FIFA 12 is a step backward that allows PES to catch up slightly. They should call it FIFA 12: Online, because the offline game is a terrible experience. Tackling is terrible, with the CPU cheating to beat you. Go into replay mode and you'll see the CPU's animation firing off the same time you make the tackle. It's near impossible to take someone down with a slide tackle. The new collision engine just ignores them. There are still only a few ways to score. Running up the box line then Finesse shooting is still the easiest way. The heading system is awful. They had it perfect in 2010 with regard to who wins the header. When you do get an opportunity the CPU will block your shot 90 percent of the time. All the games play the same, with both teams passing to the edge of the box within 2 seconds, then passing like Barca around the box until a player finds space. Counter attacks are impossible because of the sluggishness of the players when recieving a pass. Truly boring offline gameplay even after mastering Tactical Defending. FIFA needs a new development team.… Expand

The new fifa earns the prize of the number 1 overrated game.Defense is broken and so is the offense.There are some very limited ways to score and opposed to the cpu AI,your teamates are completely useless and they make runs or cover in the defense whenever they feel like it .It is very slow and in terms of gameplay maybe it is worse than 11.The only reason for this game to exist is because it is a slightly better football game than pes but to me,it is the cyclops against the blind once again.Who knows?Maybe next year.… Expand

FIFA 12 is without any doubt the worst FIFA I've ever played, to the point I already regret buying it after just a week of playing. Which is remarkable to say the least since I've played 9, 10 and 11 to death, loved every minute of them, and had been looking forward to 12 for months. With FIFA 12, EA tried to make the game more like real soccer, focussing heavily on defense skill. This is not a bad thing per se, but in the process they removed all the action-packed fun from the game and made it boring, frustrating and just plain unenjoyable to play. At first I accepted the fact that I'd just have to adapt to the new tactical defending and would get better over time, but 25 games in I'm starting to realize it won't matter if I did, since this is simply not how I want to play a footie. Playing the AI is like masochism, especially if you play a weaker team yourself, and no matter what team you play against. Your own defenders will miss 9 out of 10 tackles, and if they do the AI will simply walk past you, often 2 or three players in a row, score, and leave you completely helpless. Trying sliding tackles doesn't help since they are the complete opposite of the sliding tackles in previous FIFA games: even if you really try, you'll have a hard time even just hitting the player, let alone the ball. Try a standing tackle in the box and you have a 50/50 chance on a penalty, even if the tackle lands exactly on the ball (which is rare). So how *do* you defend in FIFA 12? By trying to push back the attacker using contain and jockey, and trying to use teammate contain so you can cut off passing opportunities with your own player. This is what EA calls 'tactical defending' but there is hardly anything tactical about it. Since you can't rely on the standing tackle, you'll be spending all your time off the ball chasing the AI, which passes the ball around without breaking a sweat or making any mistakes, no matter if you play against Barcelona or some 2-star team. Teammate contain doesn't help, because half of the time the wrong teammate goes for the ball, or the AI simply passes the ball before your teammate gets there. Again, even if you manage to get your teammate in position, it doesn't usually help a thing because he can't do anything anyway, just stand in front of the attacker. You cannot even make teammates tackle ffs. So ultimately, the only thing you can hope for is that when the AI is busy passing around the ball around the box, that it either makes a mistake, it doesn't find an opening and has to run the ball all the way back to it's own half and decide to shoot the ball out of play (which happens quite often, how 'realistic' and 'tactical' :-/), or that it passes to exactly the player you are covering while using teammate contain. None of this is fun, and none of it works reliable. The AI on the other hand has almost a 100% success rate with their tackles, almost never makes a foul, manages to sneak between almost every through pass, and is deadly accurate when countering and crossing. The AI is so good that it seems EA tried to 'tweak' the scoring to at least make the scores look less unrealistic, because in a typical game the AI will hit the post about 6 times on average, even on almost open-goal chances. Note that all of this is playing on World Class, not even legendary :-S With FIFA 9, 10 and 11 I could play the career mode for hours on end, with FIFA 12 I get fed up, bored and extremely frustrated after 3 games max. It doesn't feel like playing a game, but like some kind of sick joke, a punishment for being so daft trying to play career mode with a weak team. Like the game plays you, instead of you playing the game. I don't care if someone thinks I should just try to suck less and learn how to play FIFA 12 because I don't see the point of that. FIFA 10 was very different from 9 as well, and also gave me hard time at first, but at least it was fun to play even if you were losing. With about 1500 hours of FIFA experience I would have expected to at least have the idea I'm going to have a head start, but playing FIFA 12 makes me feel like a total noob, no matter how hard I try. It makes me want to kill my controller. I haven't tried online yet, but from what I read everywhere it sucks even more because of gameplay exploits. Apparently half of the players online use the back button to switch control to the keeper when they lose possession, and let the AI defend for them. So even online no one seems to know how to beat AI defending. Summarizing, I'm completely and utterly disappointed with FIFA 12, EA ruined the game for me and I expect a lot of other long-time fans. I was really looking forward to another year of FIFA and all the improvements FIFA 12 would have, but the way things are looking right now, I think I will keep playing FIFA 11 and forget about the 50 euros I wasted on 12 :-(… Expand

Fifa 11 but worse... ruined any good defensive player as well as slow game play. Computer AI is awesome while human AI is retarded. 7 as opposed to last years 10. Downgrade for me.

First off let me start by saying I've been playing soccer games since 1998 and and have played pretty much all the brands out there. And when I say FIFA 12 is the best soccer game of all time.after a distasterous outing with FIFA 11 EA has pulled out all the stops and its made for an excellent game.this year I am confident in saying FIFA is king!!!!!!

After almost a week on the full game, I'm very impressed with what EA have served up this year. Tactical defending now makes FIFA 11 more rewarding when winning back the ball, but at the same time gives the game a more realistic flow.
The AI was what stood out most for me. Playing as Liverpool on career mode I cut inside with Johnson only to lose the ball just over the halfway line against Arsenal. Wilshere picks up the ball, has the awareness that my RB position is open & sprays a delightful ball the Arsharvin who squares it to RVP.... 1-0! This wouldn't of happened on FIFA 11. Also, playing Stoke City, who had a more direct style of play & try to whip in as many crosses as possible for the giant forwards is very tricky to defend. Strikers with good arial ability now make bending runs to the near post in anticipation for incoming balls. I now find myself using man marking in tactics & adjust formation depending on opposition.
In career mode you get the chance to set up a scouting network for youth players, balance your squad rotation to keep players happy thus avoiding a transfer request, but best of all.... deadline day! I'm only touching the surface of FIFA 11, but will finish off by saying this is without doubt, the best football sim I've ever played.… Expand

Massive backwards step! I can see what they have tried to do with this game making it slower and more tactical but they failed. first off there is no point playing against the AI because it is unbeatable it knows what your going to do before you do. the online play system is great matching you with a equal leveled player and team, however online play gets boring as soon as you've mastered the defending system. All you have to do is hold A put the pressure on and wait for the crap passing to do the defending for you! speaking of passing this is the problem with fifa 12 it feels like the players are passing the ball through treacle and nearly imposable to pass to the correct player. this leads to slow play and never getting the ball where you wanted it, very frustrating! If you want a plodding frustrating football game then this is it!… Expand

It is football simulator is very sstrange game/ Nice graphics, great physics engine - best in this game. Mixed gameplay, boring some mods - the worst in FIFA 12. Waiting for PES 2012.

