So September’s done, which means only one thing. a new version of FIFA has hit the stores… oh and rAge is around the corner; oh and it’s nearly Halloween, oh and Spring is here and.. okay fine lots of things happen in September but the one we are talking about today is the new version of FIFA which I’ve been putting through its paces over the last few weeks.

I’m a massive football supporter and the FIFA titles are the ones that I normally head back to all season long in the run up to important games for my club, Liverpool, and so for me the realism and accuracy in the players is one of the defining issues for me – but official branding and graphics only goes so far and the longevity of any sporting title is in the gameplay and modes on offer. So lets run through this quickly and see what EA has offered up this year.

Graphics

Fifascreen

EA make a huge effort every year to map all of the top players faces, body movements and styles – and this year is no exception. One of my favourite things about FIFA is that you can see who the players are simply by how they are running and moving on the field as they mimic their rea- life counterparts to near perfection.

The stadiums are expertly rendered and you can feel the vibe change throughout the different arenas with the most advanced crowd rendering and reactions yet. It isn’t an uncommon experience for people to wander past while you are playing and for them to mistakenly believe you are watching a live game…but it is by no means perfect.

Once again FIFA has failed on the rendering of the eyes and any close ups of the faces bring the startling failures to light. Looking into their eyes is like staring into the depths of an abyss with nothing but death and despair staring back. It really is quite jarring but thankfully this is only an issue during the beginning of the match when the teams are lining  up and after the game starts the glorious graphics are back.

Gameplay

FIFA is a game where you need to take the ball and stick it into the opposing team’s net, oddly enough that aspect of gameplay hasn’t changed at all and that is still the goal. Non-sporting fans will never understand the passion that this embodies in people or the incredible intricacies that the sport has.

The most trumpeted enhancement to this year’s version of FIFA is the off the ball dribbling, where you are now able to shimmy and fake your movements off the ball to trick the opponent into moving the wrong direction.

Pulling off fake moves and sending an opponent in the wrong direction is hugely satisfying and from my experience it really does work extremely well, if you get it right. As with all real sporting simulators the difference between executing a perfect move and fluffing it massively is miniscule and it all depends on your ability as well as the skills of your virtual character under your control.

Knowing which character is better at which skill is part of the learning curve and seasoned players will definitely have the advantage here, but will still be challenged with the enhancements that FIFA 16 has included.

However it’s not all great as the passing in FIFA still feels overly sluggish and you will quickly realise that you will want to use through balls far more often than standard passing to get that fluid motion that you will need to overrun your opponents.

maxresdefault

Different Modes

As always FIFA is choc-full of different gameplay modes like exhibition games, full seasons, grow your pro, European league, international tournaments and the always popular FIFA Ultimate Team.My personal favourite is the seasons experience where you can take charge of any of the hundreds of licenced teams and leagues and experiencing what it is like to manage your favourite team and take them all the way to the top.

This includes a fully-functional transfer system with scouts and windows along with the ability to assign specific training to specific players every week to enhance your players abilities.

FIFA Ultimate Team is pretty much the Hearthstone of football where you are given a random selection of player cards which you use to create the best team you can, while taking into account the different ways the cards buff each other. Then you take your team into tournaments and compete to win extra coins which you can then use to buy new packs and improve your team.

Or you could whip out your wallet and pay to get some quality players to speed up this process and then challenge the rest of the world. Personally it’s not my favourite part of the game but it is hugely popular and therefore is obviously back and probably better than ever.

There is also the new inclusion of the female teams in FIFA 16 but I’ve covered that already in another post

Online Experience

Being based in South Africa makes the online experience different than it would be in many other countries. Our Internet is still not up to first world standards and even the lucky ones with fibre connections aren’t saved from poor online experiences with our country being so far from Europe that we are often still subjected to bad lag online.

The first thing we always need to check is how the game plays if our Internet is down and thankfully EA have not put anything behind an online firewall that isn’t absolutely required. You can enjoy the entire single player experience without ever going online and while being online adds a social element with leaderboards and the ability to share your experience, it is entirely optional which is the way all games should be made.

I did manage to enjoy a couple of online season games against opponents and to be honest I was quite surprised at how well that worked. Finding games was fast enough and the lag in game was more than acceptable with me being able to hold my own against equally-matched opponents.

liverpool

In The End

Obviously comparisons will be made between FIFA 16 and PES 16, In my brief experience with PES the gameplay felt more complex than FIFA but the game also feels like it is missing a lot of the experiences that FIFA can offer. While previously FIFA won out every time due to the far superior licensing and gameplay I think it’s fair to now say that the comparison is much closer.

