Fifa 12 Review

The time of year is upon us where we look forward to a winter full of ice, snow and a silly amount of time playing Fifa 12. Ea's latest installment builds on the solid platform which was Fifa 11, one of the most popular online games over the past year, winner of multiple industry awards and outright winner of the classic Fifa vs PES showdown. But where do you begin to improve on such a popular and well viewed game? After a few weeks since release, I will provide my take on the game as a whole, overall verdict is at the bottom of the page.

As soon as you rip open the game case with excitement and load up the game, the first thing you are greeted with (apart from your game settings and preferred club) is the new defending system tutorial. For those of you who have been familiar with Fifa's of old, then the new defending system comes as a shock to those who are used to pressing B or O to jostle your opponent. This now puts in a tackle every time you press B or O, your timing has to be impeccable. As well as this you now need to master calling in a second defender, giving the attacking player room so that you have a chance to tackle and overall timing of your runs. Many people however are complaining and becoming frustrated over the new defending system as it takes time to master, which some players do not have the patience for.

Coming into this same category is the new real life Player Contact engine which simulates how a player would react if touched, fouled or generally impeded. I have seen a few instances where players fall over dramatically but I am sure this is down to poor balance stats. Like last year, you cannot simply run into a player as any contact while the player is running at you will normally result in a free kick, unless contact with the ball is met.

Straight from release date this year, Ultimate Team has been featured and for those of you who have purchased the Special Edition Fifa (for £3 more) you receive 2 Gold packs every month for 6 months. The features of Ultimate Team have stayed the same but that is what made it so addictive from the beginning, it's originality. I find it an enjoyable experience to play against your friends team and buy and sell players at every opportunity. It is a refreshing change to the experiences of Career mode.

Another year, another change in Career mode. With the same options as last year Player, Manager or Player/ Manager, it may seem familiar at first to those of you who are acquainted with previous Fifa Career modes. Much like the rest of the game, as soon as you peel back the familiar packaging, you find a totally new mode which to explore. Players are now more interactive with you in saying they are frustrated, tired or feel as though they are ready for the next game. It brings another taste of realism to this already realistic Fifa experience.

Online gameplay features the same problems which its predecessors also had. Players tend to go 5 star teams such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man United and Inter to name but a few. This is all well and good on the odd occasion but every game? No thanks. Quitters also are the exact same. If you are winning 5-0 with half time approaching, your opponent will sometimes quit and you are left with the resulting 'Did not finish' and a 3-0 victory for you. In all honesty however, EA cannot do much about which team people go or if they quit or not. Its the same for most competitive sports games. For some people it is easier to quit than to put up a fight til the game is finished.

Right to the Verdict...

Fifa 12 builds on a solid platform which has given the series wide success. With new features such as a new Career mode, gameplay features like Tactical Defending and Real Life contact engine, I think that this addictive and compelling football game, is the best game the series has had since the early 00's. For those who have played and are unsure or hate the defending. Practice, practice and practice some more. It will come naturally! And one more thing, don't go Barcelona... Pleeeeeeeaaassseee?

9/10