jamesbonds

So September’s done, which means only one thing. a new version of FIFA has hit the stores… oh and rAge is around the corner; oh and it’s nearly Halloween, oh and Spring is here and.. okay fine lots of things happen in September but the one we are talking about today is the new version of FIFA which I’ve been putting through its paces over the last few weeks.

I’m a massive football supporter and the FIFA titles are the ones that I normally head back to all season long in the run up to important games for my club, Liverpool, and so for me the realism and accuracy in the players is one of the defining issues for me – but official branding and graphics only goes so far and the longevity of any sporting title is in the gameplay and modes on offer. So lets run through this quickly and see what EA has offered up this year.

Graphics

EA make a huge effort every year to map all of the top players faces, body movements and styles – and this year is no exception. One of my favourite things about FIFA is that you can see who the players are simply by how they are running and moving on the field as they mimic their rea- life counterparts to near perfection.

The stadiums are expertly rendered and you can feel the vibe change throughout the different arenas with the most advanced crowd rendering and reactions yet. It isn’t an uncommon experience for people to wander past while you are playing and for them to mistakenly believe you are watching a live game…but it is by no means perfect.

Once again FIFA has failed on the rendering of the eyes and any close ups of the faces bring the startling failures to light. Looking into their eyes is like staring into the depths of an abyss with nothing but death and despair staring back. It really is quite jarring but thankfully this is only an issue during the beginning of the match when the teams are lining up and after the game starts the glorious graphics are back.

Different Modes

As always FIFA is choc-full of different gameplay modes like exhibition games, full seasons, grow your pro, European league, international tournaments and the always popular FIFA Ultimate Team.My personal favourite is the seasons experience where you can take charge of any of the hundreds of licenced teams and leagues and experiencing what it is like to manage your favourite team and take them all the way to the top.

This includes a fully-functional transfer system with scouts and windows along with the ability to assign specific training to specific players every week to enhance your players abilities.

FIFA Ultimate Team is pretty much the Hearthstone of football where you are given a random selection of player cards which you use to create the best team you can, while taking into account the different ways the cards buff each other. Then you take your team into tournaments and compete to win extra Fut 16 coins which you can then use to buy new packs and improve your team.

Or you could whip out your wallet and pay to get some quality players to speed up this process and then challenge the rest of the world. Personally it’s not my favourite part of the game but it is hugely popular and therefore is obviously back and probably better than ever.