FIFA 16 is the latest instalment in the FIFA franchise and boasts realism and authenticity. However, FIFA 16 is pretty much FIFA 15 with a few changes that have and haven’t improved the franchise. FIFA 16 has improved in a few gameplay areas that I personally think are lacking as far as improvements go. The new focus passing is a nice feature and relies on you for the direction of the pass instead of automatically passing it to the nearest player. It makes passing a bit more difficult, but all-round makes it more driven and authentic.
The defending has improved also, but not too much, the defenders tend to be stronger and no matter who you are defending with, you will be able to push anyone of the ball, which is a bit over-powered and is something I feel that needs to be addressed in an update. This however is also flawed as at times as the defenders still act like they don’t know what they are doing and their positions can be off. The defenders lack characteristics of real-life defenders and still remains an area all-round I feel that needs work.
The goalkeepers have become well adjusted and are far better than how they were in FIFA 15. Their dives feel more realistic, they react better and all-round more capable. Yet, there are some improvements still that could be made in the keepers decision making, as they still do some saves that aren’t logical, by this I will explain. The keepers tend to try and catch/punch/dive in certain situations that just wouldn’t happen in real life. The authenticity still lacks with keepers, even though they are better, I still think they need work to be at a consistent standard.
The gameplay is the same, not much has changed other than what I have mentioned above, other than the free-kicks and set-pieces. FIFA 15 actually added some challenge in the free kick department, but the game was super easy to score from corners. This time around it’s reversed, you can score free-kicks so much more easily now and it feels easier to do. The corners however are actually quite hard to score from. The referees are an issue too, they slow the game down dramatically. Every little touch you do draws a foul, pretty much realistic in a modern-day sense. But it is frustrating, obviously this sometimes works in your favour, but the referees are always giving fouls away. It’s actually the opposite of FIFA 15.
Moving on the singleplayer modes that are an area that FIFA has improved quite a bit. Manager mode, Player mode, Tournaments and Exhibition all return. The career mode now boasts itself as a bit more in-depth and now offers pre-season tournaments which are tournaments that basically offer you the opportunity to add to your transfer budget and fine-tune your squad, if you win the tournaments. Player training is also a great feature as you can now improve your squad and the players attributes which is great if you decide to sign a few young players and level them up over a few seasons. In the career mode you can also sign free-agents outside of the transfer window which is something that hasn’t been present before and is also a welcomed feature.
The commentary is woeful and lacks any oomph or excitement, it’s just the typical boring monologue like in FIFA 15, but just updated. Alan Smith and Martin Taylor return repeating lines after lines of the same commentary. It just feels lazy and pointless as majority of the time it’s delayed or it’s commentating the wrong thing.
Ultimate team has a new mode known as “Draft Mode“, this mode is a paid mode where you can use coins or FIFA points to access. Here you get to select some of the higher rated players available and try to win 4 matches on the trot to win big rewards. I have had an unfortunate time with Online draft as I have lost at least 20 matches, but it’s so darn addictive and you always get a reward no matter how bad you do. Some may think a “paid to play” mode is a bad idea, but I think it’s a brilliant idea due to the fact you get rewarded 3 packs when you lose and more if you win. Either way you would most likely spend 300 coins on a FIFA Ultimate Team pack, so why not try and play a few games instead and win more/better packs.
In a nutshell, FIFA 16 is pretty much FIFA 15, but with a few improvements that ultimately aren’t really improvements. It’s still a great football game and modes like Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs offer up great features for those that wish to play online. The singleplayer experience is solid and is vastly improved and is starting to feel complete. The gameplay needs a lot of tweaks and there focus on realism really needs to be realistic as FIFA is more than ever feeling more arcade than over an authentic experience. I still would recommend FIFA 16 due to the online modes. It is a different game, a harder game in some areas, but also easier in the others. It’s a mixed bag, it really is.