FIFA Soccer 12 the most beautiful I've ever played, compared to the previous chapter improvements everywhere in every respect, clean graphics and sharp, contrasting ever more real and stunning ball physics also comment more precise and effective. Lacking only the champions and official competitions of the UEFA and then the perfection is near. If the next chapter will be added to this there will be no challenge from other football video games. FIFA 12 the number one. fifa 12 the best ever. Congratulations !!!!! sports and it's in the game!!… Expand

The good:

-Every year FIFA manages to make their games even better than last year, this time FIFA has done an amazing job at how you defend players, now if your a new player you basically have no chance against someone who plays FIFA 12. Defending is completely different, you can no longer just rest your thumb on A and hope to steal the ball, that is old news. Now you have to time when you want to tackle the player and steal the ball from him.

-Graphics are a lot more polished and smoother than fifa 12, the game feels more realistic and bumping into other players and overall player movement, as hard as it is to believe, it is more realistic!
-Passing has improved by a lot, when you pass the ball with players like Messi or Ozil the game does an amazing and accurate pass of the real Messi and Ozil.
-FIFA ultimate is back and is now easier to use.

The bad:
Virtual pro accomplishments are almost the same as FIFA 11.

Overall: There is a lot of other things I am missing in "the good" section but all you need to know is that the game is amazing, if your a football fan, go buy FIFA 12, or you will be missing out on THE best sport game out there this year.… Expand

Fifa 12 has it's problems, however it is a step in the correct direction. EA made FIFA 12 a very difficult game to start playing. I'll be the first to admit that I thought I was going to hate the new defense, and ripped on it a lot at first, but after about 30 online matches, I feel I have finaly got the swing of things. It can be difficult to time tackles correctly, and nearly impossible to tackle the computer, but once you have the timing down, it works everytime, and quite well. One major complaint I do have, is the computer AI. Even on lower difficulty levels, the AI is way too strong. In FIFA 11, I could play a match on World Class (the highest difficulty) and win 3-1 or even 5-0 against a 5 star team while playing as a 3 star team. However, I find myself unable to score on even Professional (difficulty 3 out of 5) and struggling on Semi-Pro (2/5). It feels like the revamped AI needs quite a bit of work as it is nearly impossible to break it. Career mode has had some tweeks, and I still find it to be an enjoyable diversion from Ultimate Team (I'll get to that later). I feel like it can be a bit too difficult to scout for a good player, as many times a player ends up at a much lower skill level then what was predicted. (Predicted 68-83 : Actual 43) But overall, my Philadelphia Union won the MLS Cup with little difficulty.

Virtual Pro has returned aswell, and is nearly identical to last year, with very few tweeks. (Ron "Atari" Jerhamy is a very strong ST, who will hit a header from outside the box, but can't run for crap) It was nice being able to use my pro in career mode, but it really was the same as 11.

Now the big ass elephant in the room... Ultimate Team. It's back for the third year in a row, and hasn't changed at all. Now that would be fine, except that it really needed some changes that were not made. Why, three years in, can we not have a better search feature for the market? It took me almost 20 minutes to find a 4-3-3 card for my striker (who is inform this week :D) I mean come on, for something as specific as that, could we please get a better search feature? Also, I am tired of everyone building the same team, if I face one more Liga BBVA squad with Benzema and Nilmar up front and Valdes in goal I'm going to jump off a cliff. Just a little variety please.

And that brings me to the core problem with FIFA in general, PACE = VICTORY. This means that great players like Fernando Llorente get left in the dust for speedsters like Nilmar. This also means that you have to build your team to stop these players, in turn you see a lot of teams being built purely around pace and nothing else. The game has it's problems, but it is quite enjoyable. There's a good reason why I day-dream of playing FIFA while in class. One thing I would suggest, is playing the game in 4:3 aspect ratio. This may seem odd at first, but when streched out to 16:9 players seem to move much faster and it makes it difficult to keep up with the game, but if your TV supports 4:3 players move much slower and it is easier to read the opponent's moves and react accordingly. My record improved greatly once I made the switch.… Expand

This game is joke. Game play boring and predictable. You are spending most time running to get a ball. CPU is unbeattable on World class. Whats more ? First of all Fifa 12 ONLINE is broken, ppl on xbox already cheats using a gliches so they cant loose a game. There is much more gliches and problmes but generally game sux. Its not a football. Even in manager games simualtion all looks better and more realistic.… Expand

FIFA 12 is simply the BEST soccer simulation EVER MADE. Tactical Defending, Precision Dribbling and Impact Engine works perfect together, offering a freedom never experimented before.

First off let me start by saying I've been playing soccer games since 1998 and and have played pretty much all the brands out there. And when I say FIFA 12 is the best soccer game of all time.after a distasterous outing with FIFA 11 EA has pulled out all the stops and its made for an excellent game.this year I am confident in saying FIFA is king!!!!!!

I'm sorry folks but this is the most overrated game in history,. Fifa still doesn't succeed in offering a realistic football experience. I've been playing it since Fifa98 and I have fun doing so but that's fun as in Tekken: it is what is: PRE DEFINED ARCADE MOVES! NOT FOOTBALL WHATSOEVER...

The "secret" code in FIFA 12 is "patience". Oh...and forget everything or almost everything you know about previous FIFA's or FIFA 11. When I started playing I was baffled. I knew about the changes. I was aware, but still...I was playing the game "the old way". I was out of context. Then slowly, trying to adjust I realised what EA had done. They simulated. They really simulated, trying not to alienate gamers, they created the closest digital football to the real thing. If you have patience you will be rewarded after the first 20 games. If not you will believe its a strange, broken beast. And turn to PES 2012 arcade pick up and play game, because, well...its arcadey and soooooo easy to score or keep the ball. Your money, your decision.… Expand

I love the FIFA franchise. Therefore, I have desperately been waiting and waiting for there to be an installment that garners a 10/10 rating. I am sad to say this still hasn't occurred, however this game takes a definite step forward from last year's release. Yes, the tactical defending is unbelievably awkward when you first start playing, and it is the main reason why people are giving poor reviews, but with time it can be adapted to. I believe some facets of the game still lack a certain depth, mainly career mode, although it has been improved upon. The main thing I find is this - rarely am I winning 7-0 as in FIFA 11, but more regularly I am winning with such scores as 3-2 which makes the experience much more interesting. Good game.… Expand

I was shocked to see a user score of 6.4! FIFA 12 is definitely the most difficult FIFA yet, but I don't want the same game every year. Career mode is fun again and the pro clubs AI players are actually useful. Don't be put off by the bad scores and steep learning curve.

