FIFA 12 Previews

[Macca00]

Taking forever to download! Almost PSN-like speed.....almost.....

[RobVarak]

Anxious to see what you think, Macca. I just can't get to grips with the defense.

[MizzouRah]

Post those impressions!

Mine is coming next week snail mail!

[tjung0831]

Enjoying FIFA for the first time in a few years. Pretty sure this will be a purchase for me in the next couple of weeks.

[Rodster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAR6I_T-uVc

Are these in the final game? I saw a weird one myself while playing the demo.

[Jimmydeicide]

Has it downloaded yet geez come on

For the poor people yeeeaaah.

[10spro]

OK, just for Jimmy the Greek. After a couple of Boca-River, River-Boca superclasico match ups on PRO, I really liked what I saw. Not that I didn't enjoy the demo, I just had to almost re-learn how to play D with Fifa 12. I liked the new engine physics in the game and while far from perfect it depicts the beautiful game in motion very accurately without going over the top. You just can't run around with your player and hope to time that X button to bring the opponent down because the AI will burn you. The 'pressing' mechanic way of defending will end up with goals against you.

The option to tackle completely manually proves much more fruitful and as it it turns out is far more satisfying. The key here is trying to narrow down the passing lanes and playing zone defense instead of directly trying to chase down the CPU. The AI is too accurate at passing at times (haven't messed up with the sliders), as CPU can have a field trip building their play with good ball possession, while trying to penetrate into your area zone. Calling for your RB button will be a must this year.

I experienced some strange player collisions (my player tripping over a downed teammate) but nothing ridiculous of the level that Macca found on youtube.

In the past we've criticized how EA's sports game tend to add something every year only to take something else away, but in this early version that I played I really think that EA has taken a big stride towards better things with this franchise.

Visually speaking I don't see major differences with last year's game except the faces of some players which I had mentioned were at par with PES when the demo first came out.

When attacking, unless you have a superstar in your team (I had an aging and slow J.R. Riquelme) you're not going to out muscle the D easily, because besides trying to protect the ball while looking for an open man, you will feel several shoulders knocking over you in no time. To have better success, I was forced to take my time, mix up play, and work around obstacles. Thankfully the game does seem to allow you to have that extra space in midfield to do so. I liked the transition from playing good D to offense but I didn't have as much success trying to thread needle the ball with through passes as I had in the past.

Overall manual tackling is tough but you will get used to it, It works well with lots of practice, once you got it down in your brain you'll feel a greater sense of how to play proper D than in any previous FIFA games. Had a couple of moments were I was burned trying to play D the old fashion way as the opposition forwards just capitalized lethally on my mistakes while working the counter attack in a very smart tactical way.

This version seems to come with more depth and tactical weight than ever before and it leaves you with the feel that you want to keep playing it while trying to master the tactics of playing solid D.

[Jimmydeicide]

Played the demo a lot today and got some real nice tackles in. Im feeling the defense because if nothing else it does open up the rest of the game.
Even on pro the possession the cpu has is tremendous. Play Barcelona and its like 70/30 just like it would be. Getting out possessed by most of the demo teams is really quite refreshing. Granted i play on all manual but im guessing its quite close no matter how you play it.
Now in the full game Manu are getting out possessed by Tranmere we have a problem., up until today i was kinda steering towards pes this year but not now Fifa just controls so well.

Thanks for the quick reply 10s.

Macca? 'urry up lad.

Alright i can wait till tomorrow.

[Macca00]

Will write more tomorrow as am going to hit the sack but damn.....this new tactical defending whatchamacallit can be f@cking infuriating. I also find it frustrating that while you have to hit 37 different button combinations to jockey the improved attacking CPU AI, they can still dispossess you easy as pie (unless you're a superstar). I played 5 matches in a row against Wolves and had Kevin Doyle looking like Ronaldo (the lady boy one) while Christophe Berra had no problem winning headers off Andy Carroll and chasing down Bellamy and Suarez. It was only when I dropped the difficulty down to Pro or Semi Pro that I was actually having any fun.

