FIFA 16's player career mode has been largely ignored over the past few years as Ultimate Team and the standard manager mode have taken up a majority of the development time. At its core, the player career mode can be a very fun and rewarding experience as you go from a youngster (the game starts off your created player as a 17-year old) to club captain and maybe even captain your country. Unfortunately, there's a lot in between that falls short of what we should be seeing in 2015. Here are three areas where the career mode could use some improvement:

Lack of Customization and Creativity

When it comes to customization, FIFA 16 lags far behind games such as NBA 2K, MLB The Show and even PES. From hairstyles to running animations, many key details are thin in FIFA 16, which makes this mode feel stale. FIFA 16 has a plethora of official licenses, and with that comes tons of player scans. It's a shame you cannot go to the same barber as Garreth Bale or Neymar.

Individualism as it relates to player animations could also be improved. While you can choose your free-kick style, there are some clear omissions like running and dribbling styles. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best players in the game today and are capable of producing tons of goals, yet they couldn't be any more different when it comes to how they move and dribble. Even though individuality is an area that impacts the greater game, the lack of it really stands out when you're a solo individual in the career mode.

 

 

Wages are Meaningless

In FIFA 16 wages are irrelevant. Make a big-money move from Ajax to Manchester City and seeing your wages nearly double has no impact on your player because there's no place to spend the money. Why not create some sort of player-agent system where more wages can earn you access to a better agent that can make it possible to make your dream move? How about tying it into sponsorship deals or create news stories about how your player is disgruntled because he'd like a new contract on higher wages.

AI Shortcomings On & Off the Pitch

The AI in FIFA 16's player career mode could use a boost. Finding the right difficulty level for your skills is always a challenge, but even more so with FIFA 16. Professional can feel too easy while World Class will often see games play out like this week's Manchester Derby, with neither team creating many chances resulting in a 0-0 draw. Gameplay flaws tend to rear their ugly head in CPU versus CPU, and in this case, the individual career mode. Passiveness when attacking, near perfect defending and frustrating chemistry with your teammates are all magnified in this mode.

The pitch is not the only place where the AI is suffering. Managerial AI could use some improvement, especially when it comes to the lack of instructions or the inexplicable bug where you either start the match in the first 11 or are not selected at all and have to watch from the stands. Coming on as a substitute is once again missing.

Without team styles or knowing what formations certain clubs play make it difficult when trying to solicit a transfer or loan. This is where the aforementioned agent could really help. It only makes sense that if you're a winger you'd like to make a move to a club that employs wingers in their formation. Lastly, being able to turn off ratings while you play is something I have been wanting for years. The enjoyment of the mode can be dampened when your eyes are fixated on your rating and you're worried that one misplaced pass might make you not reach your weekly goal.


What would you like to see added to FIFA's Player Career Mode?