I got FIFA 12 as a Christmas present this year (2011). I've played FIFAs 10 and 11 the past 2 years and 12 is as fun as those past 2 iterations have been. There are still little things about the AI that bug the hell out of me but I am still having fun playing.
The defending for FIFA 12 has been "improved" over the last 2 years. Now your player can jostle with opposing players who have the ball as well as try to impede their forward progress in an effort to push them off the ball or foil a shot attempt. These tricks are nifty additions to the game but the way that they are attempted bring up one of my frustrations at the game. To jostle with an opponent for the ball you use the B button. However, if you are not actually running with your opponent, your player will still make the lunging attempt. This makes your player stutter in stride and lose pace with whoever has the ball. The game doesn't seem to switch between players closest to the ball quick enough to make this less of a pain.
The other defending issue I have with the game is that your computer controlled teammates are actually quite stupid while defending. When your opponent is in the box with the ball, your teammates don't tend to collapse onto the ball holder to block his shot or pass. This makes it frustrating when you are controlling the closest defender, go in to make a tackle, standing or sliding, miss, and then there's just the goalie to get by for the opponent. In a real game 2 or 3 defenders would team up to contain the attacker while the midfielders would track back to be on the lookout for other attackers.
I have some other issues with the transfer window system. I think EA should offer the option of setting up some settings and have the AI try to get players for you if you don't want to do it yourself. Same with the Youth Squad feature. I don't mind setting up my youth scout, but when prospects come in, I want the AI to sort them out and help bring them along in my club.
Basically I want a fourth career mode, maybe called Semi-Manager Total-Player Mode where all I have to do on the managerial side is set options and rules for the AI to follow in terms of transfers, youth squad and formations and tactics. Meanwhile all I have to worry about is playing with either my Virtual Pro or the whole team in the game. The AI can deal with substitutions based on criteria I preselect match by match or general requirements, like sub out players with 40% stamina or less.
I don't really have an opinion on the multi-player aspect of the game as I rarely play online. I play on the second easiest setting and still can get my ass handed to me so I don't relish the idea of playing real people who could wipe the floor with me with little to no effort. But if you like online multi-player, I hear FIFA 12's is the best yet.
Rating: 3/5
