I'm writing this review assuming that you've already played FIFA 11. Reasons for this are, FIFA 11 was a revolution. After the staleness of FIFA 10 (which was basically a clone of 09 where they made it easier for you to tackle and score ridiculous goals) I was on the verge of converting to a Pro Evolution Soccer fan. I play football (soccer) in real life and personally, I like my video games to be real, not random button mashers with miserable flexibility. I loved 09, sure, but I was sick of 10. I nearly didn't buy 11, but I finally did and it blew me away.
I'll admit, PES is boring. Realism? Meh, I can't believe FIFA actually went one-up on PES in terms of realism. Maybe it doesn't have the same flexibility, but it sure as hell is way more fun, especially if you plan to play online or with a friends.
I'm assuming you've already played FIFA 11, because you should have, if you're looking to buy/play 12. 11 & 12 are nothing like the FIFA games we've seen before - better graphics, better animations, fluidity, gameplay... I consider these two as a pair of my favorite jeans now.
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Let's get down to business now, then?
1. What should you look forward to from FIFA 12?
-> If you've been doing your research, you probably know about the new Dribbling-system, Player-Impact system and the new Tactical-Defending system. If not, I'll keep it short and simple.
The PI-system is a completely revamped version of the player-collision animations that were in FIFA 11. It claimed realistic animations - judging by the videos, and I'll admit it looked really cool on the videos. My personal experience with it? Its not always noticeable in-game, because this game is so intense you don't pay much attention to such details really. It is a nice touch, and if you use the instant-replay option you can actually analyze tackles and see how realistically players react to collisions. Some glitches with this system, which I hope will be addressed by future patches, are some clipping issues when your player(s) celebrate after scoring - hands and legs can pass through your superstars body. Interesting sight, but doesn't really score brownie points unless this were a zombie-killing game. Another random bug I noticed was that in Be-A-Pro mode, every time you assisted in a goal and celebrated right after, the goal-scorer would run circles around you for like 5-6 seconds, resulting in an extremely dizzying and head-ache inducing camera shot. My advice? Do not celebrate an assist in B.A.P., wait for a patch. It was extremely irritating and obviously very unrealistic. Also, there were some exaggerations with the way players reacted to tackles sometimes, flying all over the place. On the whole though, a good, refreshing new system, albeit with minor issues.
The new Dribbling system is a beauty. It actually goes hand in hand with the new Tactical Defending system, so I'll talk about both together. Tactical Defending is the answer to all the flak EA had to take for the now-infamous kamikaze defenders that you could blast at opposing attackers, stopping them in their tracks (also known variously as 'homing-missiles' and 'tomahawks', and I'm pretty sure some more happy names). This made the game so easy while defending, judging by how easy it was to win back the ball. You didn't have to do any work but press down the button to call a team mate to attack while your player stood there looking at his girlfriend in the stands. FIFA 12 makes you WORK both ON and OFF the ball. Explain how, you ask? Here's how it works. The game focuses on the pace control / jockey button more than ever before. That seldom-used function is now an integral part of your defending game. You use this button to charge at your opponent, but your player doesn't tackle him automatically. YOU DO THE TACKLING in this game! Likewise, the kamikaze-defenders button now just sends a random defender to CLOSE-DOWN the attacker, but not tackle him. The closing-down is designed to encourage dribbling skills on the part of the attacking side; and for you as the defending side, you can now send a player to keep the attacker at bay while you focus on cutting off runs and filling holes in your defense. I remember times when I was absolutely disgusted with my inability to deal with runs the other team was making - remember those times when you could SEE those obvious runs, but could do nothing about it? Well at last you can. The game is much harder than it was before, and you'll probably take a couple of games to get the hang of it, but love it you will, even if you're not much of a defender. EA deserves kudos for innovating like this.
