Review: FIFA 12

As another season gets underway another Fifa title comes out to play… How does this Fifa title hold up against previous FIFA titles and is it really worth picking up for the new season? Find out in this review.

With EA Canada behind the title again, you can tell they don’t like the idea of repeating things over and over again have updated the title with a needed lift.

Fifa 12 is much different compared to previous Fifa title and the most noticeable changes can be found in the gameplay mechanics. The three most noticeable are: close control, the player impact engine and the new tactical defending option. It just goes to show how much defending can change the outcome of any game. It was needed and we appreciate it.

Whilst playing the game for over 18 hours, I managed to get to solid grips with it. There were minor complaints from a few friends about it but after a few hours they were in love again with the title. Just like any previous Fifa title it takes time getting use to.  One thing that took me a long time to adjust to was the B an A button commands have changed. I always use to hold B down when running with a player but instead now they do a standing challenge as the A button now needs the RB button to send one of your dedicated AI players to do some defending. For those who still don’t understand, let me explain. In Fifa 12, there’s a multi-layered system that now lets you hold the A button to ‘contain’ the man on the ball – it brings the player you’re controlling right up to him and you’ll automatically attempt to shepherd your opponent into disadvantageous positions. It is precise and works well, it really does make you feel like you are putting pressure on the opposition.

The defending has improved dramatically and it now feels like you are incontrol of the defense and if a strike manages to get through on goal it feels less like an AI problem and more of a problem for the player himself. We can no longer blame the AI which… is good.

Another new defending feature is the ability to now do jocking via the left trigger, this allows you to face the incoming player and create a barrier between him and the goal; this can also be combined with the “run” button in order to deal with sprinting opponents.

As I stated before the defending in this title takes a while to get use to and jockeying can take a while to get to grips with but once you get use to it you can really use the defending element to your advantage.  Holding RB allows two players to jockey a player and can make the opposition struggle trying to get a cross or play the ball. You can adapt to you own playing tyle as well and start to make use of the defensive midfielders to pull them back and use them efficiently for the counter attack, this time round it feels you have so much more space to move and change the pace of the game.

Another update that is welcomed is the player physics which gives you a great sense of physical presence. There’s also an option on the keypad that allows you to pull and tug at an opponent’s shirt, helping you get that all important slide tackle. Collisions have never looked better. Even though the demo didn’t do the game justice.

Now breaking away from the main generic modes there have been a few added extras. Ultimate team is back and is present straight from the disc first time around. It has had a new redesign and has made it much more easier to take control of you team. You can also have more than one squad to select from thanks to the avaliable to have slots.  The Ultimate Team mode has become a much better social experience and hunting for the best players has again become an addictive feature.

Virtual Pro is also back, allowing you to create your own player from scratch, and the usual tournament and live season options are present with timely presentational tweaks.

Career Mode is essentially the same as Fifa 11, the mode allows you to experience the career of a player, manager or player manager through a whole lifetime in the game, transferring from one club to another, lunging into the transfer market and competing for league and cup glory. The interface has also had a much needed lift and now there is much more info going on in the main screen.If you choose to go as a manager and have played FIFA 11 then you will have noticed tactical screens have changed, removing the “Player Growth” option, which let you monitor the ratings of your squad members, in favour of two more useful options: squad report and squad ranking. It has become a bit more Football manager esk.

In the future I have a feeling the career modes will get a bit more better and make it deeper, allowing the option to scout for young squad members and bring them up into your teams.

My favourite new mode is the challenging new online head-to-head season mode, which lets players compete against each other in league and cup competitions. All participants begin in the lowest league and seasons lasting between 10 and 14 games. The games decide who will be promoted and relegated. It is brilliant and really addictive as you want to play at your best to get promoted.

There is also another new feature which is  EA Sports Football Club, the new social networking service for Fifa players. Here, friends will be able to compare stats and achievements, while challenging each other to online friendlies. If you manged to play Need For Speed Hot Pursuit EA have taken the autolog feature and have implemented it into Fifa 12. It’s different and we hope it works as the menu system looks decent, offering a news wall, leaderboards and the Challenge option where you get to take on specific football tasks, based on real-life games.

Animations have also had an expressive adjustment to make them look more fluid and finally the commentary is a bit more authentic. However it still takes a while to the new commintator Alan Smith but in time you will come to terms with him.

The pace of the game has changed a lot from Fifa 11, along with dribbiling being a key feature in Fifa 12. During reviewing Fifa 12 I also played its rival and noticed that PES 12 is still be a bit behind Fifa considering pace. I felt that the players reaction with the ball seemed a bit odd and not realistic enough. With the AI being solid,but I still find some players still don’t read the ball to well but some of the time i still question if its my thought of expecting to much from the players. They read a lot of commands well just sometimes seem a bit in there own world but overall the AI reacts the best they have ever in any Fifa title.

Overall: Fifa 12 is the best Fifa title yet and the reason why I am giving it 5 stars because of all the massive improvements and much needed updates in certain areas have really made this the most realistic Football title to date.  Its near perfect, just a few minor personal issues but overall the experience isn’t ruined the online experience is at its best and the Ultimate Team is also improved to a more solid state. We now just can’t wait till next years title and see what else they can throw into the brilliant Football title.