Review: FIFA 16

Posted by: 10/24/2015

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EA has nearly always done a great job with its biggest sports game of the EA Sports stable, and before you tell me all about Madden in the comments, check the numbers – FIFA is the biggest sports franchise played worldwide. FIFA 16 is not a massive revolutionary step in the series, the subtle changes in this year’s game won’t be super apparent or blow you away right from the start. What you will notice after playing a while, FIFA 16 is the next step in the franchise’s refinement process.

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FIFA 16 boasts all of the usual modes you have become accustomed to and I won’t have to spend a lot of time explaining the modes to you but I will tell you what is new. In  this year’s game you will see an improved career mode with more depth and options such as training and for the first time ever, you can play with womens National Teams including the USA and Germany.

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Playing as women teams is not just a template popped over the male athlete’s frames and animations, rather EA has taken the time and effort to model and animate these in their own dedicated way. This shows. Playing as women teams in FIFA 16 will feel different and reflects their real life counterparts. The FIFA Ultimate Team mode also boasts some new features like a Draft to spice things up a bit. If you are a FUT guy or gal, you will love the mode as much as ever.

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Where the meat and potatoes come in for FIFA is the gameplay of course which has been polished and changed up over last year’s game. The play in FIFA 16 feels more deliberate and precise that last year’s game and demands more skill and patience from the player. Getting through midfield will require you to plan your attack and be more conscious of teammates and defenders because the AI as improved, resulting in tougher opposition and more sophisticated attacks to defend against.

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FIFA has always felt just right to me in many ways but this year’s game just adds to the refinement in a way that brings a smile to my face when I play it. This year we get some subtle changes as well such as a driven pass that can take apart a defense with ease or result in an interception, weighing the options here is a risk reward game. Also, EA Sports added no-ball feints that will remind you of Ronaldinho’s no-look passes from his FC Barcelona days.

The presentation in FIFA 16 has also been refined and will make you feel just a bit more involved in your career mode as the game is better at keeping storylines of player transfers and performances in play for longer.

FIFA 16 is probably the best FIFA game I can remember playing over the past two decades as it becomes more and more a complete package. The continued refinement makes the game feel more deliberate and asks the player to use their brain a lot more which is extremely refreshing. FIFA 16 plays and feels more than the real thing than ever before.

Score: 9/10

FIFA 16 was developed and published by EA Sports for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 22nd, 2015. A retail copy of the Xbox One version was provided to us by EA for reviewing purposes. 

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