I honestly cannot believe the massive critical acclaim that has come with this game! I have been a proud backer of PES since the early days of ISS Soccer and moved into Fifa11 after a few years of shoddy updates from the konami back game, now comes Fifa12 and disappointed is not the word. I do not understand how you can remove something as fundamental as tackling from the game, it is no different from removing shooting or passing and as for the idiots saying it is more realistic I cannot remember a Premier league game where every player had a 2 foot invisible barrier around him.


I adored Fifa 11 as it reminded me of the early days of PES where the lightening fast counter attacks of United could be recreated, and the Ultimate team was a massive draw with me spending over £200 on it over the last year or so... EA will not be receiving my money this time, I am shocked at just how bad this game is compared to Fifa 11, with the much vaunted "impact engine" resulting in nothing more than knocking players off their feet in crucial situations and blatant penalties being ignored one end whilst simple taps are given the other.

The shooting, dribbling and passing have all had any speed taken out of them resulting in a boring defensive containment fest which results in one of the most tiresome and excruciatingly frustrating games of football I have ever played, there is simply no sense of fun!

This has taken Fifa12 back to the bad old days of passing the ball to your front man for him to run the field whilst walking past 3-4 defenders who are incapable of getting within the 2 foot invisible barrier surrounding each player - This is not due to a lack of skill as a + 500 wins record on UT Fifa 11 will testify - Every player I have played against online uses this tactic and seems to have forgotten the pass button... quite simply boring, frustrating, repetitive and a newbies paradise, I will be returning to PES12 for some fun. This is the first review I have written on this site as I felt I had to put the common mans opinion up against the "critics" acclaim.… Expand

I am very disappointed with FIFA 12. I expected a step forward from FIF 11, but instead, it was one giant step backward. Confusing controls and game play along with very similar aspects to FIFA 11 make this game a recipe for disaster.

Great, great game, i think the best football game ever created.
I don't really understand all these negative user reviews: sure, the game is totally different from the previous chapter; sure, the game is difficult - at first damn difficult-, it requires a lot of practice and the first times it will make scream like an angry dog; sure you'll need more than pressing the "A" button all time to stop opposite attackers..but once you'll catch how tactical defending works then you'll discover a new way of intending football games.
A must buy. Wonderful… Expand

The best FIFA to date, the tactical defending takes a few games to get to grips with, but after that, you wonder why EA didn't think of it years ago! A truly awe-inspiring achievement and a game that just gives and gives.

The best FIFA yet, there's no doubt about that. A lot of controversy around the new Tactical Defending system for sure. (Love it or hate it - it's here to stay!). I find the updates from last years edition refreshing, but there are certain areas I feel EA should have spent more time polishing the game. Take celebrations as an example. They still look as unnatural as ever. But gameplay is very solid, and with the addition of Precicion Dribbling it's even more intuitive. The Impact Engine is nice, even though it does have some minor bugs. The peer-to-peer online service seems a lot more stable than last year. I find the game more challenging on every difficulty from Pro and up than I did in earlier FIFAs. A good game and a "must have" for football fans, but still not "perfect", hence a score of "just" 7.… Expand

Its a great game, the best football simulation out there, if you can actually play it! hundreds of thousands of players have reported all offline game modes freezing, requiring memory resets just to play again. online modes like Ultimate Team are also afflicted by this issue.

Best soocer game on the planet for the options alone. Dont believe the haters buy it love it play it... the soccer plays very realistly other than in Ultimate team when playing below pro level, the defenders on the opposing side are pretty bad you can run with the ball and score pretty easy. The physics are amazing and accurate as hell.

Fifa 12 is amazing like Fifa 11, but in different ways. The new defensive game is totally new, wich cause some frustration to some people... but not to the hardcore one's... Fifa could not be the best football ever, but its way better than PES, this i can say, as one ex-PES player.

Not quite as good as FIFA 10 - which I think was the best football game I've every played - but definitely an improvement on FIFA 11. UI is still confusing as hell, and online is full of both bugs and idiots - although the latter is hardly the game developers' fault.

Well thats a surprised, average user rating 6.6. I bet thats because people don't like the new defending. Yeah I don't like it either. But there is a way round this. But less of that. What do I think of this?

THE BEST IF NOT THE GREATEST FIFA EVER!!! I can't put anything else, cos this would be filled with thousands of superlatives. JUST BUY THIS GAME, ABSOLUTE FOOTBALLING PERFECTION!!!

Most fans will buy it anyway, but it's also fair to say that the game feels better as it flows a lot more. The movement of the players on the pitch has greatly improved but there is still to do. Career mode finally feels like it should: a vibrant, realistical market, where other teams finally offer serious cash for your players, and not only your bad players. There are press conferences and the comeback of the youth academy. FIFA 12 is an improvement but the change in defense is not completely positive.… Expand

Coming from a PES fan boy, FIFA 12 is simply brilliant, the best soccer game so far, you can feel like being there in the soccer field, it's so realistic, i haven't found any AI flaw so far, you have to build up your attack to get a goal, just like in real life, this game makes use of SO MANY real life stuff that is ridiculous awesome. This is the first FIFA game i bought, and the first year i don't buy a PES game… Expand

Sorry forgot to change my score to 9. Also its LEGACY DEFENDING YOU CAN CHANGE IT TO NOT LEGENDARY. Also forgot to mention the game is near enouh fully customisable, from game speed to however you want it to play in the USER GAME CUSTOMISATION SETTINGS.

I cannot believe that they are calling this a bad game, or that PES is better. The changes may have been so-so but come on people! First you complain about FIFA 11 and that they should change some things and then when they change them, you still complain. I thought this game was beutiful and haters gonna hate.

The innovation and inclusion of the support your club feature has sealed the deal for me, I haven't played sports games much over the past 10 years, but with the RPG aspect that is now present, I feel like I am actually working towards something when I play. I'm glad I picked this one up. Bravo FIFA team!

