Written by: Mark

 

 

 

With the football season in full swing it’s about time we at Playdevil.com took a look at the latest in the EA Sports FIFA series which in recent years has took the gaming world by storm with each annual release getting better and better.

 

This year the game promises new gameplay tweaks in addition to new features but will these radical changes see the already impressive series get even better or will the series pay the price of too much too soon?

 

 

There is no denying that when you purchase a FIFA title you are going to get excellent value for money as the game contains an incredible amount of game modes which are guaranteed to last well until the inevitable FIFA 13 is released.

 

"FIFA 12" continues with this impressive wealth of modes by offering plenty of in depth content for the single player in addition to multiplayer modes. As expected the usual vast array of league and cup competitions are present in addition to the welcome return of ultimate team which this year comes as part of the retail game and not as downloadable content (although additional DLC is available to purchase).

 

New features include new storylines to add even more depth to the impressive career mode and the all new EA Sports football club which adds more to the online side of proceedings by rewarding players with XP which helps players to level up as individuals in addition to determin the league positions of the real life clubs which they support.

 

 

All of the new modes work well although still feel like they could be improved upon with some slight tweaks and tightening up in certain areas. But at the moment there is a lot of potential with what is on offer and just highlights how much planning goes into each years release.

 

 

In addition to the incredible amount of content another area in which the FIFA series has shone recently is in the presentation stakes with incredibly detailed player animations in addition to excellent commentary which gave the games a very realistic feel. Admittedly the commentary team may have changed (In the UK version at least) but this does not detract anyway from the polished feel as the commentators still provide factual assessments of teams and individual players in addition to match analysis, statistics and commentary which although sometimes repetitive helps proceedings flow nicely.

 

Once again real team licences are included which is always the area in which FIFA has streaked ahead of it’s rivals and proves very beneficial for fans of teams outside of the major leagues as they get to control their own teams and players familiar to themselves.

 

Graphically the game has a feel of a real life football match with players not only looking like their real life counterparts but also recognisable by their on pitch characteristics and way in which they respond to situations both with and without the ball.

 

 

I always expected a FIFA release to excel in it’s presentation and this latest instalment most certainly lives up to expectations with incredibly detailed graphics, superb sound and excellent animation of the easy to navigate and impressive menu screens which have had a makeover and look pretty good for it.

 

The real concerns I had however were not about presentation but about the promised changes to gameplay as I wondered just how the game could be improved over the superb FIFA 11.