Xbox 360
Published by EA Sports
Developed by EA Sports
If you’re a fan of football games you’ll be
well aware that every year there’s a choice to be made. Do you opt for
the latest Pro Evolution Soccer or FIFA game? To be fair however, for
the last few years the FIFA game has been so good that the choice has
been an easy one. Should you opt for FIFA 13 this year however, there’s
another important choice to make. Just what mode do you dedicate
yourself to? FIFA 13 is feature rich and you’ll be torn between its many
addictive modes.
FIFA 13 is simply bursting at the seams with
modes that are capable of keeping you busy for months. Exhibition
matches can be played with the status of both teams reflecting those in
real life. If your favourite striker has pulled his hamstring in real
life you won't have access to him in the game which certainly adds to
the game's authenticity. You can play a full virtual career as either a
player or a manager. The Be a Pro mode allows you to play as either an
outfield player or a goalkeeper. You can also engage in a multitude of
competitions in the Tournament mode too. Fancy building your own fantasy
team and taking them online to compete against other fantasy teams? If
you do there’s the Ultimate Team mode, a mode that combines the gameplay
of FIFA with the addictive collecting of virtual player cards. The mode
really reminds me of collecting Panini football stickers back in the
1980’s. There are skill challenges, which essentially act as basic
tutorials to help you sharpen your elementary FIFA skills and these can
also be played whilst you’re waiting for a match to load. Let’s not
forget the many Xbox Live modes one of which allows you to play in
persistent seasons with promotion and relegation. There is also support
for 11 vs. 11 matches too. In both the single and multiplayer elements
of the game the amount and quality of the modes on offer is staggering.
New versions of a football game usually
improve one or many aspects of the control system to make the game
easier to play. Strangely enough, FIFA 13 heads a little in the opposite
direction this year. The new First Touch Control system means you’ll
have to work more to fully control the ball. The ball won’t simply be
glued to your player’s feet and it’s possible for them to fumble
possession and take heavy touches of the ball if you don’t control it
correctly. Of course the attributes of the player you’re controlling are
taken into account so the higher-level, more technical players are less
likely to lose control of the ball than a player from the lower leagues.
To a certain degree this forces you to play more realistically and not
have your players continually sprinting around whilst retaining the ball
with perfect control. Naturally this is a little frustrating at first
but with effort and a little patience it makes the whole experience more
rewarding.
Various aspects of the gameplay have been
tightened up. When attacking you’ll notice that your AI teammates often
take up more realistic positions giving you better options than in
previous games in the series. The series has been modelling the more
physical aspects of the game in previous years and that aspect has been
refined somewhat in FIFA 13. The physical nature of football seems to be
captured fairly well here without feeling like it’s been overdone. There
doesn’t seem much to complain about with either the goalkeepers or the
referees which may not seem like much of a compliment but it’s
surprising how many football games manage to either have error-prone
keepers or referees that can’t stop blowing their whistle for tackles
that many would not normally be considered a foul.
The Xbox 360 version of FIFA 13 also provides
support for the Kinect sensor. Essentially this allows you to be a
virtual manager whilst you’re playing the game with controller. You can
use the Kinect to change your tactics, make substitutions and give
instructions whilst the match is underway. With no access to a Kinect
sensor it’s impossible to say how well this all works and whether it’s a
worthwhile addition to the FIFA experience but at least in theory it
seems a like a good use of the Kinect sensor for those that have access
to one.
As you’d expect from a FIFA game, the
presentation is excellent and head and shoulders above any other
football game out there. Graphically the game doesn’t represent much of
an improvement over last year’s FIFA but given how long in the tooth
this console generation is that’s hardly surprising. The player
animations do seem better this year however and on the whole seem more
realistic than in any other FIFA game to date. The general presentation
of the game is impressive with an abundance of official licences meaning
you’re getting all of the world’s best leagues and teams, each with
their official kits and rosters.
There’s no real difference between FIFA 13
and the previous versions of FIFA when it comes to its support for deaf
gamers. There are videos that introduce the new additions to the game
and these unfortunately aren’t subtitled. Match commentary is once again
not subtitled and whilst this doesn’t really represent a problem, it is
disappointing that the option to subtitle the match commentary, and the
information you're given from injury updates, hasn’t been made available
particularly as it's much better here than in any other football game
you can buy. Despite these omissions however there are no real obstacles
to enjoying the game, particularly as basic tutorial information is
shown in text. Yes you are missing out on some presentational aspects of
the game but you will be able to fully enjoy the game in spite of this.
In a nutshell, FIFA 13 is the most complete football game out there at the moment. The game is chock-a-block with official licences and game modes, several of which are extremely addictive, and you'll have a problem deciding which leagues to play in and which modes to dedicate yourself to. On the pitch the action is as impressive as ever. For the most part the gameplay doesn't differ wildly, and is still excellent. The First Touch control system does take some getting used to although it certainly does help to differentiate the more skilled players from those with less technical ability. To tell the truth you can't go wrong with either of the two main football games this year but FIFA 13 just has the edge in terms modes and sheer content so if you're only going to purchase one then this has to be it.
