FIFA 12

I haven't played a Fifa game for about 4 years (preferring usually the Pro Evolution franchise) but this year I decided to give it a whirl owing to ever more positive reviews for EAs footy installments. When I first started playing I was very happy about a number of things, and, unhappy about some others. This review does not include online play, I am only reviewing what you get in the box when you buy it!!

What I love about Fifa 12:

The graphics are fantastic with realistic player animation and some wonderful kit designs. The only let-down in the graphical department is the crowd. They look paper thin and all move together in some strange cult-like motion. But, with that said, its the action on the pitch which attracts all of your attention. The commentary is also very well done and it includes some nice titbits of information about each team to give it all a more realistic feel (for example, playing as Leeds United, the commentators often remind me at the beginning of a match of our spectacular fall from grace in the past ten years etc). The menu screens are easy to navigate and the game contains a long list of tracks which you can listen to while messing around with your formation. The best part though is "Career Mode" where you take over a team of your choosing and try to take them to the top. There is an immense library of players (most of which have their real-life picture in their profile) and the inclusion of a youth academy option allows you to discover and develop the next stars of tomorrow.

What I dislike about Fifa 12:

It's hard! Very hard! That isn't really the thing that bothers me though, because all games should have a learning curve where you progressively improve, but Fifa 12 has a different kind of difficulty. You can be playing the game of your life, but, when the computer decides it's time they scored a goal, that's usually exactly what they do! A lot of other reviewers have mentioned this too, and it can be very frustrating (I have wanted to throw my controller through the television on more than one occasion!). But, the longer you play the better you become at preventing this. It is very realistic which means you have to play like a real-life player. If that means tracking back and cutting off passes without ever getting a touch yourself then that's what you'll have to do. So, although for a hardcore footy fan like me, this is (in the longrun) a good thing, I wouldN't recommend this to anyone who wants to pick up and play without any hassle and score thirty-yard screamers every match!

Overall then:

+ beautiful graphics (stadia, kits, player faces etc.)
+ extremely satisfying to win games (as you have to work hard to do so)
+ nice soundtrack
+ controls are easy to learn, difficult to master (there are dozens of hidden tricks and skills)
+ beautifully animated (extremely realistic player movements and collisions)
+ realistic (a true footy fan's game)

- unexpected shifts in difficulty causes frustration
- crowd look like paper cut-out
- Alan Smith constantly reminding me (as a Leeds fan) that we aren't successful anymore :-(

Great game if not a bit frustrating at times. Highly recommended overall however. If I could I would give it 4.5 stars!

For me, the basic mechanics of the gameplay in FIFA 12 are probably the best they've been in the FIFA series for some time. The passing and movement is a lot sharper, especially if you speed up the gameplay in the settings menu. It's about as close to old school PES as the Xbox has got in my opinion.

While playing friends is great, however, I really find playing the computer more of a chore than anything else. The main problem is the computer AI, which has been designed in such a way that it saps most of the enjoyment out of the game. It's not that it's too difficult, or too easy, it's simply that the way the computer plays is exceptionally tiresome to compete against.

They relentlessly try and keep the ball, but not in a realistic way like Barcelona or Spain would do - instead they run around in circles in such a manner that you can't tackle them. On several occasions I've chased an opposition player all the way back from the halfway line to his own goal line - as if simply running backwards is a legitimate strategy because it allows you to keep hold of the ball.

They also seem to have a perverse love of dribbling along the side of the pitch so that even if you do tackle them it spins out for a throw in. It's neither realistic nor enjoyable to play against this sort of thing because, especially on the more difficult modes, you'll find yourself giving the ball away and then chasing shadows for 2 minutes while the computer potters about without even attempting to threaten your own goal. It's not dominating possession so much as it is time wasting.

For that reason I've given it three stars because it's effectively written off the single player mode for me. As a multiplayer the game is fantastic, though, so if that's your main intention in buying it then I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.

Im here to review the career mode only as it is the thing I use and have always used most on fifa.

To start with you'll notice the menu's are alot slicker and when you sim to the next match it doesn't take you to a whole new menu and it also doesn't take a long time. You can access alot more information on your team now and the players have a form and morale bar aswell as the usual stamina bar. Players also ask you to rest them, tell you they are unhappy if you haven't played them and thank you if you play them after they complained which boosts their morale which means squad rotation is key to keep everyone happy. It adds to the overall feel to the game and makes it feel alot more real.

Another addition is the transfers and transfer deadline day. People bid for you players now even if you don't transfer list them which is a brilliant new feature but which left me with some headaches when I had to decide whether or not to sell Jones for 16.5m! Also on transfer deadline day it counts down with 10 hours left and goes hourly so you can make sure you get everything you want done.

The scouting system is a BRILLIANT addition, perhaps the best. Its alot more detailed than it was on older fifa's when they used to have it and now I have just bought a 16 year old central midfielder for 25k. He is rated 53 already and has huge potential so now If I play him im hoping he'll turn out good in a few seasons.

I was very critical of fifa 10 and 11's career modes as 10 was full of bugs while 11 didn't offer anything other than game after game. This career mode also gives you the chance to do either praise or unnerve the next team your playing or their manager, you can also comment on one of their players. I have no idea if morale, form, press interviews or any of this make a difference to how they play but it really does add to it and I kind of dont care if it makes no difference because it just makes it alot more fun and worth playing.

There are other small additions to the whole game in general such as players pictures now being on their name, kits being worn by players when you pick them rather than just seeing the t shirt and finally the commentary has been split into two teams so for league games you'll have martin tyler and alan smith then for league cup and fa cup games you'll have clive tysley and andy townsend. This really makes it less one dimensional and gives it a whole fresh feel and makes it stand out that its a cup game which is another nice feel.

Overall the career mode probably couldn't get much better and im so happy with it. Theres so much to do and i've found NO bugs which is a first. Everythings feels slick and the new additions are huge ones, especially the transfers/transfer deadline day and the scouting/youth academy! I recommend it to anyone who has played the demo and enjoyed it as they know they will love the game itself. I recommend it to anyone but alot of people have been complaining about the new defence system, although you shouldnt have to you can turn off the tactical defending in offline modes and use the older defending.