Anyway, will elaborate/whine more tomorrow. Still getting it on Monday but am still looking very much forward to PES on the PC again this year for single player.

[10spro]

Will write more tomorrow as am going to hit the sack but damn.....this new tactical defending whatchamacallit can be f@cking infuriating. I also find it frustrating that while you have to hit 37 different button combinations to jockey the improved attacking CPU AI, they can still dispossess you easy as pie (unless you're a superstar). I played 5 matches in a row against Wolves and had Kevin Doyle looking like Ronaldo (the lady boy one) while Christophe Berra had no problem winning headers off Andy Carroll and chasing down Bellamy and Suarez. It was only when I dropped the difficulty down to Pro or Semi Pro that I was actually having any fun.

Anyway, will elaborate/whine more tomorrow. Still getting it on Monday but am still looking very much forward to PES on the PC again this year for single player.

Yeah, they are times where I am trying to press LT while trying to face the opponent and at the same time A in trying to contain him, the problem is that your players are not on skates as in NHL when you press LT and if you're not positioned soundly, the AI will easily get past you. Don't even bother with the speed button. Still learning the ropes a bit, kicked my ego out the window and played a couple of games on semi-pro which seemed to give me a bit more time to read the CPU's play. I did adjust the CPU's passing slider higher hoping to minimize their the tic toe passing at your expense, my only gripe this far.

[toonarmy]

Keep the impressions coming. Opinions around the web seem to vary A LOT. I think the new controls are probably responsible for much of that. Oh, and please comment on the fouls after you have played a good number of games. I'm getting the impression that there is a big time lack of fouls called in the game.

[10spro]

Keep the impressions coming. Opinions around the web seem to vary A LOT. I think the new controls are probably responsible for much of that. Oh, and please comment on the fouls after you have played a good number of games. I'm getting the impression that there is a big time lack of fouls called in the game.

With the new engine physics, let's just say that's a bit unpredictable at this point. Which makes playing defense more challenging this year. I had games also where I was wondering if the ref forgot the whistle at home and others where a slight foul would cause me a red card. Which makes the jostling feature more important at this point, instead of going straight for the sliding tackle and as you point out the new controls and physics play a big part of it.

[Jimmydeicide]

there arnt fouls cos you cant get near anybody.

[JRod]

FIFA has SLIDERS!

[Macca00]

there arnt fouls cos you cant get near anybody.

LOL That's what I felt like for the first few games yesterday!

Yeah, they are times where I am trying to press LT while trying to face the opponent and at the same time A in trying to contain him, the problem is that your players are not on skates as in NHL when you press LT and if you're not positioned soundly, the AI will easily get past you. Don't even bother with the speed button. Still learning the ropes a bit, kicked my ego out the window and played a couple of games on semi-pro which seemed to give me a bit more time to read the CPU's play. I did adjust the CPU's passing slider higher hoping to minimize their the tic toe passing at your expense, my only gripe this far.

I played a few more games this morning as I started a career/manager mode with Chievo and I'm not as down on it as I was last night (there was a point where I seriously considered skipping the game entirely this year, I was so frustrated).

A couple of things still bug me, at this early point, about the new defensive controls and the tweaked game engine;

First off, I'm not a hundred percent convinced that the new 'tactical' controls for defending is that much more effective than the old 'legacy' controls. Sure, if you can manage to hold down LT and RB and A (while moving the left thumbstick) you can contain and try to win the ball back - but I can get about the same success rate if I use the old controls and double-team the attacker (rush at him while holding the pressure button). I don`t doubt that after much practice I'll be able to do better, but then I also may have developed carpal tunnel syndrome by that point.

