After the extremely successful release for the other Football game on the market (Pro Evo 2016), it’s now FIFA’s turn to give the Football crowd their version of what they think a Football simulator should be like. FIFA’s biggest addition this year, and most hyped up addition was the inclusion of women’s teams to the game which we will talk about in more detail later in the review. Firstly, there are a number of other new features in the game that we should cover. Career mode has changed. They’re not sweeping changes to the whole game, but they are substantial enough to be talked about and looked forward to.
Things like scout reports lasting a year, rather than 3 months in FIFA 15, free agent transfers from outside the window to bolster your squad when suffering from a lot of injuries, the ability to loan players for 2 years and more realistic transfers, prices and budgets mean that this game is going to be closer to what a real player and manager career would be like, and it’s a welcome change. FIFA is the world's most successful and famous football game, and FIFA 16 is the next-generation iteration of the game that is all set for release next week. Despite being a dyed-in-the-wool Pro Evo fan I am excited about FIFA 16, and not just because it includes for the first time what can only be described as lady players. Indeed, my experiences reviewing FIFA 15 and 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil have converted me: these days FIFA kicks ass. Royally so.
On this page we explain when FIFA 16 will be released in the UK (and worldwide), how much it will cost, and some of the best new features. You can find out more about what EA announced at this year's E3 by re-watching the EA keynote from E3 2015. The new FIFA 16 release delivers the biggest changes to users who play the new game on Xbox One, PS4 and PC - while FIFA 16 on older consoles does not get all these new features and options. You can play FIFA 16 now on Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC with the FIFA 16 demo to see how it compares to your experience with FIFA 15. If you own the Xbox One you can play the full version with EA Access for $5 a month or $30 a year.
Now on to the big addition that made the headlines on most gaming and non-gaming sites a few months ago: women’s national teams. The demo offers you the opportunity to try out two teams, Germany and the USA There is a restriction - you can’t play men vs women, but that is only logical. The biggest thing you notice when playing with the women’s team is that across the field on average, the players are shorter and slighter. The game is also fractionally slower, and there seems to be a lot more space to pick passes out. The player models of course are also hugely different. EA have gone out of their way to create as real a representation of the women’s game as possible. The way the players run, move and interact with the ball looks and feels very different. On top of this, there are little touches like the shouts of female voices during the game, and even female refereeing staff.
FIFA fans in the UK are starting to get desperate with the ongoing wait for the FIFA 16 demo release date on PS4 and Xbox One. Many thought that GamesCom 2015 would be the moment when EA would give a solid date, but the only information we had was that the demo would be available first on Xbox One. That in itself isn’t that surprising though given Microsoft’s exclusive deal with EA which also covers FIFA 16 Legends only on Xbox consoles. We can predict though based on trends in previous years that the FIFA 16 demo launch window is likely to be at the start of September.
The question, of course, is which of these two interpretations of football is "best", or at least best for different kinds of players. The full reviews, to follow next week, will take into account the whole gamut of game modes, graphics, online options and licenses, but when the whistle blows what is it that sets them apart? In FIFA’s defense, though, here's that word again that I'm trying not to use - realism. PES has a higher frequency of spectacular goals, and higher-scoring matches. But FIFA will seem to many like a closer approximation of the real thing - particularly in higher level matches, where games are often decided by one mistake, and YouTube-worthy highlights are something of a rarity.
