The FIFA series is usually one you can rely on, year in, year out, to deliver a solid football game with just enough tweaks to the gameplay for gamers to notice the difference. It can even last some players for the whole duration between each release due to their love of football and the enjoyment FIFA brings; I am one of these players. Can EA Sports’ FIFA 16 bring fans and gamers worldwide the best football game we’ve seen so far?
We’ve witnessed at least one version of FIFA be transformed by a major post-release rebalancing update in recent years, and there’s no guarantee that the development team will keep their faith in this more intricate and involved style of play if it appears that the majority can’t get to grips with it. For now, though, it certainly seems that FIFA 16 is shaping up to be a more methodical, measured simulation than its predecessor. With that in mind, we’ve put together a collection of tips that will help you hit the ground running once the full game is available...
There’s a whole raft of new skill games designed to hone your skills, as well as a nifty graphical overlay - dubbed the FIFA Trainer - that can be toggled on or off depending on preference and shows the button options available to the player you’re controlling. It’s a cool take on the usual instruction manuals and tutorial videos, and - although a little distracting - really helps you get to grips with the controls. Hell, it helped cut down the number of fouls by improving by tackling percentages and enabled me to score a few glorious free kicks - and that can’t be a bad thing.
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The handling of the ladies game has a slower unpolished kink to it, almost as if their model build was taken from a men’s practice scrimmage. Player likeness also lacks some of the fine detail we see with their gender counterparts. Currently, you are only able to play with the women’s squads in either tournament or free play. Hopefully in future installments, all available game modes will be playable with both genders.
Having gotten so much of the fundamentals right over the past four or five years, FIFA's developers have the luxury of trying to introduce player emotions and reactions not just into cutscenes after an event, but during the game itself. It's a worthy first stab, and it impressed me when I saw a player stop during the action and complain to the official about being grabbed, and an opposing player exploited the lapse to drive at the goal.
Players that are constantly jostled or pressed can reach a breaking point and do something rash. And as a side effect of that, I've seen more fouls called this year than before, which advances the realism of the match. Granted, this all sounds very annoying and superfluous and distracting, but it's not. Football is more than a game about kicking a ball around, despite what your mum says. It's about the passion and pageantry. FIFA didn't appreciate this before, but it does now. And besides, you can skip everything if you must.
What isn’t in doubt is that EA’s game offers the superior package. Ultimate Team, career mode, online seasons, female players, dozens of leagues and hundreds of teams all with weekly line-up updates, bespoke overlays for Premier League and Bundesliga matches… the feature list goes on. While on-pitch matters between these two old foes are too close to call, Fifa’s breathtaking scope secures yet another silver pot for an already heaving trophy cabinet.
