That 2016 might be a bit deceiving. I think Fifa16 was much better when it launched, but they have made it worse with each patch. It's still way better than Fifa 15, which was all about high pressure + lobbed throughballs + pace with Sturridge. I play only Ultimate Team even though online Seasons has much better gameplay. Fifa 16 has its flaws but you can actually play nice buildup play and it feels more realistic. Defending is easier in Fifa16, but players who complain about AI defence are mostly bad dribblers who run straight into defenders..

I haven't played PES really, but I will buy PES this fall and try myclub. I like Fifa16 and I'll be playing it for now but there's also too much EA bullshit and I'm tired of it.

I just finished trying Fifa16 demo on the PS3. It is noticeable that defending is improved (or made easier) and that lobbed throughballs are much much harder to pull off, very noticeable. Thanks for confirming my suspicion :D

With Fifa16 I was better at defending but reaching the opponent's goal keeper is harder than Fifa15, no complaints about that! I need to learn how to dribble. It was much simpler with PES games on the PS2

I play only online FUT and I must say I think Fifa16 is very much about strategy and skill, although random shit and "momentum" also play their part. I love it that stats now actually matter, not just pace, so strategy also comes from choosing different types of players for your playstyle and formation of choice. You really feel the difference between good and bad passer, dribbler etc. so now I can use players like Pirlo, Arteta, Totti and Giroud and play to their strenghts. Fast and agile winger might be good for cutting in and creating space, but then they fuck up that finish or their passes in final 3rd lack quality for example.

That said, I play to win of course but I'm not very competitive so I don't rage if I lose by random events. It's a game where you control one player at time and rest 9 of them are controlled by AI, so it's never solely about skill. Maybe if both play exactly the same team, formation and custom tactics? But that's boring.. In the end, despite all the talk about randomness and "scripting" the best players manage to win consistently.

I sincerely hated Fifa 15, since 13 there really is no improvement, and for me it's even getting worse (the switch between player isn't working well which makes defending impracticable, and the dribbling system is unbalanced).
I will wait that the price of the next games of the franchise drop before buying them i think...