By Sean Mcdonald
Staff Writer
Constant complaints about product quality is something EA Sports have definitely familiarized themselves within the last few years, most notably in their soccer franchise series FIFA. But, EA may have found their happy medium this year with the release of FIFA 16, which so far provides a very balanced gameplay system.
FIFA 16 is what next generation gamers were hoping FIFA 15 would be. It feels completely different than last years version, which was heavily criticized for not offering enough balance to the game. FIFA 15 was also heavily criticized for having components to it that were unrealistically overpowered.
In recent years, EA Sports has produced multiple games that have come under harsh consumer scrutiny. The general consensus from the gaming community is that EA Sports produces games that lack in server consistency, have poorly prepared game engines, and lure in their customers with microtransactions that have little reward.
With FIFA 16, whether or not the servers consistently function optimally or not is something only time can tell. But, it can most definitely be confirmed that the game engine is much more balanced and realistic than it has been in the past, and feels like real soccer. However, there are the microtransactions, which are infamous for luring players in only to find disappointment, and nothing has changed about that this year.
The most well designed mode in the game is career mode. There are two ways to play, either a manager career, where the user manages a team and makes financial decisions, or player career, where the user makes a player and travels through the life of a professional soccer player, which is an interactive and unique way to play the game. Both were a lot of fun to play, but the one that stood out the most was the manager career mode, because it had a lot of depth to it and felt like a lot of effort was put into it. It also was an obvious progression from the last years’ version.
The thing that really stood out this year more than anything was how the game physically felt. It was a very organic, fluid, and balanced game that has been more impressive in terms of gameplay than any other FIFA in recent memory. The players seem like themselves and played more like they would in real life.
Generally, the game mode that is most played in FIFA is Ultimate Team, which allows the player to create a team with their desired players, hailing from a multitude of leagues and countries.
Despite its unique concept, the Ultimate Team mode was almost the exact same thing as last year. It was a lot of fun to build teams, and to experiment with different leagues and countries, but there was an obvious lack of ingenuity. Few aesthetic improvements such as the coloration of the background of the screen, the design in player cards, and the new Draft Mode failed to add any significant changes to the game mode.
However, FIFA produced some innovative concepts such as Draft Mode, a game mode in Ultimate Team that allows the player to draft a team of some of the top players from around the world. It is an interesting idea, however it seems that EA has once again weaseled their way into making more money off of their game by making it necessary to use real money to purchase in-game currency in order to play the game mode.
The worst thing about the game was EA’s ever present self advertisement lurking around every corner of the in game menu. While scrolling through the menu, it feels like an electronic billboard promoting EA Sports which is both irritating and repetitive.
EA Sports has finally successfully done what they have been trying to do for years, which was to release a game with balance and fairness. FIFA 16 triumphs over its predecessors in quality, and is a must buy for consumers who can tolerate constant EA advertising.
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