Moving on to the Dribbling system, its based entirely off the skill move modifier button, LT on the X360 controller I use for my laptop. The game makes you use this button for all your dribbling - its not like you want to use it, you HAVE to use it if you want to get past good defenders. This blends well with the fact that tackling is now user-controlled, so if you're playing human opponents this is where it really heats up - when its your Messi against his Nesta, and it all goes down to timing. Oh yes, you can finally ROUND THE KEEPER! I can't believe how excited I was about this new feature, and I actually stumbled upon it by chance, but its now longer does the keeper grab the ball off of your feet like he did in FIFA 11. If you time it right, you can go past him. Likewise, you can avoid tackles on-the-turn. As in, when you were trying to get past defenders by turning to their sides, they could simply slide tackle and stop you, but now your player reacts to such tackles more realistically. If you have a good dribbler, you can fend off such tackles and get into goalscoring positions. Its also a great way to gain a yard or two for a defense-splitting pass or a snap-shot at the goal posts. And, of course, its made dribblers like Messi, Ronaldo and the others that much more valuable; something that was missing in the previous iterations.
In Short - You have TONS to look forward to, learn, and experiment with.
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2. Is it worth getting, like ASAP?
=> That's a no-brainer. Okay, I'll confess that I bought FIFA 11 about 4 months back (where was I??) and wasn't quite done with the game, but I got 12 anyway, and I'm extremely happy about it. I still play 11 because the online activity is high, and because there aren't too many people playing 12 online right now. I got five games in all out of like 20 tries. Not very impressive. But then, the game's just released and it should be a week before it gets really intense.
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3. I based the first part of my review off of basically the demo that was released on the 13th. Upon playing the full game I noticed there wasn't any difference in gameplay.
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4. Graphics are slightly improved over 11, and so are animations. If you really want to see the differences though, you'll need to have the settings at High and MSAA at 4x, and you'll need a good graphic card for that anyway. Players do look a little more real now and akin to their real life counterparts.
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5. Difficulty Levels - One thing I noticed about the game was the vast contrast between difficulty levels. Amateur and Semi-Pro are ridiculously easy, but that's maybe because I'm accustomed to FIFA games. Professional mode isn't that big a challenge either. But then on, World Class is extremely challenging (its a golfing class between Pro & WC). Legendary is out of the equation. Okay, that's probably just me getting accustomed to the new Defending system, and the fact that the CPU seems to know exactly where and when to cut me off. Its gonna take a while.
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6. Game Modes - Be a Pro is here, as is Ultimate Team back so gear up for some fun! Virtual Pro is kind of fun too as you strive to make your player achieve goals and become a better player, and its certainly fun to play using him in both online and offline games. Once you've set him up, its as easy to play offline as to go to be-a-pro and choose your favorite team. He'll already be in the first-11 line up. Playing online basically consists of waiting for an opponent, then choosing your team, then choosing your position. That's all there is to it. Upgrading your player is as simple as achieving set goals, like completing a certain number of passes, scoring goals in different ways, attempting skill moves, creating goals, tackling, etc. The more achievements you make, you unlock accessories for you Pro, such as boots, Kit styles, etc. You can also give him attributes such as Long-throw expert, Dribbler, Early Crosser, etc. Its a refreshing take on the game and gives it huge replay-value. The best part is, you can change your Pro's position, appearance, special traits, etc. at will so you can switch from Striker to Goalkeeper to Playmaker anytime, anywhere.
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Final Verdict?
I personally would have given this game 4.5 stars if I could, but I think it deserves the 5 more than it does 4 stars. FIFA 12 brings a lot to the table to satisfy die-hard fanatics as well as new gamers. The presentations are slick and great to look at, as always. The main-menu background is especially worth noticing as you navigate between menus. Leave you to discover that! Navigation is easy, easy to find what you're looking for. Licensing goes wild as you have almost every recognized club in real life is in the game. The game rewards you for the $40 you spend on it! I'm personally going to be unemployable for the next few months.
If you're waiting to buy this game, I don't know why you are and never will I understand you either. If you don't want to buy this game, enjoy your baseball and NFL or NHL.
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