FIFA 13 Review

Developed by EA Canada
Published by EA Sports
Review by Ba5sett

Another year another and another instalment of EA’s FIFA franchise hits the shelves, for most FIFA and football fans the updated team rosters will be enough to justify the purchase but despite the lack of any huge changes such as last year’s physics engine and complete overhaul of the defending (although these have both been tweaked and improved) there are a number of new gameplay improvements that give this year’s game the edge over FIFA 12.



The first major change this year is something that EA calls ‘first touch control’ this changes the way that each player receives the ball based on a number of factors such as the speed and trajectory of the pass and the skill levels of each player. A simple pass across the ground is likely to be controlled first time while a 30 yard one smashed across the pitch is going to be harder to control and may result in the ball bouncing off in an unexpected direction, sometimes this works in your favour sometimes it doesn’t but it adds a new layer of realism to the game and introduces an element of controlled randomness that makes each match more dynamic

The second of the headline features this year is ‘attacking intelligence’ this is basically an improvement to cpu player AI. Your team mates are now a lot smarter than in previous games they will make more runs off the ball and get into better positions for passes, they also make more of an effort to stay onside, checking or curving runs allowing you to time your through balls better, it’s a simple change but one that makes a big difference to the way that matches play out



And the final big change is called ‘complete dribbling’ this is apparently inspired by the new cover star Lionel Messi, although it feels a bit more like its inspired by the sister game FIFA Street. Complete dribbling is activated by pulling both triggers and activates a kind of close control mode, your player moves slower but you can move the ball around using the left stick, for me this is one of the most significant changes to the game this year and it is a perfect complement to last year’s tactical defending, it can be used to hold the ball up while waiting for other players to join the attack or make runs behind the defence or it can be used to goad the opposition defender to commit to a tackle so that you can get the yard of space needed to put in a cross.

Another big addition is the skill games mode, this breaks down the game into its basic elements such as passing, shooting, dribbling etc. and gives you a mini game for each such as passing the ball into bins or dribbling around an obstacle course, these games have a dual purpose of providing a fun tutorial for new players to learn the game or as an addictive mini game for experienced players. Each game has an online leader board so you can check your score against your friends and try to beat them. It’s a nice addition to the package and gives your something else to do if you aren’t in the mood for playing a match.



Talking about the package as a whole and FIFA is now packed with different things to do, you can dive into career mode either as a single player using the be a pro mode or as a manager controlling the whole team, do well enough and you may even get asked to manage the national team. Ultimate team returns and building up your team from nothing and trading players and cards is just as addictive and fun as it ever has been. You can create a player and take him online in 11 vs. 11 matches against other people and get recruited to teams and compete in tournaments. Online seasons mode returns too pitching you against other players in 10 match mini seasons where your aim is to win enough matches to gain promotion.

One thing that struck me about the game is how connected it now is to the actual world of football, team rosters and stats are updated constantly so if you have been reading in the paper at the weekend about how successful Alex Ferguson’s new diamond formation is and how well Rooney has been playing at weekend you can fire FIFA up and give it a go for yourself. If everything that Ronaldo touches turns to gold and Torres can’t hit a barn door their stats will be updated to reflect this. You also get a selection of weekly ‘game of the week’ scenarios based on the previous weekends games asking you to recreate things such as an epic comeback with 10 minutes to go or to hold on to a lead with 9 men. All great stuff that just adds up to a truly epic package for any football fan.



The game engine is starting to look its age and while the stadiums are impressive and things look ok from a distance, some of the players look a bit odd close up and the lighting in general isn’t great but these are small niggles, if you are a fan of football then there is plenty here to keep you entertained I bought the game on release and have put well over 80 hours in already and have hardly even scratched the surface. This is easily the best FIFA game to date.

9/10

Nice work mate, I gave up on fifa 11, it just consumes to much time, but I do miss it!!

Got to love updates etc

Never knew Van Persie had gone back to the arse

Well reviewd Basset old chap

brilliant review mate!

i would also add that the commentary is so much better this year as well!

Good review Bertie!

Still hasn't convinced me to play a footie game though lol

nice work mate but i keep finding my sefl reverting back to the old game year on year as the new one annoys me so much.

This is a good game but i feel that 12 plays so much better.

Good review mate.

Ended up trading in FIFA this year and getting PES13 instead. Plays better IMO and feels far more organic as a result of the brilliant manual passing system this year. PES Still needs work though.