Second, just as frustrating is the fact that while the CPU players can all twist and turn on a time (necessitating the new jockeying control scheme) your players still aren't nearly as responsive. To be fair, with the top superstars you get dribbling responsiveness that allows you to come close to what the cpu does but that shouldn't be the case. For example, while Wolves were handing my ass to me as Liverpool with Kevin Doyle and Stephen Fletcher dancing around like f***in Lionel Messi, I could barely dribble past a Wolves player with Luis Suarez. Once I was within 4-5 feet they'd just nick the ball off me. Sure, I could get around players taking a wide berth around them with the sprint (like in FIFA 11), but if the CPU can dribbling 'through' my defence with even s*** players I should be able to do the same with good ones.

When I played as City I did find that dribbling was easier with Aguero but you shouldn't need to be one of the best players in the game to dribble as good as crap CPU players.

Also, the responsiveness of the special moves is the same - crap. If I have a ton of time and space I can do a move but if you want to do one on the fly, by the time you've inputted the controls Jamie O'Hara has already taken the ball off you and deked past two.

Finally, CPU players (either on your team or the opposition) still don't move around a lot in the midfield and the majority of effective play is on the wings. I`m hitting the left bumper every 2 seconds to make my teammates run into space otherwise they stand there doing nothing. They also need to learn to move to the f***in ball when I pass it to them, rather than just standing around and waiting for a defender to get there first!

It`s not all whining - I really like the new physics and collisions (got an awesome second yellow card as Martin Skrtel ran into an attacking player - no tackle, just ran into him like a buffoon - like in real life), the quick throw-ins are done really really well. The menus are finally a bit more snappy and friend list integration is very cool - was telling me all the achievements HOGZ was racking up while I was getting ass raped by the CPU. I also like the real life 'challenges' - for example, this weekend you get a chance to play as Chelsea in last week's Man U vs. Chelsea game at the 3-1 point with 30 minutes left and try to turn things around. The line-ups were correct - Chelsea had already taken off Fat Frank and replaced him with Anelka.

I will get it on Monday and no doubt OTP will be amazing (hope I can get some matches in with you guys) but I'm not sure how much single player I'll be playing once PES 12 comes out on the PC.


Ok, where's Sporta's impressions?

[Jimmydeicide]

Good job guys keep it coming.
Macca have you messed with the sliders ? try the player runs one see if it kicks them fullbacks in the arse and whatever.

Is Live season in 12?

[RobVarak]

I will get it on Monday and no doubt OTP will be amazing

Don't hold your breath. We're going to be stumbling around out there like drunks and getting whipped by Mexican 12 year olds for weeks while we figure out how to play defense! LOL

[Jimmydeicide]

Dude im like Skirtel out there oh wait i mean Wes Brown, wait i meant Gabidon ... your right Rob.

[JRod]

I have no fun with it this year.

Just seems like the CPU does whatever it wants and then scores a random header or one-on-one goal.

[Rodster]

I was playing on Pro and encountered the same as in FIFA 11. No scoring on both sides and with the new controls I was able to shutdown the CPU.

[Macca00]

After putting in a few more hours I have to say I really enjoy the head to head online (the "Head to Head Seasons" mode) which has you in a league format against randoms but does (so far at least) a really good job of matchmaking against opponents using similar quality teams. For example, I played as Hoffenheim and got matched up against QPR. Another match I was West Ham and played Ecuador. The gameplay is much more enjoyable without the stifling CPU midfields though I can see the utility of growing a third hand to fully utilize the new Tactical Defending controls as pretty much every online versus match was a high scoring shoot out.

I also played some Be A Pro/Virtual Pro career stuff which was pretty fun but in regular mode (controlling all 11 players) versus the CPU it's the same problems I was complaining about earlier.

[10spro]

Who would have thought that I would be tinkering with FIFA sliders. Even on slow this year the gameplay seems a bit too quick for me. Lowered the AI sprint and acceleration to about 45 and voila.

[Jimmydeicide]

Whats default on the sliders 50?

[Macca00]

Default is 50. I am still looking for the "Good Single Player Game" slider.

[Bill_Abner]

Been messing with sliders a lot too. SO much to like about this version with some really frustrating bits.

ANY advice on how NOT to get the ball easily swiped from you when one on one with a defender? Once again it's like the ratings for CPU players don't matter when it comes to dispossessing.