Even though I was always going to buy Fifa 16 regardless of what the reviewers said, there had been a lot of talk this year about PES 16 being the better option especially in terms of gameplay. I pre-ordered my copy of Fifa 16 a day before the release date here in Canada and while eagerly waiting for my copy to arrive at my doorstep, I looked at many early reviews of the game. To my surprise I found that the reviews were mostly negative as many people thought the game was lackluster or even just terrible.
I must say, reading some of these reviews really killed some
of my anticipation for the game. So when the game finally did arrive I was
anxious to even play it. Nonetheless my curiosity got the better of me and I
fired it up, I did after all pay $100 for the deluxe edition, I’d have to play it at
some point.
My first impression of Fifa 16 is that it is quite similar
to Fifa 15 but with amped up presentation, graphics and squad updates.
Considering the reviews for Fifa 15 were generally
favorable, I was kind of surprised to find mostly negative reviews regarding
Fifa 16.
To me Fifa 16 feels quite similar if not exactly like Fifa
15 at least in terms of gameplay, with a few updates as well as a new game mode
called Ultimate Team Draft, which by the way is quite fun and addicting. While
the Draft mode is quite good, it is not the thing that stood out for me, the
first time I fired up Fifa 16. It was the breathtaking presentation of Fifa 16
the really caught my eye.
If there is one thing that Fifa does well it is their
presentation, and this year I think they outdid themselves.
The presentation in Fifa 16 is truly immaculate. Last year
when Fifa 15 came out, I thought it was the best looking Fifa ever and didn’t
think they could improve upon the presentation much this time around, I was
wrong. Everything from the stadium including the people IN the stadium, to the
atmosphere as well as the pitch and ESPECAILLY the players have all been
exceptionally done and done better than in Fifa 15. They even added the magic
spray to Fifa 16. At first glance this might not seem like such a big deal, but
it just adds THAT much more to the realism and “feel” of the game.
Another thing that stood out for me was the prices of
players in Ultimate Team, with EA implementing its min/max for Ultimate Team players towards the
end of last year; it seems they carried this on in Fifa 16 and I for one am
glad. Yes, they did this mainly because they want more money. They were losing
money to coin sellers and while I’m sure coin selling still exists it’s just on
a much smaller scale due to min/max prices settings. This means that instead of
Messi costing 7 million fifa coins he now costs a more reasonable 1.2-1.4
million. Now don’t get me wrong that is still A LOT of coins but it seems much
more feasible to attain Messi at that price than at 7 million coins.
IF Messi DID cost 7 million the ONLY way for someone to
attain one would be through packs or well buying coins and so while people were
buying coins, the prices were always insanely inflated and sometimes the market
in Ultimate Team just crashed.
Hopefully this year we can have a more stable marketplace
for Ultimate Team, with more stable and reasonable prices for players.
So what then was the problem that so many of these reviewers
found to be so terrible about Fifa 16?
And the answer is nothing, I think most people feel like EA
should have implemented some huge game changing mechanic that alters the
playing style or changes the pace of the game. But the thing that makes
fifa…well fifa, is the way it plays. While I have not played PES in a while, the
last time I DID try it the movement of the players felt robotic, while in fifa
the movement of players and movement in general seems more fluid, albeit a
little fast paced.
Now this all could
have changed this year as some of the reviews indicated that PES 16 gameplay
far surpasses Fifa 16 gameplay, but I am a little skeptical of that, and I
think people’s outlook is blinded by the fact that they were just expecting
MORE out of fifa 16 this year for whatever reason.
Yes, while it IS true that EA seems to be milking their cash
cow, and instead of making huge game changing strides have decided to keep
relying on a model that already works well. I also do agree that some part of
Fifa’s gameplay does need to be updated or fixed, but why change something that
is already pretty good only to accidentally have it turn up being much worse?
With Fifa 16’s new amped up presentation, new Draft mode for
Ultimate Team and long awaited changes to career mode, I think Fifa 16 is not
that bad of a game, if anything its actually quite a good game, better in some
ways than Fifa 15. I may be one of the few people who feels this way, but at
the end of the day I think regardless of what people say they have or are going
to buy AND play Fifa 16 anyways, and they SHOULD.
Fifa 16 has a lot to keep people occupied and while they
only made minor improvements to the game overall, they all seem to add up
making Fifa 16 a good game to play.
You can watch my very first fifa game against the computer in the El Classico match up below.
I would like to hear YOUR thoughts on Fifa 16 and whether or
not you think it’s a decent game or completely garbage. Feel free to leave your
comments in the comments section below!
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