FIFA 12 is arguably the biggest swerve in the franchise's history, completely scrapping the old 'easy to play, difficult to master' defensive system for one that, or at least so the developers claim, is much more rewarding and realistic. While this is a major change, and one that can be optionally disabled in single-player mode, it's no-doubt a separating point between fans. What FIFA 12 has in terms of fluidity and realism that raises it above other football/soccer games is only available because of the sacrifices made to the old 'pick up and play' attitude that previous installments had -- and this is not a crowd-pleasing move. You'll spend days, maybe even weeks, trying to master a system that didn't need changes so drastic -- and even worse, the ever-so-popular multiplayer mode forces you to switch to this new system, so think again if you thought you could just revert back to the old controls just to play your mates on release day. Anyone looking for a fun and simplistic football/soccer game just to play occasionally with friends will be much better off buying FIFA 11.… Expand

As a long time player of FIFA 11, which I enjoyed immensly, I was very impressed at the start with FIFA 12's silky smooth handling on the ball and the crisp animations. As I only play offline, I realise that this year may not have been the best for me, as they have changed next-to nothing in the offline modes, but netherthess the game impressed me. However, one of the major concerns for me is the precision dribbling. The feel when you weave your way through a horde of defenders to score (which is not unheard of) is certainly satisfying, yet when it is done to you by the CPU is feels really frustrating. That makes me sound like a bad loser, but in FIFA 11 there was occaisonal frustration when I poked the ball too hard and possession was stripped, but there was a button to take it slowly (LT) which balanced out dribbling. Similarly, it made it easier for me to take the ball off the CPU, even when I was playing World Class (which was a perfect level of difficulty - yet the thing I liked is that it wasn't the hardest, so if I still wanted a real challange, I could upgrade the diffuvculty anbd still had a lot of fun.) Yet although when the difficulty was upgraded in 11, it didn't feel unfair, becuase it wasn't just one player cuttiong through your defenders like butter; it was the cohesiveness of the opposition - the main element was that I had the feeling THEY WERE HUMAN; they weren't invincible, and thats what made it fun for me. Yet in FIFA 12, the CPU manages (even when you put 5 guys in defence and keep jockeying and containing), it is extremely hard even in professional get just get a touch. I dread to think what the world class and legendary game modes will be like, but I'm defionetly not looking forward to them for a challange - it won't even be fun, running after the opposition with bad defenders. The player impact engine. This is a 'major' enahncement, but in a regular game you encounter its effects about 3/4 times a game. Sure it looks good, and I guess they had to do something, and it is improvement from 11 because sometimes in 11 you would tackel the guy, then your player would stand at the ball for a good second doing nothing - and I have no idea why. At least that was fixed. While the tactical defenending was certtainly ' groundbreaking', I think it was a little too groundbreaking. Its like having Whitlam after 20 years of liberals; it just feels like too much at once. I Think they should have made some minor adjustments to defending this year, and brought it in 13. Finally, this is a very minor gripe but I wish EA would fix it - it is really trivial. As an offline player, I enjoy creating my own world cup/ eurpoa champions league type tournaments from scratch, which means I have to select all the teams myself. Yet this procedure takes about 15 minutes. If I want to create a 'World Cup' style tournament, I have to select a team, press Y, then select another team and press A to enter that team. In my tournament. REpeated 32 times. I just wish they would make it, you select all 32 teams at once and then press A to put them all in at once. If you don't belive me - make a custom tournament will all your teams, of 32 or even just 16 and see how long it takes you. It is extremely frustraing, and it shouldn't be. So after all that I give it a 7. Crisp animations, smooth gameplay (though that sometimes works against you) and pretty good gameplay (not excellent, like fifa 11) make up the score for me. Decent… Expand

FIFA 12 is a huge step forwards towards simulation thanks to the new Impact Engine and Tactical Defending. Whilst many will struggle at first or even refuse to use the new defending it adds a whole new depth to defending and more importantly it opens up space on the field whilst eliminating the plague of over aggressive pressuring. FIFA 12's Career Mode is also a great step in the right direction compared to the previous few years attempts with a lot more depth. A revamp of the H2H system has also increased the fun and skill involved in online 1vs1 matches, especially since the H2H GK abuse has been patched over.
FIFA 12 is an all around upgrade from FIFA 11 but will frustrate those who do not welcome change and whilst many of these upgrades are great as a whole there are still some AI issues, bugs and glitches that need to be ironed out, hence an 7 instead of an 8.
FIFA 12 is a step in the right direction with a lot of potential for FIFA 13 and plenty of enjoyment, and on occasion frustration, to be had.… Expand

CONCLUSIÃ

i disagree with a lot of what people are saying here, the tactical defending was inplemented to make the game a little more difficult, which i think is good for online play, on fifa 11 all you had to do to defend properly was hold right trigger and a, this mean that the goals that were scored were mostly tap ins or crosses, with tht enew tactical defending your defenders can get it wrong so you can score more realistic goals, i dont really like the collision system but it is realistic that if someone runs into your guy he would fall over or get held back, and quick throwings keep the gameplay flowing, this is an imporvement over fifa 11, but for me i never really play againt ai, footbal games are meant to be played against another player, and have always been like that, regardless of what some players say, if your a football fan you should buy this, its still a lot better than PES is, my one complaint is that nothing has still been done against online quitters, like when u go a goal up they just stop playing and then quit the game, this can ruin it for a lot of people.… Expand

FIFA 12 is probably one of the best FIFA games, certainly in my Top 5 list.

The tactical defending WILL take time to learn, but once you do, its very enjoyable to play. I see reviews on here moaning about the TD system and that its now harder to score blah blah blah. If you want a FIFA game that's easy to score on, then go play FIFA 2003. The career mode is much better than FIFA 11's shoddy effort, it has pretty much everything that EA took out of 11 (from 10) e.g. scouting. They've added new form and morale systems that seem to work OK, but don't really seem to affect players that much e.g. a player with a low morale level doesn't play that bad (not as bad as they would in real life).

This game is definetley worth the buy and the 6.6 user score doesn't do the game justice, seriously.… Expand

Gives a real fotball fan all he wants and takes a big step towards total fotball reality. The screens could be more easily oriented though and the goal keeper isn't quite 100% just yet.

I have to admit that this is a beautiful game. It is a huge step compared to Fifa 11. Graphics are much much better. It all makes the game that much more realistic. But every game has its cons and Fifa 12 has several. The dribbling has been greatly improved, but they slightly overdid it. It has become far too realistic me is making it hard to keep control of the ball. The expression on the players' face is always as plain as ever. The umpire's speeches need to be more realistic. You an tell that it is fake simply because the words keep getting repeated. At first the words the umpire said were very exciting but after a while the excitement died off. There are some cons but hey, no game's perfect, right? There are far more pros than cons and I noticed that the ball's movements and bouncing are much more natural. There are added tricks in Fifa 12 as well such as the heel flick. Overall I think Fifa 12 is a fantastic game and don't forget that Fifa 13 is yet to come!… Expand

Best soocer game on the planet for the options alone. Dont believe the haters buy it love it play it... the soccer plays very realistly other than in Ultimate team when playing below pro level, the defenders on the opposing side are pretty bad you can run with the ball and score pretty easy. The physics are amazing and accurate as hell.

Fifa is the dingle most overrated game in the industry. It looks bad but the really bad part is the game play. It all feels very pre-defined . Football should be played fully manually instead. EA doesn't aim for a real sim i guess...but arcade football is not much fun imho.

It's a reasonably good game, the Defensive AI has been definitely improved, and Tactical Defending and Precision Dribbling were very nice new features, as they improved the game's realism, since the defensive system and dribbling system in previous FIFA's was reminiscent of guided missiles ready to take the ball away from you, and there was little you could do about it unless you passed the ball around. However it feels like they didn't apply those features very smoothly, and some problems exist. And there are a lot of problems with the impact engine.
On the graphics department everything's good, it's not a reference in terms of graphics, but it's still pretty good.
Online: the servers could be a bit better, and offline the Career Mode is still poor, probably because of the attention EA Sports gave to Ultimate Team, which hasn't improved at all, somehow.

