The next two weeks are like a second Christmas for sports gamers. With NBA 2k16 and FIFA 16 coming out in late September, most of us with a limited a budget and time face a crucial life decision. With the choice of “Being the story” in 2k or “Playing beautifully” in FIFA, we have set out to show you the new features of both games and what they have to offer.

FIFA 16:

FIFA is a game that brings friends together, helps families bond, and shatters all that it built up with a 90th minute goal. Featuring new modes, gameplay, and improvements on the FIFA Ultimate Team mode, FIFA 16 shatters expectations and puts itself at the front of new video game releases. The first, and the most consistent improvement from year to year are the graphics and sounds. Featuring face scans of the entire Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga, FIFA 16  is the most realistic game yet, with almost all players looking life-like. Certain stars, such as Messi and Zlatan, have scans combined with multiple photoshoot pictures to recreate in game facial expressions, such as ecstatic joy when they score, or heartbreak when an opponent’s late goal gives them the dramatic win. To fully encapsulate the atmosphere of the arena, over 900 new cheers have been added to FIFA 16. Crowds will no longer sound the same, making the generic noises when a goal is scored or a chance created. The signature chant of Paris Saint Germain, Allez Paris, can be heard loud and clear throughout Parc de Princes, as Zlatan and Matuidi attempt to lead the French Champions to another Ligue 1 title.

Personal creativity also shines through in the new edition of FIFA, as new celebrations have been added to the arsenal of last year’s. The new celebrations include Wayne Rooney’s signature KO, and Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Batman and Robin mask. FIFA’s programmers also studied Lionel Messi’s no touch dribbling and the movements behind it. The new no-touch dribbling allows you to fake one way and go the other while the ball continues to roll, which presents a new way to get around defenders. The best dribbling addition to FIFA 16 is purposeful nutmegs, which gives the satisfaction of beating and embarrassing a defender. Several new skill moves have been added to the repertoire of skills, making five star skillers such as Neymar, Douglas Costa, and Ronaldo. One of the new moves is the Bolasie flick, a blend of a roulette and a chop, completely turning defenders around as they lose track of both you and the ball.

Added to FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) this year is the FUT Draft. The Draft allows normal players to have high rated people on their teams, to help even the playing field. You start by selecting one of five captains presented to you, all of them high rated players at different positions. You then go position by position, selecting one of the five presented players while trying to perfect chemistry, rating, and formation. No in-form players will be able to be selected in the FUT Draft, but they will still be widely available in the transfer market. EA intends to help fix the mess they made with the implementation of price caps last year, and to satisfy the FIFA users. FIFA is definitively the way to go with video games this year, as the new improvements make the game we all love even better.

NBA 2K16:

The NBA 2K franchise has clearly seen the progress and growth of their fellow competitor NBA Live, and has appeared to take the required steps to regain the top spot of NBA video games. From an almost complete overhaul to its biggest modes to fine tuning the gameplay, NBA 2K16 looks to be the most authentic NBA video game yet.  

For starters, it appears that the 2K team has listened to its community of gamers with the decision to bring back online leagues. However, this year the game mode will be called 2K Pro-Am. Also, this mode appears to have taken the spot of MyPark, a largely unsuccessful mode last year, but one that has a lot of potential. Pro-Am will have instant matchmaking, as requested by the community, and it allows players to use their MyPlayer to join a team of other players. This can be achieved by a player fully customizing his team from his jersey, stadium, and team information and then inviting friends to join their team or a player can randomly join a team that needs a spot to fill. This game mode has been highly requested by the 2K gaming community since it was taken away once NBA 2K started making next-generation games. With the implementation of Pro-Am, 2K has solved two of its biggest problems from a year ago, the lack of an online league and being forced to wait anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes trying to find a game in MyPark.

Also, the team of workers at NBA 2K have made vast changes to its offline game modes as well. MyGM, 2K’s version of a career mode, now offers team relocation, Summer League, and an improved and more involved way of simulating games. These changes offer a more realistic feel to MyGM that the community is very excited about. Also, changes have been made to the NBA Draft and Draft Lottery which appears to better match that of a real life Draft. Now, players can feel the suspense of the Draft Lottery, and Draft night has been made more personalized to the user’s controlled team. While these may seem like important changes, the best is yet to come. Since NBA 2k10, 2K’s most successful and appealing game mode has been its MyCareer. This a mode in which the user creates and takes control of a player and tries to make it in the NBA. This year 2K has made some changes to its creation part including making it more user controlled, improving the face scan, and adding more realistic tattoos. Beginning in NBA 2K13, MyCareer implemented cutscenes where users now have control of their player’s actions off the court as well. This feature was loved by the community and 2K has taken steps to improve this game mode each year. However, NBA 2K16 promises to have the best MyCareer storyline yet. 2K has hired producer and basketball fanatic Spike Lee to come up with this year’s storyline so it should be full of excitement. 2K also managed to include some colleges this year, making it seem like this year’s mode will take your player from his time in college and his transition to the NBA. Spike Lee said in an interview that they have come up with and recorded over 90 hours of cutscenes as you guide your player through the trials and tribulations of being in the NBA.

NBA 2K16 has once again taken the next step to being the best basketball video game yet, and having heard about the new and improved game modes as well as the countless gameplay enhancements. So go ahead and spend that extra cash you saved from the summer and buy NBA 2K16 because it promises to make your weekends much more exciting.

You can’t go wrong with either game, but the choice is yours. If you decide FIFA 16, the full game will be released on September 22, but if you choose NBA 2K16, you’ll have to wait another week when the full game is released on September 29. However, don’t let that affect your decision; both games have and endless amount of possibilities and will certainly keep you entertained throughout the year.