clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

FIFA 16 burnishes the career modes with preseason tournaments and practice

Owen S. Good is a longtime veteran of video games writing, well known for his coverage of sports and racing games.

Over the years, EA Sports' FIFA series has tiptoed a fine line of not fixing what isn't broken. That said, major parts of the game will wind up needing something new after a few years, not because they're bad or outdated, just because they're due. In FIFA 16, the career modes are the squeaky wheel getting the grease.

Pre-season tournaments are added to the managerial mode (where one controls the entire team, and its personnel decisions). To give them some teeth, winning a tournament will add some funds to a team's transfer budget, so the process isn't as irrelevant as Madden's eminently skippable preseason, for example.

The second addition shrewdly takes advantage of the FIFA series' very enjoyable training drills, allowing a player to coach up his or her team between matches with a variety of practices to shore up weak areas or improve strengths. Provided that these don't occupy too much time (or pose any paralyzing choices of who to train), this should broaden the career experience.

Sounds like the broadcast presentation gets a new coat of paint, and there are some other finishing touches put on the personnel management aspect.

FIFA 16 launches Sept. 22 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Women grace both the game and its cover (in the U.S., Canada and Australia) for the first time, though they are not playable in the career suite. For more, see Polygon's preview from E3 2015.

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.