Hands on with the women of Federation Internationale de Football Association 16

It can be as simple as “Press X to slide tackle”, or more complex.

“FIFA needed a year like this”, writes Gamespot. EA Sports’ level of authenticity to player animation while dribbling the ball or even brutal collisions is excellent, borderline realistic.

Scouting remains an addictive time sink, although one which eschews believability as you drop down the divisions – my best talent spotter repeatedly recommended Wayne Rooney, Christian Eriksen and Gylfi Sigurdsson. This makes it easy to keep track of and identify your best players. Perhaps the most interesting addition is the inclusion of women’s national sides in the game. At first, I met the addition with a hesitancy that I primarily blame on EA’s marketing.

The complete package is as substantial as ever, and those who’ve acclimatised to FIFA’s play style in recent years will likely consider it good enough. Their use is fairly limited – they can only play against each other, and only in match day, offline tournament, and online friendly.

Skills Trainer is also integrated very well into the upgraded Career Mode. Morgan’s strides are quicker, her arms move with a bit more motion to them and there is a very inspired female movement to them. Players can again choose a player or manager, or create their own and guide their team to victory in the league of their choosing.

The single player offerings are fairly standard.

It’s worth noting, however, that these new features generally work better with higher-rated players/teams within the game. Like its Basketball, Hockey and American Football counterparts, your career path can be one of a manager or an actual player on the team.

Career Mode has been upgraded and bolstered to help your team grow and shape into whatever ideas or ambitions you may have for your club of choice. Going through the motions of finding skilled players through the world is an enticing experiment in both patience and understanding of team finances. This game mode proved to be the most rewarding and entertaining, despite not being entirely fresh from last year’s iteration. Like Federation Internationale de Football Association 16’s underlying mechanics, the AI is repetitious, performing the same old predictable runs down the pitch. For example, if you score five goals, then your shooting skill will improve. Players become loyal after ten matches, and can get the loyalty boost either by being attained on the market through a pack or the transfers.

With so much success to be gained from playing the run-focused, direct passing game, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to sticking with what you know and concentrating on not making mistakes, as opposed to actively looking for creative ways to break down a defence. Despite improvements to the mode’s UI, the mode is relatively similar in structure. Start your Ultimate Team season with Lionel Messi on your squad for 5 games and use the new “KO” and “BAILANDO ROBOT” celebrations when you pre-order today. Other than Ultimate Team cards, the coins can be used to buy a variety of alternate kits and extras. You will be grabbing for your wallet in the hopes of bettering said team.

To aid with all of this, EA Sports have ploughed a lot of time into ensuring players’ faces are accurate, as well as dropping in minor features like the vanishing spray for set-pieces. Player models are decent, with some of the more known players standing out in terms of accuracy to their real life counterparts, but nowhere near flawless .

I must admit that, at first, I wasn’t a big fan of the new feel of the game, but it grew on me and I ended up enjoying it a lot as time progressed.

Commentary is the weakest point of EA Sport’s productions.

Pace and power are still as important as any other attribute, but timing – bursting past a full-back at the right instant, or shrugging off a central defender just as a crossed ball meets your striker’s forehead – is now critical in using them correctly.

Direct free-kicks aren’t all that common in Federation Internationale de Football Association 16. Further fleshing out the world are additional mid-match discussions from Martin Tyler and Alan Smith, such as analysis of transfers made elsewhere in your league. Sure, if you play several games in a row, you will hear repetitive babble that can remove you from your play session.