That thing you hated in

And secondly, the legwork needed to deliver a version of the women’s game EA felt happy with has improved the game as a whole. Player model scaling used to be linear, which means every part of the body was increased the same amount in order to recreate players of different sizes. Getting women’s bodies to look authentic meant designing a more sophisticated system, with the side-effect that some more outlandish specimens in the men’s game--Channon picks out Peter Crouch and Ade Akinfenwa-- are accurately modelled for the first time. There’s a similar story for modelling long hair too. You’re welcome, Ibra.

What does all this mean? That the early signs are good, at least in terms of the core gameplay. There’s already more change and improvement going on here than we saw in a finished FIFA 15, and the women’s game is a long-due addition being handled with precise attention to detail. Most of the stuff I hated, and you probably hated too, is on the way out. True, UItimate Team plays such a central role in FIFA’s longevity these days that excitement should be tempered until we know more about EA’s plans are there, but for now--cautious optimism is permitted.