Let’s start with the basics of scouting in FIFA 16. You start with a list of five scouts to choose from, and can hire a maximum of three. You then send these scouts around the globe looking for promising youth players, and can sign the best ones to your academy. Unlike in FIFA 15, you can send scouts on missions on the same day that you hired them in FIFA 16. Each month your scout will return with a list of players he’s found, aged between 15 and 17. Your youth academy can hold a maximum of 16 players. It will cost you ￡25,000 from your transfer budget to sign each youth player, and they will have a wage of ￡500 per week.
With no ability to outpace your opponent through balls are far less useful and at times are literally useless, a huge difference from 15. I constantly tried to carve open defences with eye of a needle passes from the world’s best playmakers to no avail. Instead I endured square balls and pudding passes in a crowded midfield. Either that I played it forward in a hopeful manner and back it came. And no-one pays me ￡45 every September to do that on Hackney Marshes on a Sunday afternoon…. From being an arcade style game throughout the early noughties FIFA has gone beyond full circle and has lost some of its sparkle.
.png)
One of the major changes in this latest release, and certainly one of the most unmissable, is the inclusion of women’s football. There are now 12 international teams to choose from and there’s a lot going for it, but it is likely to appeal particularly to the US market, given the already strong women’s league structure in place ‘over there’. Given the uniqueness of this addition, it will be interesting to see how it develops, and also how it is taken on by other developers in future releases all round. Currently, it is arguably a shame that the participation options open to the female teams is rather limited. This suggests the introduction is very experimental in nature, and EA want to gauge the reception before taking it any further.
By all accounts, the female players do add a different dimension and it can’t be said that they’ve simply altered the graphics to give the male players longer hair and breasts. It’s a somewhat brave move, albeit undeniably experimental. FIFA 16 marks a first for the series with its inclusion of women footballers in the form of 12 playable women's international teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of America. Some of those women are even sharing the cover with Argentina's Lionel Messi.
Traditionally, reviewers often compare FIFA to PES, and although PES has had a great year, I’m personally of the opinion that it’s swapped places with FIFA, rather than improve. It’s gone more Arcade, while FIFA has drifted In a new direction. But, it’s drifted that way with purpose. How do you continually try and make the best sports game better? It’s a difficult challenge every year for EA Canada, but it’s one they never shy away from. This year, although the gameplay changes mean the feel of play isn’t instant, the world’s best sports game has gotten better, not from immediate thrills, but through subtle tweaks and additions that mean you’ll still be enjoying FIFA well into the summer.
Just as the Premier League is wide open this year, so many believe the race for superiority in football games is too. I’m not one of those people. FIFA is far and away the king of football games. The king is dead. Long live the king. EA's noble quest for authenticity certainly has its benefits, but there are times when the slower pace and more deliberate build-up play takes the shine off what is, after all, a video game representation of the beautiful game. It makes those wonder strikes and team goals all the more magical when you pull them off, but you're going to have to work a little harder to make these moments happen.
