FIFA 16 Reviews
Lacking fluidity and dynamism, football's reigning king has lost its crown.
FIFA's interpretation of football removes some of the fun, but it offers so much else besides it's still a worthwhile game.
Still the best football game you can buy for your rig, but FIFA 16 feels unambitious.
The worst FIFA game for over half a decade, and clearly inferior to PES 2016. And yet it's still not a bad game in itself, with some welcome new features.
New moves threaten to weigh down FIFA's snappy pace and breezy playability, but while slightly slower and more methodical, 16 plays a deeper, more balanced game of football.
The evolved gameplay keeps you coming back more than any specific new feature
FIFA 16 can be stubborn and stifling, but it feels gloriously new, and having to learn fresh strategies and nuances in a game series like this is an almost-forgotten pleasure.
This sequence is the story of FIFA 16, from its participants, to the tools used to deliver the goal, to the cathartic payoff that sent me leaping from my seat. Sports video gaming is at its best when you're fighting your ass off and the miracle comes through. And when it does, no game rolls out the TNT like FIFA 16.
I've consistently defended FIFA as the most well-rounded sports sim. But the series has felt like it's been standing still this generation, and that is felt more acutely than ever in FIFA 16. As always, it has its strengths, and the FUT Draft is a strong addition, but it's not enough to break the feeling of staleness that has descended upon the once undisputed king of sports games.
As a whole, FIFA 16 plays well and fantastic visual cues. It will be interesting to see how EA will be pushed to produce a winning title if PES continues to keep the pressure.
Lots of small improvements both on and off the pitch make this the best FIFA in years.
Building off an already great game last year, the addition of Women's National Teams, albeit limited in use, as well as the new FUT Draft easily make FIFA 16 yet another entry in this long running series that should not be passed.
FIFA 16 is an incremental improvement, but with legacy issues still plaguing the on-field action the changes feel hollow in light of PES 2016's overwhelming turnaround.
Without a doubt, FIFA 16 provides countless hours of fun football. Any soccer fan will find tons to enjoy here. After all, this game is your mom's mac and cheese. It's familiar. It's comfortable. And that's the problem.
Overall, FIFA is clearly the most technically sound sports franchise in EA Sports' pocket, which can result in a lack of risk taking. For now, no risks are needed, as FIFA 16 is a fantastic addition to a storied franchise.
FIFA 16 is light on sweeping changes but heavy on refinement, building an excellent new foundation for EA's football series.
Pro Evolution Soccer has closed the gap on its long-standing rival, but myriad teams and features keep this the season's standout player
Something of a return to form after 15, but sooner rather than later EA will need to stop re-arranging pieces of their existing code and actually develop a properly new and substantial FIFA engine.
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.
It's maddening, beautiful and downright frustrating all in the same utterance; an unpredictable, oftentimes surprising, experience that gives and takes in the same breath. It's more like the sport that it's trying to replicate than ever before and oddly enough that's not always as laudable as one might think. Though not as refined as optimally as one would hope, there is undoubted progress in this year's FIFA.