PS: Momentum still seems to be present within the game in the last minutes of each part, even though EAS denies it.… Expand

Horrivel, simplesmente, o pior jogo no quesito, roubar a bola, recomendo que nao compre o jogo... Para mim o pior de todos, o lema do jogo é " Nao pode roubar a bola " voce simplesmente nao pode ter ela em seus pes ! Da proxima vez EA tenha mais concinhencia com os jogadores !

Generally loved the game, best FIFA game I've played, I'm quite slow with the buying of FIFA 13 and the pre-order of FIFA 14, so hopefully, they bring much better things for game play. The sport of football has evolved like the game itself has, it's still stupid however that if you stay in one club for ages, you only have some useless young players with no rapid overall change, the limit of getting individual awards and the longevity of FIFA 12's Career Mode made me assume this game was a video game sport joke! The good factors were the fact that the player collisions, referee AI, player movement depending on their movement overalls and the extensions of the player's attributes have improved.… Expand

This game has potential - but it is ruined by the unhelpful **** EA and the insane amount of scripting they put into the game. Online, the opponent gets lots of lucky deflections, your defenders act like mental cases and you can't do anything about it. The servers troll you, too. Every game that I win I get disconnected, but I am still logged in to XBL or PSN. Offline, you watch as the CPU rape you by walking through your defence, getting lucky deflections and then proceeding to cross the ball really fast to the attacker who acts like a ninja to score. But then, I tried putting CPU vs. CPU, they suck, even on the hardest difficulty! Why EA feel the need to script the game to hell I will never know. This is the worst FIFA for a LONG, LOOOONG time.… Expand

The game has a lot of improvements but Tactical Defending ruined it. Also, they're focusing only in the online part, the AI is a joke, the games are fixed, there are matches that you can't win no matter how many times you repeat it and every team plays like barca when they're in possession of the ball even if its a 1-star team, the only difference its that they wont score.

Great game, I have a strong bias towards it though as i am a huge football fan and a fan of the fifa franchise.
Pros- Wide range of game modes Good graphics Ultimate team is incredibly addictive Could spent a seriously long time just playing in the arena Building virtual pro and playing clubs game mode
Cons- Still quite flat when playing against computer, seems like a chore The collision system can fail at crucial times Steep learning curve… Expand

Fifa 12 is an excellent evolution to last year edition. Even for a novice "veteran" like me, the new defense mode are practical. But it still lacks the precision of PES 2012 IMO. Read this short comparison between Fifa 12 and PES 2012: http://rytonreview.blogspot.com/

I liked the game itself, but the goalkeeper glitch ruined it completely online mode, and I only play online. This new system of defense did not like, in the end no one is using the button to take the ball, everyone is only waiting for the CPU surrounding and take the ball for you, leaving the system much more automatic than the old system. It was boring.

FIFA 12 .....

lets start by saying if crap played fifa even he would say its crap.

now you only have to go on the fifa 2 forum to understand the problems with this game...the games been out for less than a month and its beyond ridiculous how many glitches/issues this game has, you see the difference between us customers and those in the media that get paid underhanded to review is that we play the game daily and scrutinize it as we would like any other of our purchases.

when a game freezes during the career mode and makes u start again and lose ur progress it deserves a slap in the face,

when theres a glitch online making newbs use the gk glitch then that deserves a slap in the face

but when these issues among loads of others get neglected to be resolved without even an apology for a failed game riddled with bugs then that deserves nothing more than neglect from us from there future products!… Expand

FIFA 11 was the buggiest game i have ever played so i expected improvements for FIFA12 & they delivered, it is the 2nd buggiest game i have played. How a big company like EA can continue to take advantage of its fans by releasing unfinished games i dont know but what confuses me more is that none of the reviews mention how broken the game is - EA must be spending a lot of money on these reviews... compare them to the user score.

As far as the content of FIFA 12 goes, Manager mode is still pretty poor & playing the AI is no fun at all. The new seasons mode in online is a good idea but has reintroduced so many of the problems from previous years like playing the same teams every game, i really get the feeling whoever makes these decisions doesnt play much online. Clubs, my favourite mode last year (after it was patched, it didnt work for the 1st month!) is the same as FIFA 11 but has some new bugs, thanks! Lastly new defending has made the game less fun as you are afraid to tackle when defending & feel like you dont need to pass on attack as its so easy to dribble past people... can only play so many 5-4 games before it gets boring. Poor effort from EA, i''m going back to PES just to stop giving them money to cheat me.… Collapse

FIFA 12 is the next installment in the FIFA series...and it's exactly the same as the other installments. Why buy this game when it is exactly the same as the others. Like the others though, it's boring and lacks entertainment. A lame rehash of the other games.

Fifa 12 Is a Dissapointment just like fifa 10 and 11 Fifa 9 Was A classic But This Game is Good in some ways with its cool graphics and cool new modes but for Players who arent Particularly good or quite rusty and These sort Of Games Will Not Find it addictive at all This game has its good times though the single player is great aswell as the multiplayer but the controls suck all i can say is Football is for Wii 6/10 C- 60%… Expand

This game is poor! I got it as an unwanted xmas present and initially rated it a 5. Now I've had time to play it, I'm rating it a 2. Why? I believe this game is a MASSIVE step back from previous versions of the game! The tactical defending is rubbish! Ok, you can turn it off but its so not needed! Attacking is a complete joke! You're telling me to beat defenders you have to do all these fancy flicks, twists, turns, step overs, chops etc etc again not needed! Have the devs ever watched REAL football matches.... these things rarely happen unless you're Ronaldo or Messi..... it so un realistic its untrue. And thats its downfall; they have tried to make it realstic they have actually made it unrealistic and unplayable! The controls are so sluggish and laggy too. The through ball is a joke.... it never goes to the intended target. I swear their players must have telescopic legs! Just when you think you ar through.......... NO intercepted again! Passing never reaches its intended target about 25% of the time! Shooting is a nightmere! Always goes wide or hits the bar/post whatever....... its just bad!
The game is just poor! Thats another thing why are my strikers always on the half way line?? WTF?? They never push forward! Its crap! Games crap and I hate it! The last fifa game I actually bought was fifa 10 and I loved it.....this version is crap! I'll be putting this game on ebay today! Save your money, games broken!… Expand

