More importantly, it’s finally possible to have faith in your keeper or back three/four/five. I’ve liked recent FIFAs, but also found them filled with moments where I threw my hands up in exasperation and yelled “why?!” at an AI team-mate. Full-backs make attack-joining runs without you having to set a specific tactic, team-mates look for open pockets of space in which to receive a short pass, forwards pull away from defenders in order to attack crosses (which are faster, and whippier, and generally more effective): there’s so much less standing around. In GR’s FIFA 22 preview, developer EA Canada spoke about mo-capping 22 players together for the first time, and you really feel the results. More pensive approach play is a huge factor, but it’s not just about the man on the ball. Various tweaks made across the last 12 months enable FIFA 22, in its current guise, to do a strong job on that front. Because for those weaned on the classic Pro Evo efforts of yesteryear, sports gaming is all about mimicking the real thing while having fun along the way. Many, myself included, considered it a poorer football simulation as a result. We’ll get an answer to the above when the first patch arrives a few weeks after release – for FIFA 21 it brought numerous gameplay changes based on community feedback, such as (sigh!) increased swiftness across the park. But are there any purists left? Rock you like a Harry Kane Purists, you’d hope, would welcome more authentic football. Years of playing Division Rivals and Weekend League have conditioned me to end-to-end basketball style matches where the quickest, most meta team wins. Yet I get the sense that the wider community is going to hate those changes. Patience feels not only encouraged, but rewarded, and while speed has been toned down, the addition of a burst move to surge past a defender is a masterstroke. I’m finding it the most believable FIFA in years, its gentler pace welcoming cerebral midfield play and intricate work around the box, searching for a decisive pass. This puts the latest edition of EA’s footballing juggernaut in a curious place. Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC

Fifa 16 ps4 reviews