For anybody that loved the frantic attack/attack/attack of FIFA 15 and players that have no desire to actually build up the play, FIFA 16 will be a harsh change. EA Sports has deliberately made the game feel much slower, bringing it ever closer to being the ultimate simulation for top-level football. Speed still kills, but only if used properly with intricate passing and methodical build-up. If you aren’t willing to put in four or five passes in midfield before even pushing into the attacking third, then your attack will not be very strong. EA is continuing to make the game more dependent on well thought out and executed passing, which will frustrate many players for the first few sessions with the game.
To get to grips with the gameplay modifications, EA Sports has introduced FIFA Trainer - a real-time tutorial which has been built directly into the gameplay. Activated by pressing in the right thumbstick, FIFA Trainer gives on-screen instructions tailored to the situation you are currently in. Not only does it provide a platform for newcomers to get to grips with the series, but it also allows veteran players to refine their game. Off the pitch, FIFA 16 boasts the rich range of game modes that have continued to draw gamers in over the past few years, with FIFA Ultimate Team remaining the cream of the crop. For this latest outing, the team-builder has seen the introduction of Draft mode, which adds another dimension to the franchise’s flagship game mode.
And how could you discuss a FIFA game without landing on the series’ long-standing Ultimate Team mode? After going through a slight retooling after last years’ version took a thrashing over the excessive “Click here to buy” ads, it looks like this time around EA Sports has learned their lesson. While the ability to purchase in-game currency using real-life cash still exists, it is nestled away in a corner of the menu that keeps it from being so front and center. Thankfully, this also means that you can get back to enjoying Ultimate Team without feeling the need to shell out in order to be competitive. In-game coinage pay-outs from matches (regardless of a win or loss outcome) are back to being more than sufficient enough to let players engage in the action, without feeling like “Crazy Uncle Pete” is trying to rummage around in players' wallets.
FIFA 16 has a few nice additions, but failure to fix some of the franchise’s ongoing problems, along with a massive focus on FUT leaves it feeling stale; especially seeing as PES seems to be scoring highly in reviews. My only fear is that with Konami allegedly moving away from console games, EA may continue the franchise without feeling the need to innovate and improve. There just isn’t enough here for me to recommend buying FIFA 16, if you already own last year’s version. If you are hooked on FUT and only really come to FIFA for that, then you will be well served here, but then again, what’s stopping you from continue enjoying it on FIFA 15?