I prefer the FIFA experience due to the additions of  extra modes, licensed deals and the overall experience. Whether it is superior when it comes to gameplay will continue to be argued by fans from either side. However what is quite clear is that FIFA 16 is the better game for newcomers with a built in, extensive training mode and a plethora of options to make the game easier with a range of passing and shooting assistance options.

The one thing that did drive me insane is the consistent mistakes the commentators made, for example calling the game a tight game while I’m leading 5-0 or saying the opponent is leading while the game is 1-1. It definitely broke the immersion and is something I expect EA to patch very soon.

For the next 12 months I personally will be invested in FIFA. It hasn’t let me down at all this year.

 

Last Updated: October 6, 2015

FIFA 16
EA Sports have taken a fantastic game and tweaked it to make it just that little bit better. The passing mechanic feels slightly worse but in the end that is also forcing players to utilise the entire range of passing abilities so it is possible that this is by design. FIFA 16 is the best FIFA to date.
8.4
FIFA 16 was reviewed on Xbox One

60 Comments

  1. Hammersteyn

    October 6, 2015 at 10:10

    Fifa 16….. Oh wait. 8.4 + 1.6 = 10.0. They should reboot the franchise. Perfect scores should almost be guaranteed 😛

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      October 6, 2015 at 10:12

      But why does the text below the last paragraph say 8.9/10 but the rating in green say 8.4? Tinfoil hat engage!

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        October 6, 2015 at 10:14

        Because 8+9-1+0 = 16

        Reply

      • Guild

        October 6, 2015 at 10:14

        Refresh, its gone

        Reply

        • Grand Admiral Chief

          October 6, 2015 at 10:15

          He was a bit….premature

          Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          October 6, 2015 at 10:16

          I saw it and now it’s gone! Tinfoil SUIT engage!

          Reply

      • Geoffrey Tim

        October 6, 2015 at 10:18

        That was an editing thing that was left in by mistake.

        Reply

        • Grand Admiral Chief

          October 6, 2015 at 10:19

          GAVIN WAS A MISTAKE?

          Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          October 6, 2015 at 10:19

          Was that the score if EA’s cheque cleared in time?
          *Runs
          **Cancels Rage plans
          ***Changes name

          Reply

          • Grand Admiral Chief

            October 6, 2015 at 10:20

            You going to rage?

          • Hammersteyn

            October 6, 2015 at 10:21

            Yes sir! Landing on Thursday night and staying over at @ir0nseraph:disqus. Clearly he hasn’t met me in person O_o Going on the Friday morning

          • Grand Admiral Chief

            October 6, 2015 at 10:22

            MADDAFAKKA Y U NO TELL ME DIS?

            I’m there on Friday!

          • Hammersteyn

            October 6, 2015 at 10:22

            I told you, I’m sure of it! I’ll be over at Konamis stand. Want to see their new pachinko machines

          • Grand Admiral Chief

            October 6, 2015 at 10:25

            Awesome, pity there is no beer @ RAGE

          • Hammersteyn

            October 6, 2015 at 10:25

            I know right? I might suffer from dehydration.

          • Grand Admiral Chief

            October 6, 2015 at 10:27

            And, heat wave in Gautengeleng, so ja, dis kakwarm

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:40

            So no rubber Batsuit for Darryn? Maybe the Quite cosplay will work out.

          • RinceThis

            October 6, 2015 at 10:40

            take that back! Darryn in Quite’s costume?! VOMITS

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:41

            One up from the Mankini, and he does not need to ladder his tights. Already done 😛

          • Grand Admiral Chief

            October 6, 2015 at 10:47

            You can see there is shared blood between you, since neither of you can spell QUIET

          • RinceThis

            October 6, 2015 at 10:49

            Quite 😉

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:56

            You are quite right 😛

          • VampyreSquirrel

            October 6, 2015 at 10:42

            You going to the meet up on Saturday?

          • Hammersteyn

            October 6, 2015 at 10:47

            Will look into it, driving tipsy is not really an option

          • VampyreSquirrel

            October 6, 2015 at 10:49

            I’m sure we can arrange for someone that stays close to Ir0nseraph to give you a lift home.

