4. FIFA 16
It is no surprise that this juggernaut made its way into the top 5 for 2015. Year after year, FIFA offers one of the most feature and mode-heavy sports games on the market. Addictive online play, a polished Ultimate Team mode, deep career options, and the brand new Ultimate Team Draft mode made FIFA 16 one of the most replayable sports titles of the year.
“Physics” tends to be a buzzword when discussing changes that are made to annual sports titles. With every new iteration there seems to be some overhaul, or at the very least a tweak, to the physics engine, but the changes to specifically ball physics in FIFA 16 make a noticeable difference when playing. Touch passes, lobs, and through balls had a much lower success rate which resulted in a more balanced product when facing speedier teams. No touch dribbling added a level of sophistication to getting past defenders that no other FIFA offering had seen.
Coming hot off the heels of a Women’s World Cup finals game that drew a record 25.4 million viewers, the biggest addition to FIFA 16 was the inclusion of 12 women’s national teams. While for some this may seem like an addition of no consequence, the truth of the matter is there is a brand of soccer that has provided great excitement for a couple decades that was egregiously absent from a product licensed to include it. EA Sports saw the hole in their product and took small but important steps to fill it.
