FIFA 13: Review of the Best Improvements to EA Sports' Latest Soccer Game

FIFA 13 from EA Sports is now available in stores across North America, and this year's installment includes several positive improvements that make this game a soccer fan's dream.

No matter what aspect of soccer you like the most, there is something for you to enjoy in this game. There's also well over 100 of your favorite club and international squads to play with.

Let's look at a review of the best improvements in FIFA 13.

Seasons in Ultimate Team

The lack of game modes in Ultimate Team was one thing that had to be addressed in FIFA 13. Ultimate Team is arguably FIFA's best mode, especially for die-hard soccer fans, but it needed more than just a few offline/online tournaments and the ability to play a friend.

Head-to-head online seasons is now part of Ultimate Team, as fans can now attempt to reach Division 1 by starting at Division 5, and earning points by winning and drawing games.

Earn enough points in each season, and you get promoted to the next division. Earn a little less than needed for promotion, and you remain in that division for another season. However, if you fail to earn the minimum number of points, you will be relegated to the previous division.

Ultimate Team now includes offline and online seasons, which gives the mode some much-needed replay value.

First Touch

In previous FIFA games, even players with very low ratings had an amazing ability to have a perfect first touch almost every time they touched the ball, but now, first touch is quite different.

If you fire a pass at a fast speed toward a teammate, it's going to be much harder for that player to control the ball with a good first touch. For people who are bad at defending, the new first-touch system will also make attacking players a bit easier to stop.

Overall, this mode adds some nice realism into the game.

Attacking Intelligence

How many times while playing FIFA 12 did you yell at your teammates and say "make a run"? Now you you won't be doing that quite so often, thanks to the new attacking intelligence found in this year's game.

The players controlled by AI will now make better runs that give you more opportunities to make passes in all thirds of the pitch. Players also do a better job of staying onside if you don't give them the ball quick enough.

This is a subtle improvement, but it can make a huge difference in your enjoyment of the game because it makes the game experience far less frustrating.

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