FIFA 16 Review

Another year another FIFA! Like clockwork EA has served us up another slice of its own particular brand of football but do EA’s rather ambitious sounding new features promising “confidence in defending”, “control in midfield”, and “moments of magic” actually make any difference?

 This years FIFA is slower and more considered affair than the last couple of versions, a welcome change after the last couple of version which were dominated by players with elite pace and power attributes. Pace and power remain important but you need to now time your runs and use that pace to exploit holes in defences rather than just pinging balls over the defence and hoping that Ronaldo or Bale will run behind and latch on to it! Defenders are now much more intelligent; they step up much more proactively to cut out passes, mark tightly, use their bodies to muscle attackers off the ball and generally cause a nuisance meaning that a lot more work is now required to get past them and create those all important goal scoring chances, more often than not you will find yourself having to pass the ball back through midfield and vary the tempo of your passing game to try to pull the opposing defenders out of position and create the gaps for your attackers to exploit.


 For veterans of FIFA 14 and 15 these changes can be quite difficult to come to terms with, for the first dozen or so matches it will be difficult to create chances let alone score, but over time the more considered nature of the game becomes apparent and the more deliberate build up play required for success starts to become second nature and once this happens the multitude of other small tweaks and improvements become apparent.

 Players now adjust their bodies whilst making tackles rather than remaining locked into the animation while the attacker sails past meaning that even an imperfect tackle may result in a toe or knee getting to the ball which could be enough to disrupt an attack. There is a new driven ground pass which is great for switching tempo or firing quick cross field balls to switch the play along with a new 'no touch' dribbling feature which is basically a series of body feints and swerves that you can use to mix things up whilst running at attackers. Keepers like defenders are more proactive in closing angles and rushing out to clean up over hit through balls but still appear human enough to occasionally flap at crosses in a crowded box or make scruffy saves to powerful long shots.

 The biggest new feature in FIFA 16 is the inclusion of women’s national teams, more than just a re-skin of the standard game EA has obviously put a lot of effort into motion capturing the players and creating the experience. I haven’t watched enough women’s football to know if they have nailed it but the women’s matches definitely have a different rhythm than the men’s. they tend to be fun end to end affairs with lots of zippy passing and fast counter attacks. For the vast majority of FIFA players this will be an entertaining diversion but for the rapidly growing fan base of the women’s game the ability to finally play as their favourite players will be a huge draw.


 There are some other tweaks to core gameplay modes, career mode now has an entertaining training mode allowing you to complete weekly training drills for up to five team members, a smart, fun way of boosting particular players stats improving the already addictive hunt for future stars. Ultimate team has a draft mode which is the equivalent of picking a playground football team except with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, for each position you get a choice of three quality players a nice addition to prevent players from having to start from scratch every year.

 The only real downside with the game is that the focus on the passing game tends to limit the amount of tactical variety on offer. The neat passing triangles that the game favours feel perfect when executed by the likes of Barcelona but it feels a bit odd when playing a rainy evening league two match with Burton Albion! But its difficult to fault FIFA as a package; online seasons, career mode, ultimate team, be a pro, female players, an endless list of leagues and teams all with weekly updates based on form, injuries, suspensions etc. along with an exhaustive list of minor cosmetic tweaks which all bring the presentation closer to what you see on TV every weekend combine with the improvements made to the match engine and gameplay to make this years FIFA an irresistible package for any football fan.

9/10

Nice review Ba5sett. Well done.

Shit hot description there mate. You really seem to know your Fifa.

Sounds like a good game and all but I personally can't be bothered with Fifa anymore. I just don't have the time to put in to it's plethora of modes and what have you, especially when the next iteration is always just around the corner. I wish someone would bring out a stripped down footy game with the same gameplay and presentation, but without all the fut and other time consuming stuffs. There are so many other games to get through, lolz.

Bring back the days of PES 3.

I said i'd never buy FIFA 16 having spent close to £600 on FIFA 15 on FUT but I need a football game in my collection, and having read reviews like this, it makes me want it more! Pace was the only thing that annoyed me in FIFA 15 and now it seems to only matter when it really should, it might be worth investing in it. I have a few games which I don't play now so I would get about £60 for them, so could just trade them in and buy FIFA.

Thanks for the brilliant review.

Nice review mate well done.

Top Work Bertie!

Brilliant review fella. I won't be getting it because EWWWW football! But good review all the same