FIFA 16 continues the gradual polishing of the FIFA franchise with slower but slightly more compelling gameplay.
Just starting up FIFA 16 makes me feel old.
Then again, I’ve been playing FIFA games since they looked like this.
FIFA 16, by way of comparison, now looks like this.
FIFA’s held something of a stranglehold on the competitive soccer (or football, really) videogame market for years, with only the diehards particularly opting for Konami’s alternate Pro Evolution Soccer series. I’ve reviewed Pro Evo games in recent years, but FIFA 16 is my first proper return to the series for some time in reviewing terms, although I’ve dabbled socially in a little play over time. That’s an important distinction to make, because I’m well aware that there are those who play FIFA with a level of genuine obsession, putting hundreds of hours into just one game each and every year.
I’m not one of those folks, and if you are, this review isn’t for you. Sorry about that. I’m part of the mass that plays games like this much more socially and nowhere near as indepth as the total obsessives.
FIFA, of course, has something of a problem. It’s looked good for years now, so annual updates can really only noodle around the edges. The primary visual change this year would have to be the welcome addition of women players. There’s really no reason this shouldn’t have happened years ago. In practical terms the women’s game appears to my untrained eyes — soccer is one of the very few sports I’ll watch if it’s on, but I can’t say I actively seek it out — to play a lighter, more strategic game than the men’s leagues, giving FIFA a little more depth. At the kinds of zoomed out angles you ideally play FIFA from, the only real visual indicator that you’ll get that you’re playing the women’s leagues is that there will be slightly more ponytails on the field at any given time.
Yes (sigh), the usual group of idiots complained when female players were announced. They’re still idiots, and it’s a great inclusion into the game that should have happened years ago. Case closed.
Naturally, FIFA 16 updates the rosters of its many officially signed teams and player graphics, although there’s still some animation work to be done here. Player facial animation is still a visit to the uncanny valley, not that this affects how you play. It’s simply noticeable after you score and are treated to the same sets of slightly soulless eyes after a goal is scored. That’s probably something that’ll have to wait for the next genuinely massive leap in FIFA rendering engines, however.
FIFA 16 supports the same types of play modes that it’s had for years, including online competitions, local play for as many players as you can muster up controllers for, and the slightly cash-grabbing FIFA Ultimate Team mode, which uses an IAP model to create your own personalised team. I can’t say I’ve ever been grabbed by the prospect of Ultimate Team, but it apparently does very well for EA from the FIFA faithful, and so it’s still present.
If everything is as it ever was, what’s really changed with FIFA? In a word, speed.
FIFA games in recent years have struck me as being very rapid paced compared to the Pro Evo titles. That’s not quite the same thing as them being “arcade” style titles, but it’s given them a sense of urgency that’s often verged on the arcade side of the fence, being particularly punishing for those learning FIFA’s multi-button skill set.
FIFA 16 has gone the other way this year, with a game that has a distinctly slower pace, much more akin to the Pro Evo titles. It’s an exceptionally welcome move, because it really opens up the deeper strategy of the game, presuming you brush the difficulty up higher than the amateur ranks. Combine that with a trainer mode that makes it easy to keep your eyes on the game rather than having to remember which button combos add up to a precision pass or a crafty lob, and you open up the game even further.
At lower skill settings it’s feasible to bang in goal after goal, but the reality with football is that the tension and excitement is higher in lower scoring games, because the 90 minute struggle can come down to just a single shot.
At higher skill levels, however, you really do have to work hard to make opportunities happen, intelligently passing backwards rather than trying for simple hero runs, or just banging crosses in front of the keeper. The slower general pace suits this kind of strategic building really well, resulting in a game with a delicious level of tension behind every single pass, volley and shot. It’s a clever model that builds your skill in the game every time you play, whether you use the supplied training modes or not.
The diehard fanatics will have already purchased their copies of FIFA and no doubt will be dissecting the frame by frame differences from last year’s version. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s value to you.
If you’re a more casual fan, however, FIFA games are easily those that you could take or miss in a given year. FIFA 16 is, in my estimation, one of the “good” years, and as such, if you’re keen on football, it’s well worth your money.