Three Things You Have To Do In FIFA 16

We all have ways we like to play a game, particularly if it's a sports title with which we're super familiar. But whether you're a long-time FIFA player or looking for your first turn with the franchise, there are some things in FIFA 16 I highly recommend you check out.

The game is naturally packed to the gills with things new and old that are worth experiencing, from this year's inclusion of Women's national teams and training in career mode, to Ultimate Team and Online Seasons. A trio of things stand out, however, as elements I suggest you go out of your way to investigate.

NO TOUCH FEINTS

This is a new control this year that lets you move your player and maintain possession of the ball without touching or dribbling it. It's not something I use in all situations, but I really like it when I do. Because the player's body movements are divorced from the ball itself, it's useful for making quick little fake movements or stepovers.

These kinds of skill moves are still available through the right analog stick like in past years, but this new control is a quicker move to make a little shimmy that is not only easier to pull off (simply hold down LB/L1 and move the left analog) but the animations are less involved than a potentially wasteful skill move. I personally avoid skill moves the vast majority of the time because of these reasons, and this new control gives me more moves in my bag of tricks without having to worry whether I or the player on the screen can pull them off.

You can also use this command to manually move the player around to shield the ball from opponents and face teammates before you pass without having to take extra steps to turn and dribble with the ball.

EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE

I was pleasantly surprised that I had to change up my normal tactics while playing FIFA 16 – not drastically, but I had to better plan how I was going to get through the midfield. I encourage you to try new things when playing the game to get better and unlock the middle of the field. I played with my formations and lineup, used different d-pad strategies at times, and tried to approach situations in new ways.

The game will restrict you to the sides of the field when you're on the attack, so I had to work harder to make things work by cutting in and trying to decipher when a through ball was needed on the edge of the box versus a regular pass, as well as when I could do a give-and-go. This isn't new for FIFA, but I found I had to be more cognizant this year of how I was building up play. So far I'm scoring a lot less than I have last year, and I'm just starting to figure out how to find my scoring touch.

On defense, I actually got in the habit of controlling a defender off the ball while using the teammate pressure command. Although I wish it was more aggressive, I used this command while I controlled a player specifically to try and cut out passes and anticipate my opponent's runs. I started doing this because I found that I was getting beat in a lot of one-on-one situations by the A.I., so this was the best way to prevent getting burned while still playing some good defense.

FUT DRAFT

The entry fee for this variation of Ultimate Team might be a little steep at 15,000 coins (your first play is free), but I suggest you give it more than a try. The rewards even for losing your first match are good in that you'll get multiple packs with some decent players to aid your regular FUT squad (or you can sell them), and the challenge of putting together a good lineup is fun.

Although you can pick the order of the positions you draft for in your starting 11, you never know which way the dominos are going to fall. Chemistry is still important for all the spots, so although you may be satisfied with how your LB and CB link together, you just hope that it's not at the expense of whomever you draft later at LM. Similarly, the subs you draft can change your entire philosophy if someone good drops in your lap and you want to put them in your starting lineup. Even from the get-go you have to pick a formation (which you can't change), forcing you to make crucial decisions from the start.

This may all sound too restricting, but I liked having to make some compromises and even try and field a team that I knew had chemistry issues, although it had its strengths at the same time.

FIFA 16 comes out tomorrow, and we'll have our review up for the game at 2:00 AM central time.