I tried for a few weeks to lie to myself, but in the end I had to trade this in. It's such a horrible game, especially online. I've played FIFA since 08 and it's defiantly a series that's been getting better, probably peaking at FIFA 10. FIFA 12 is such a step backwards. Tactical defending is a poor addition, it's clumsy, awkward, but at the same time once you get used to it defending is easier. In fact I had a losing record online in FIFA 11 but a winning one on FIFA 12 (after over 100 games). The game play in general is also not as smooth and the physics of players colliding is so bad this could be a PS1 game. Feel sorry for people who are new to football games as there is nothing out at the moment, PES is rubbish too. It's a better game in manager mode I'll admit but after 3 seasons about half the league had been brought by Arab billionares which was strange! If you want a football game I'd suggest sticking with FIFA 10 or 11 and wait to see if FIFA 13's any better.… Expand

tous le jeu de foot ce resemble le foot sport de pedale Ce jeu est blague. Jeu jouer ennuyeux et prévisible. Vous passez plus de temps courir pour obtenir une boule. CPU est unbeattable sur la classe mondiale. Quoi de plus? Tout d'abord Fifa 12 LIGNE est cassée, PPL sur xbox déjà triche en utilisant un gliches sorte qu'ils ne peuvent pas perdre un match. Il ya beaucoup plus et gliches problmes mais sux jeu en général. Ce n'est pas un ballon de football… Expand

Este juego la mera verdad tiene muchisimos fallos con esa nueva IA se me hacen muy estupidos sus movimientos y ademas el portero de cualquier manera le puedes anotar gol muchas veces porque hasta chocan los jugadores es gol son mamadas la mera verdad

Technically, the game is very realistic and true to the real game, which is a little different than previous versions which were more arcade like. As the years went on the game has gotten more and more realistic. People are way too quick to judge this game. The new defending system will take a little bit to get used to for example, but in the end it's worth it. Overall, with great gameplay, presentation, and fun factor, this is an amazing game.… Expand

This was always going to get bad reviews because of the new defending. People always want games to be easy, hence why CoD is popular. But this is a better game and thank god they made it harder. More realistic for me, the better. That's why I can't seem to get into PES. Still the best sports game out there by a about a 1000 miles. Seriously what other sports game comes close? (Don't count PES, same sport) I gave it an 8 because the online is typically laggy and unresponsive and I still can't believe they can't fix it. Maybe next year can be the last game before they just release downloads to just update the game.… Expand

Definitely the best Fifa game ever. The updates applied to this years classic footballing sim has seen Fifa turn from a repetitive year long 4-0 win against any team on the game into a challenging, realistic footballing experience. Don't get me wrong I have always enjoyed Fifa games but this years addition is a cut above previous editions. PES still has a long way to go to reach the top. The introduction of the tactical defending adds a new angle to the game rather than just trying to score and let the computer do the defending for you by holding 'B' you a generally thinking of every part of the game.… Expand

I have been playing Fifa games since '03, likewise with PES. I was more excited about Fifa 12 than I had been about any other Fifa or Pes before. To begin with, I was very happy with my purchase, the graphics were a great improvement on last years, and everything just seemed polished. Brilliant! Then...

I started experiencing some faults. 1) My ultimate team is now useless, and all I can play is a friend, not tournaments, nothing. I have contacted them several times, no resolution. Money wasted on packs, etc. 2) How John Terry will ever be as fast as Samuel Eto'o I don't know, 3) Tactical defending just went to pot, it was ok at the beginning, but sometimes I now find myself conceding on every attack I face.

So overall, Fifa 12 has the potential to get a 10, but little flaws stop this from being the best.… Expand

Very disappointed with fifa12. It feels like EA have tried too hard to improve a near perfect fifa 11. I was a massive pro evo fan until konami tried to "improve" things, then I moved over to fifa, now it seems EA are doin the same thing. Fifa 12 feels sluggish, speedy counter attacks are near impossible and the new tackling system is totally unrealistic. EA need to have re-think on what makes a game fun, because fifa12 isn't.… Expand

John Terry scoring two 25 yard goals with his left foot. Long shots are broken. Defense is nifty and requires alot of concentration, defiantly not new player/young player friendly, Slide tackles are pretty much useless unless u try and block a shot. The defenders constantly trip over themselves. Their is no 'common sense' with the AI players at all. Many goals conceded because of players running into each other, kicking the ball at each other ect. Controls are really poor, You try and pass it to the player next to you and even if the direction of the stick is correct and you press the button once it still managers to go in the opposite direction to a player further away. Players attributes are baseless seems as they didn't scout the players and just gave messi 100 in everything and went from there. The new defense for starters requires you to really read the game. Tbh I control my DM and let the AI CB's make the tackles because all honestly, its just horrid. It is hard to anticipate, because by time the other person does a skill move to dodge past you, It has to travel over the internet in a small time (ping) then you have your reaction to the move and by time that has happened his strolling past. The Manager mode once again is the most pathetic thing I've come across and still hasn't changed. Compare it to a realistic manager game like Football manager (DEFIANTLY NOT FIFA MANAGER, WORST EVER) and its really balls.… Expand

FIFA 12 suffers from a lot of bugs, commentary errors and horrible backgrounds. The soccer (oh football, sorry) itself may be good, but its sort of repetitive, pretty much like in any other sports game. Online pass is a stupid thing. Ultimate team is good. And for the commentaries.... uhm... score 5:0 at halftime: "I believe that this team will win, they started very good and if they dont exhaust themselves, they should finish the match victoriously." Uhm.. WTF?… Expand

Ok so where to start, graphics will always be good by EA however the game play as always is terrible in fact its boring. They have changed the tackling so you can' tackle unless you figure out you can go in to settings and use old Fifa tackling. Secondly player skills and attributes are so messed up fast players run so slow and players who have no skills in reality are doing mad skills past your players! As for online MP the game is so slow like players use energy in a few seconds. It is very poor yet again EA fail to improve what people hate! If Pro Evo had graphics like Fifa it would steal the market.… Expand

Was really looking forward to this game before release but I am so dissapointed. First off, i hate it when people quite the game because youre winning and is the main reason why i play h2h seasons online. I can pretty much beat every opponent i play but i've lost quite a few mainly down to lagging out. Playing against the computer is a completely different story however. I'm playing career mode on professional and it feels as ive the computer is cheating for the opposition. The computer has 1 shot during the whole game and they score off it, a 50/50 challenge goes the way of the other team and pretty much makes the game a non contact sport and it feels like the ball falls straight to the opposition. The defending is also a disgrace, you press B and the player sticks his leg out and stops completely dead, realistic right?? So many things to complain about not sure if i've remembered them all. On Fifa 11 i could beat world class but this game is so frustrating i wanna break my control. Not getting another Fifa game unless they completely change it and would advise people to stay away from this game.… Expand

The 2012 was the year when football became boring, so it seems. I've been playing it for a few weeks and the tactical defending really ruins it and slows the pace of the game. It is not entertaining to play anymore. You just try get half of the time the ball back from CPU which predicts your every move and also plays towards his own goal frustratingly often. Also sliding tackles go through the players as they would be invisible. It is amazingly slow to shoot so about everytime you get into position of shooting CPU will just come and take the ball away from you. Oh, and it is so rare for you to get into the actual box. You just have to try to shoot from long range. Opposite taking goalkicks is slow also, the goalkeeper just keeps standing there. No more header goals it seems, since the opposite is always between you and the ball. When giving a through ball even the best runners (Ronaldo, Messi etc.) can't beat the defenders. They slow their pace to half when getting the ball and then opposite comes and end your attack.