            I don’t know what area they live in though… and there’s always Uber 😛

          • Hammersteyn

            October 6, 2015 at 10:53

            $Uber$

          • VampyreSquirrel

            October 6, 2015 at 10:51

            Geez, I might have to pitch on Saturday with all these foreign people coming to the meet up

  2. Guild

    October 6, 2015 at 10:13

    Haven’t played a soccer game since FIFA 09. Thinking its time to buy one again but which one…..FIFA with 8.4 or PES with 8.9 score?

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 6, 2015 at 10:14

      Never played a soccer game. I did play a football game a few years ago
      *runs

      Reply

      • Grand Admiral Chief

        October 6, 2015 at 10:15

        DIVING! Not running

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          October 6, 2015 at 10:16

          Loved this.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            October 6, 2015 at 10:17

            I nearly pissed myself when he said that.

          • Grand Admiral Chief

            October 6, 2015 at 10:19

            GOLDEN!

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:21

            BURN

          • Hammersteyn

            October 6, 2015 at 10:22

            Call the waterboys

          • oVg

            October 6, 2015 at 10:24

            You mean the Water Assistants if you are South African 😛

          • Hammersteyn

            October 6, 2015 at 10:24

            HAHAHAHAHA!

          • Grand Admiral Chief

            October 6, 2015 at 10:25

            Yoh

          • RinceThis

            October 6, 2015 at 10:33

            eish!

          • Ridi Yuniharto

            December 11, 2015 at 08:38

            Geez, I might have to pitch on Saturday with all these foreign people coming to the meet up http://fifa-16-hack.com/

          • Jonah Cash

            October 6, 2015 at 12:14

            I was listening to the Afrikaans commentary and Kobus and Toks almost had heart attacks from laughing!

      • Guild

        October 6, 2015 at 10:16

        Maybe I should stick to basketball and get the NBA one. Currently don’t have any sperts gaems

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          October 6, 2015 at 10:18

          Gonna grab Rugby Challenge 3 if it scores more than 8.9/10………I mean 5/10

          Reply

        • Nikola

          October 6, 2015 at 10:33

          NBA is awesome I got 2k16 really fun game!

          Reply

          • Gardos

            October 6, 2015 at 11:02

            I wish I supported basketball the way I do football (soccer). Because NBA 2K16 looks like the perfect game for me!

    • Nikola

      October 6, 2015 at 10:33

      Depends what u prefer game play wise, I enjoy FIFA more and would recommend that to you! I think PES got 8.9 more because it was such an improvement over the last one!

      Reply

    • Jonah Cash

      October 6, 2015 at 12:13

      Fifa 13… That is by far the best that that they have ever had Fifa. And I should know seeing as I keep on buying it every year. From 2004 till 2015… and probably beyond… *cries

      Reply

      • Guild

        October 6, 2015 at 12:38

        That’s me and CoD. Every year…

        Reply

  3. oVg

    October 6, 2015 at 10:20

    SA FIFA on-line experience, you shall forever walk alone 😛

    Reply

  4. Sageville

    October 6, 2015 at 10:24

    Sure, but it’s not quite Rocket League is it….

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 6, 2015 at 10:25

      No, it’s a bit Messi.

      Reply

      • Nikola

        October 6, 2015 at 10:33

        boom!!

        Reply

  5. RinceThis

    October 6, 2015 at 10:31

    So, it got a good grade as Gavin was able to play as Liverpool on easy and win?

    Reply

    • Sageville

      October 6, 2015 at 10:36

      So you’re telling us the game is massively flawed and unrealistic?

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        October 6, 2015 at 10:40

        BWAHAH! And totally over-rated? 0_O

        Reply

  6. Jonah Cash

    October 6, 2015 at 12:11

    I hate this game!!!!!!!! The ball is like a fucking brick! The thing doesn’t move when you pass and then you press x longer and the thing flies like a cross….

    Reply

  7. Ashley Phillips

    October 6, 2015 at 12:31

    for some of us fifa 16 online is not working. you can’t find any opponents. since day 1, i only played 5 season matches

    Reply

  8. Aries

    October 6, 2015 at 12:35

    This game is pure crap gameplay wise, passing is so bad, even with Barce it hard to hold possession, they really went backwards, I wouldnt never give it a 8.4, passing is quite game breaking for me and it one of the main components of the game as well, dont care how much they got right in the rest of the game if the thing that makes the game doesnt work at all

    Reply

  9. cozar

    April 7, 2016 at 20:14

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