Introduction

Fifa from ea sports has been the top dog in the football gaming world for the past few seasons and this year seems to be no different with record sales taking it to the top of the gaming chart. It has all the licences which mean there is the true authenticity with 30 leagues, 500 clubs and over 15,000 players. I have been a Fifa fan for a long time since Fifa 96. Although I have tried Pro Evolution soccer in the past, I have been back to Fifa for the past few years. So is it any different from the previous version and is it worth the purchase? Read on to find out.

What's new?

On the surface it is still the same game as last year with a few tweaks to gameplay. These include attacking intelligence which allows attackers to make more clever runs for example. Complete dribbling which is inspired by cover star Lionel Messi is another new feature. It allows you to use precise dribble touches which are also combined with true 360 degree mobility when in 1v1 situations especially. First touch control is another feature which means that there is more difficulty in controlling poor passes and overall there are fewer perfect touches. The player impact engine also allows for more physical play as defenders hustle for the ball. The tactical free kicks are also a new feature with up to 3 players around the ball. You can have dummy runs and passing options. There are also a number of new skill games at bronze, silver and gold level which aim to improve your fundamental fifa skills such as passing, shooting and dribbling.

Game modes

There are a number of different game modes both for online and offline play which are mostly the same as last year. These include career mode, be a pro , ultimate team and head to head seasons. The EAS FC mode allows you to enter challenges based on games in real life and earn points for your favourite club in the game. Ultimate team is one of the most favoured modes by many which allows you to create your own dream team starting from scratch with quite poor players and building up a team of world beaters as you look to improve both the overall skill level and chemistry of the team. You collect coins as you play and win games and use these to buy new players to improve your squad. It takes you back to the days of collecting football stickers as you try and get the top and rarer players. The head to head seasons mode gives you 10 games in a season and if you get above a certain amount of points you can get promoted. On the flip side if you do not get enough points you get relegated. Your aim is to work your way up from division 10 to 1. Every time a game is played points are earned, which can then be used to unlock rewards like kits, celebrations, and attribute boosts. Online play is good but server crashes and freezing are again issues.

There is also a Playstation move mode which allows you to use motion sense technology to control what happens on the pitch. As I don't have a move controller I cannot comment on how good this mode actually is.

Graphics/Sound

There is the slick television or sky sports style visuals with the graphics similar to Fifa 12. Commentary is similar to previous versions with Martin Tyler and Alan smith. Geoff Shreeves also provides commentary on injuries as they happen on the pitch which is a new feature and the presentation is almost the same as what you get on television watching a live game.

Conclusion

There isn't a lot new in this game compared to the previous version. There are some minor tweaks but nothing entirely ground breaking. If you want the latest squads and rosters then you will have to buy the new version. The online features also give it an edge over Pro Evo. Overall I would give this game 4 out of 5 stars as although very good, it isn't that much different from Fifa 12.