This year's Fifa was a great disappointment and I'd highly recommend to stick with the Fifa 2011 if you haven't bought this game yet. Three points for: it's football, great graphics and choosing shirt colors is better 'cause you can see the whole outfit (no more confusions between same looking whole outfits).… Expand

I'm not a huge football fan, but I've always enjoyed the FIFA games. Well, not this one... I know I'm not brilliant at football games, but they've made all AI teams practically superhuman. Scoring is virtually impossible, "jockeying" to defend usually results in the AI just steaming past you at 100 miles an hour, and tackling is pretty much eliminated from the game (in other words, if you try to tackle, it just doesn't do anything most of the time). I can only imagine this appealing to football/FIFA enthusiasts, because it's simply too hard. On the other hand, multiplayer becomes too simple because you just hold down "A" whilst the computer does the rest for you. Practically a waste of time. I regret getting this, and will be trading it in when I get the chance.… Expand

Good game, as much as you can ask for from a year on year sports title. Good graphics, good gameplay, relaistic player movement and actions. Fun to play and online play with pro clubs is brilliant.

big step forward with EA SPORTS FIFA 12, which has raised the level of the game simulation.
The defense tactic has been a great innovation to make realistic and fun match in defense ... the new fun and realistic dribble makes the offensive maneuver, and the slower pace of the game and makes the largest field operation simulation and much more more compelling and logical.

Who voted 4 is only ONE OF PES fanboy because I genuinely am happy with the work done by Ruter on fifa 12, fifa 11 in fact I enjoyed less, fifa 12 is much more fun to play, there are actions you can make very realistic and animations, collisions, and the rest bring about so much more quality than last year.

is yet another confirmation that the most realistic game of football is FIFA a few stories.

CALL FOR SPORT AND DAVID RUTTER and feedback from the community to follow the Italian and English ... and continue to do so because they are on the right track ... the highest level of simulation is achieved by the feedback you read ocome but can still improve a lot, and let lose 4 pessaries fan boy because boys are just jealous of the fact that EA with FIFA 12 this year has been very successful .. painful to play while their konami did flop again!

EA FIFA 13 regalaci an even better .. but on the basis of this great fifa 12.… Expand

Fifa 12 is a major improvement defensively from Fifa 11. 11 was a joke because you could use a heat seeking missile (A button) to take the ball from the attacking player. In 12 you have to judge when to make a tackle (if ever). Some people are complaining that you slow down when you jockey. Guess what, don't jockey!
I never jockey, I only contain (A button) when the opponent is in the final third. If you have to, hold RB to double team while containing. However, you when you double team an opponent, you have to compensate that by making sure one of his buddies isn't open in the box. Also, never slide tackle or do a standing tackle in your final third. You will usually get burned.
Also, for those of you who think the computer is too difficult, it has gotten more difficult than last year. This year's world class is the equivalent of legendary. However, if you practice enough, you will be able to beat legendary almost every time.
Finally, for Fifa 13 Ea needs to change a few things:
1) When a person has inside position on a header, he should always be the one heading the ball. I hate when I always get inside position when I'm on defense, and the opposing offensive player morphs into me and heads the ball over me (In real soccer, jumping over an opponent to head the ball always results in a foul).
2) Fix the servers: I lose more games to them than to people actually beating me, and my latency is green, and my connection is otherwise crystal clear.
3) Fix the passing: I hate when I think of a brilliant cutting pass and press A or Y to make it, and the computer decides to pass to a less convenient teammate of the opposition.… Expand

This is a dull experience... too easy on world class and the com just cheats on legendary overall you have to ask yourself do you enjoy this because its fun? No theres no fun left as all you do is chase the ball and and give it away at the drop of a hat then chase the ball some more..

FIFA 12 is a decent game if you want to play it when you have your friends over, if you want to play it online however the game is horribly broken and is filled with very flawed game design. After playing every game out of the FIFA series since the early days on PC (which featured 5 A Side), but this is definitely the last game I buy. If you play online then you can completely dominate a person in every aspect of the game, but his keeper pulls off one incredible save after another, then your opponent gets one shot on goal and the ball just roll in. In various forums this has been called "scripted events" which EA desperately denies is in the game, but whatever it's called - it's in there. It's noticeable in many matches, sometimes you have the advantage, and sometimes your opponent got the advantage. Those games where every single ball bounces in favor of someone and one shot on goal, no matter how bad it is, goes in. Those games where the AI of your defenders are either in the wrong position, or tackle the opponent in the penalty box, or just stop in the middle of chasing the ball resulting in your opponent getting a one on one with your goalkeeper.

I don't recommend anyone buying it, and I don't recommend anyone buying FIFA 13 unless they take care of the issues mentioned above. But knowing EA they will just upgrade the graphics and leave the game design untouched, and of course throw in another mode that costs money.… Expand

When I first got this game, I loved it. But as you start to play it you realize just how many things are wrong with this game. The defending is absolutely horrible. If I am going to "tactically defend" and block pass lanes, I need my AI defender to be able to adequately defend my opponent with the ball. When you do attempt to tackle/jockey, it is incredibly difficult to time correctly, leading to your opponent running right past you. If you do tackle correctly, the ball magically bounces right into your nearest opponent's foot and the whole process starts all over. However, my biggest and must infuriating problem with this game is how it is somewhat scripted, for lack of a better word. You could take the exact same shot, in the exact same situation 10 times, and FIFA will decide you get to miss 6 of those, because apparently having a random error generator makes the game more realistic. It doesn't. If I have a good shot on goal, I expect it to go in. Also, you have a SIGNIFICANTLY better chance of scoring in the 45th minute, 90th minute, or just after you've been scored on. This leads to some absurdly terrible shots being scored, which in my mind removes the legitimacy of this game. Basically, until all that crap and more is fixed (which it likely won't be), I won't be buying another FIFA game. I also feel dirty every time I give EA my money.… Expand

It's the SAME DAMN THING IT IS EVERY YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND YET EVERYONE STILL BUYS IT EVERY YEAR!!!!! Footy simulation that is auto-controlled. To much focus on realism. Only thing I can say is: FAIL

