An in-Depth Look at the Upcoming "FIFA 12"

The FIFA series will debut its newest installment, FIFA 12, on September 30. This is possibly the most anticipated game for all soccer fans. There have already been several videos on YouTube showing its improvements and what is in store for all FIFA fans.

The improvements look well and as always, the game ends up looking like a real soccer match. Of course there's always going to be things that need improvement.

We are going to review the newest features installed in the game and then see what I personally would love to see in the game.

Player Impact Engine

If you see the video, it will explain the whole idea of Player Impact Engine. Not only does it make the game more realistic, but the flow of the game will be a lot better and there will be no annoying stoppages. 

Fortunately they stated that it will not be over the top, resulting in fast-occurring injuries. That's good news because it will not change the overall game play, it will just change the impacts that the players have and will change the way collisions look.

Pro Player Intelligence

As you see in the video, the AI and CPU will know the preferred move for a certain type of situation. He gave a great example in which an aerial threat would receive a good cross into the box, most likely resulting in a score.

If the player isn't a good finisher with his head, the player giving the cross will most likely do a better play in which the striker inside the box will get a better look to score.

This is a great new feature because the decisions made will be higher quality, hopefully resulting in a goal in your favor. Not only that but the CPU will be much better so be prepared, players!

Vision

This video is a great example in which it shows the CPU's, as well as the AI's, vision on the field. This will be an improvement in decision making and it will hopefully provide some quick goals.

To get a more in-depth view of this feature, please see the video. 

Core Gameplay

This video is really just David Rutter answering questions from some fans about the game play.

A quick summary of the questions and answers:

What do you think is the biggest improvement this year? Tactical Defending. You have to think about defending. Player Impact Engine (see slide 1). And EA Sports Football Club.

Are headed goals going to be as easy as in FIFA 11? No, the goalkeeper will be better and the way you are defended changes the heading factor.

Will there be fast throw-ins? If the player is at a good positioned place to where the ball went out of bounds, then yes.

Is there going to be a drop ball feature? Yes, if the player is injured and taken off the field then the referee will allow the drop ball.

Will the dribbling be improved? Yes, the newest feature of dribbling includes precision dribbling. You can now shield the ball while dribbling.

How has shooting been improved? It's basically still the same but you can now volley properly. But bicycle kicks and amazing finishing like that could be added but it is still being worked on.

What do you mean by true injuries? The Player Impact Engine will tell the outcome of an injury. It will tell you how bad is the injury is.

Is the Player Impact Engine going to be over the top? They can determine the exact collision and will decide whether or not the player dribbling will continue or will he go down.

Watch the video if you want more insight on the game play.

Visual Presentation

Again, just more questions but this time it is about the how the game will look.

A quick summary:

Will the crowd look more realistic? They've done work with the overall dressing of the crowd. Not too much has been discussed about the crowd.

Will there be any new celebrations? They haven't done much work about it.

How are the menus better? Feel exciting and it has a fresh new look.

Their top priority is the game play.

EA Sports Football Club

This is the same as other slides with David Rutter, except this time he is talking about the EA Sports Football Club feature.

Quick summary:

Do I have to play with the team I support to get points? Yes, they want you to contribute for your club.

What kind of weekly challenges and storylines will there be? There will be certain things you could do and if you win, you'll get some XP points.

How will it work with my friends when I'm on XBox and they're on PS3? You'll see your stats as well as your friends stats whether they're on PS3 or XBox 360.

Wishlist

The final video of questions with David. This is generally what the fans want.

Quick summary:

What new teams, leagues, stadiums are included in the game? They're not talking about it at this time.

Who will be the English commentators? If you didn't know, Andy Gray was fired because of sexist comments. David doesn't say it but it will supposedly be Alan Smith along with Martin Tyler who is coming back.

Will the servers be more reliable? He hopes so. Great...

Could we have a "Be a Ref" Mode? They talked about it but it will not be on FIFA 12.

Could big rival matches be a lot more heated up? They have more atmosphere changes and you will hear it from the commentators but it won't get to the point where teams are fighting.

How many teams will get realistic faces? They're going as fast as they can but they are really just doing the big football clubs.

Will players be taken off on stretchers when they're injured? They're not doing that but they'll just do the substitution.

Are you going to add diving to FIFA 12? He doesn't want it added because what if someone dived on purpose and you lost a big game how would that feel?

Commentary

After everything you have just seen, it's pretty hard to come up with things you would love to see improved. However, I think we can agree that in every sports video game, the commentary becomes stale and boring after a while.

In FIFA 12, I'd love to see the commentary fresh every game and relevant to the specific teams that are playing. When I say on topic, I mean that they should talk about the stadium or a specific player on the team.

Of course, if you were to play a season mode then I would assume you'd hear the same thing a lot, but hopefully there will be variety in the subjects and things they discuss.

More Skills

I know you can actually do a lot of moves but wouldn't it be great if they added way more moves? Like Cuauhtemoc Blanco's trick play, the Cuautemina. It's basically what you see in the picture!

It would be hard to choose what to add because they already have a lot of good moves on the game. Nonetheless, they could add a lot more.

More Celebrations

The celebrations in FIFA 11 are amazing. They're really fun to use and they have a great assortment from which to choose.

However, they can absolutely take it further.

What if you can take off your shirt and start spinning it over your head? Or go running to the gate that separates the crowd and the field? I want stuff like that included.

In my opinion, it will humiliate your opponent and drive them crazy as well as make the game a lot more exciting.

I would love if they also added team celebrations. What I mean by this is simple.

For example, say Messi just scored on Real Madrid and it was a great team play. He goes to celebrate with his team rather than just to make an individual celebration. He tells his team to line up behind him like a train and start dancing. See what I mean? That would be a great feature.

Another celebration could include running to your bench to form a large dog pile with your teammates. I think this would not only be a great addition but it would take away the awkwardness of your teammate just standing right next to you celebrating then once you finish the celebration they hug you or whatever.

Atmosphere

In my opinion, the stadium atmosphere really needs to be included in the game. The fans should be as loud as they can and the players should show more emotion.

A good example would be if at a Barcelona vs. Real Madrid game taking place in Camp Nou, when Ronaldo touches the ball, the Barca fans should start screaming out boos after boos. It would be like watching a real game!

As for the players, they should be a lot more heated up if a foul happens. Of course, there won't be fighting or pushing, but they should really just show that there was an argument of some sort.

Another example of atmosphere would be that if Mexico were playing on home grass and they were already up 3-0, as they pass the ball around the fans should scream out "OLE! OLE!" and Mariachis should start playing in the background (OK, that last one will probably not be added, but it would be an awesome addition).

And my last example would be that if Chelsea were at home against Manchester United and Wayne Rooney just scored, the fans should be silent for a good amount of time before getting back into the game.

The fans should be a factor contributing to how the game is received. David Rutter didn't want the fans to influence the way you play but I think they should at least add the way fans receive the game. Obviously, I don't see people screaming bad words or things like that so that would be the only unrealistic part of the game, but for a good reason.

Conclusion

Overall, FIFA 12 already looks great so it was hard for me to think of ways to make it better. I can't wait for when this game comes out in stores and I know I'll be playing it a lot.

So let me know what you guys think! I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about the game. Thanks, readers!