Fifa 12: The Review

It’s that time of the year again when grown men turn into little boys, pick up their controller and
play pretend that they are their favorite footballer (or team) and they are the best in the world at
what they do… I couldn’t be more excited!

It’s been a few years since I delved into PES territory and since I moved to FIFA town I haven’t looked
back. This isn’t a debate about which is better (FIFA) but merely a view on what I have seen in this
year’s number 1 selling football sim.

Straight out of the traps you’ll notice the menu system has had a complete overhaul. A horizontal
menu on screen, which you move across and then up to select your game play of choice. From Game
Modes, Online, Virtual Pro to Customization, you will have plenty to keep yourself busy for the next
while.

I’m a demon for a bit on online play so that’s where I’ve spent most of my time so far and there are
some very positive changes here. None more so than the new Live League online which is a massive
improvement on how last year’s online ranking system worked. You start in the lowest league and
through games (Wins, Draws and Losses) you progress or are relegated to the league that suits
your ability and will play against people within that league. This is a revolutionary improvement on
how you will play online football games and really makes it important to get a result in particular
games, adding to the tension game to game. This new feature paired with a new option to match
you with players that have the same level of Games Quit as you do (I should mention this is my own
personal rage hell. If you are a player that quits a game early when you are losing, we will never get
on because I hate you!), this makes online gaming a far more enjoyable and I reckon I will be on here
more than any other game mode.

On a negative note, I am a little concerned at the rate of games that I have lost so far due to being
signed out of the EA servers and it is something that I will need to monitor over the next few
weeks and will update here if it continues. This is not a network issue due to the fact that I am not
being signed out of Xbox Live but dropping out of the game being played and getting the error
message “you have been signed out of the EA Servers” and being credited with a loss (this is getting
more and more frustrating and I really hope this is only an issue on my end (anyone having similar
issues feel free to comment below) and if it isn’t cleared up the game may become unplayable for
me, which ain’t great…

Overall game play is much more fluid and adds to the true simulation experience. Passing is fast
paced and you can nail an indefensible through pass or completely miscue a pass and leave yourself
exposed to a counter attack. Control and dribbling is much more accurate and with the right
player you hold the key to unlocking a rigid defence, much as you would in a real team. The most
revolutionary aspect of the play is that of defending. This will be the feature of greatest frustration
for repeat players of the last few FIFA games, but will surely prove to be the most rewarding to
master. Instead of your defenders automatically homing into the nearest attacker and making a
challenge when told to you now have to stand off and track an attacker until the right moment
comes to manually tackle. This will drive you insane the first few games you play but once you start
to get the hang of it you will really enjoy the difference it makes to the dynamic of the game, making
it a more open and immersive experience from the top to the bottom of the pitch. The impact
engine definitely adds to the more engaging defensive experience and I haven’t noticed any of the
ridiculous glitches that were popping up all over the internets during the demo. I’ve experienced bad
injuries, real time animations through tackles and excellent blocking through this and it is a welcome
addition.

Overall EA Sports have been busy bunnies since last year’s release and have certainly done enough

to justify €45 of your hard earned bucks with better game play, Kits, Player Likenesses (although
Phil Neville looks like a welly in a chemical fire and there isn’t a lot of detail put in to the fringe
players of clubs eg Danny Welbeck/Generic Black Guy #8), online systems, Commentary (out with
the annoying Andy Grey in with the crazy boring Alan Smith with stupid comments like “I hope the
wefferwee doesn’t get into too much twouble wif his supewiors for that decision”) which also gives
you the dynamic of having a different commentary team of Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend for
cup games etc. and the much talked about physics engine. The game is great and has some strong
improvements from last year’s offering but if the online issues continue it will all have been for
nothing as far as I’m concerned. Watch this space…

Final Score? Well, if the online issues are resolved, then 5/5 if not, can only go as far as 3/5

• Developer EA Sports
• Publisher Electronic Arts
• Release date 30/09/2011