This game is absolute **** I regret spending my money on it every time I get the chance to play it because of all the RETARDED things that happen during gameplay. First of all, lets mention the only good things about this game: Career mode and head to head. Career is fun building teams and head to head is great long as you dont get paired up with some band wagoner that only uses Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Man City, etc. Now on the BAD, and there a lot of BAD. Despite my overall enjoyment over career mode, am I the only one that noticed the most ABSURD transfers that occur during career? Its as if not a single player has loyalty, and does who do have loyalty arent any specific number of players, its at random (im refering those who deny contract offers). Example: Sergio Aguero joined Man City this season, and in more than one of the career modes I play he ALWAYS goes to Madrid or to AC Milan by the 2nd half of the 1st season. I mean, if you know about football, THIS **** MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL. Another example, Juan Mata, recently bought by Chelsea, in more than one career mode he gets unsettled after just one season and gets sold always to Inter or Milan. Lets apply the logic of the game here, If you constantly play a player in your starting squad he gets happier, right? Now how THE **** does a starting LW for EVERY single Chelsea game unless he gets injured becomes unsettled and ends up leaving his RECENTLY JOINED (KEY WORD, RECENTLY JOINED) team after ONE year? That makes NO **** SENSE. These are just examples of **** that happens, and there are much more but I bet the users know what I mean (Robinho selling himself to **** teams like Wolverhampton or Catania, Man City and Inter always selling their starts after only one season, etc etc) Now onto the GAMEPLAY. Let me just start off by saying that the AI is retarded, as in, there are moments in game where you make a pass to a totally open forward/midfielder that isnt offside yet mid pass he decides to go back and the pass lands beyond him. Also, whats the point of having a goalkeeper? Unless youre really good with him when you control him by hitting the back button, theres no point in having a keeper because ANY PLAYER that gets passed your defenders scores the most absurd/****tiest goals. Example : 90 minutes into extra time, enemy team gets a free kick. My keeper is an overall 90 (professional game using lyon against PSG) and Nene takes up to take the free kick. HE SLAMS A PERFECT **** KICK THAT CURVES SO FAST INTO THE NET MY KEEPER CANT REACT. Now, when it comes to tactical defending, if you just make ONE mistake or let a certain, ANY person beyond your defensive line is going to score no matter what. Moving on, lets talk about offense. oh this pisses me the **** off. Has anyone noticed that if you play on professional or higher, you spend more time chasing defenders and defending than actually attacking ? It's as if every defender channeled the 1990 World Cup Winning Germany's defense combined with todays Borussia Dortmunds defense for every single game above professional. EVERY CROSS IS BLOCKED, EVERY PASS IS INTERCEPTED, EVERY THROUGH BALL IS AN OFFSIDE, EVERY SHOT ON GOAL, NO MATTER WHAT RATING THE KEEPER HAS, IS BLOCKED, EVERY TACKLE STOPS YOU AND NOT ONLY DOES IT STOP YOU, THE BALL DIRECTLY GOES TO AN ENEMY PLAYER AFTER THE TACKLE. Also, the AI of teams you play against make PERFECT passes from RIDICULOUS angles, score ABSURD free kicks using a shot power that if you had used it it would not have turned out like the AIS kick and EVERY single shot on goal within the box is never with power and looks like a **** tap in. Also, am I the only one that noticed that EVERY SINGLE **** TEAM IN THE GAME PLAYS THE SAME **** WAY WHEN ITS PROFESSIONAL OR HIGHER? This is basically the strategy. Defenders and back midfield pass the ball between themselves, they pass it to a forward on the wing and he runs up the whole pitch hugging the sideline, once he gets closed to goal he either shoots from a retarded angle or makes a cross that ALWAYS guarantees a goal because the one making a header never misses. The only times enemy forwards pass you without this strategy is when you make a mistake or the enemy team makes ridiculous through passes and spends a lot of time trying to evade you when youre defending (by a lot of time I mean a CAM running all the way back near his teams penalty box only to kick the ball away.) Speaking of kicking the ball away, I feel defenders block my shots more than the keepers. If its not blocking the shot with 3 people covering it with their bodies, they kick it away ALWAYS and keep this process up until they have possession all they way up to the midfield. TL;DR This game had potential to be the best Fifa game ever made, and just ****ed it up with its **** AI and the absurd tactics enemy teams use in higher difficulties (they only ones that actually make the game challenging, cause amateur and semi-pro: too easy.)… Expand

Seeing what is coming up in FIFA13, I feel that certain new features could of been added / implicated with patches / DLC for FIFA12. I believe there were only 2-3 major updated for this game and sadly they did fix some issues but major issues were skipped. The game is still great and is fun to play, but for more of the hardcore players it's sad when a game doesn't have some of the most simple rules implemented for soccer and when a semi complete player engine is release without any major tweaks along they way, it leaves me saying this game could of been a lot better.… Expand

It's hard to believe that the overall User Score on Metacritic is a lowly 6.6 at the time of this review. FIFA '12 is approaching perfection in football (NOT soccer ;)) simulation. The increased focus on intelligent defence, combined with the requirement of actual skill to break down an opposition in attack (not simply flicking the ball up and blasting it in from 50 yards every few minutes) is refreshing.

Don't get me wrong; I'm no traditional FIFA fan boy. In fact, I was quite the hardcore PES fanatic until recently. But FIFA just beats the old Konami title hands down in every single respect.

Those players who are used to holding down a button and automatically charging down the ball and auto tackling will be disappointed. You have to hold your position, wait for an interception, mark players, watch for runs behind the defence... in short, you have to play football, which is a novel experience in a football game!

Added to the game mechanic improvements, the DLC content is superb, the community is fantastic, the single player options are brilliant - everything works. If you have the desire to put the time in to play the game properly, you'll get rewarded. Ignore the very errant reviews on here thus far. It's a game that's difficult to imagine being improved upon, and when you play a game like that, you know you're onto a winner.

I score it 9/10, simply because I don't believe I've ever played the perfect game in any genre, and I hope FIFA '13 somehow goes one step further.… Expand

Absolutely great game. I don't like sports games and it's the only sports game I've ever liked. I haven't played the previous fifas but I did like this one. And both graphically and the gameplay wise it was awesome. Before I got this game I didn't really follow much soccer. But now that I've played it I've actually taking a liking to watching soccer. Whether you like soccer or not this is a great game.… Expand

It's ok, but like most people said the CPU will just be passing the ball around and takes a long time to get it back. They also tend to score last minute goals.

It would have been a 10 if they included LOUNGE MODE!! Otherwise its easily the best football game ever made. Defence is difficult but more realistic. Watch a football game and see how often players get tackled successfully. Its not as easy as they have made it before. Online play is awesome, and the euro dlc is slightly over priced but a good addition. All in all, every soccer fan should have this. Don't even dream of comparing to PES. FIFA and EA is in its own league.… Expand

Unlike game such as MW3, the team in Vancouver always tries to create something special. ALWAYS. In FIFA 12, again they have kept the "Virtual Football Crown" in my mind and MANY others. All the new mechanisms work, and work well. From dribbling to tackling, everything almost seems perfect with new Precision Dribbling and Player Impact Engine. New game modes are AMAZING, and you can almost never be bored of the game. You can go watch (for example) Manchester United vs Chelsea, and then go replay the game on FIFA with new challenges that come out EVERYDAY from the EA Sports team. Albeit there are many glitches (mostly freezing), FIFA 12 is a complete necessity to all football/soccer fans, players, and anywhere in between.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a very good step up from FIFA 11. The career mode is way more in depth, with the adding of European League Games and the ability to become a manager/player. The game has no real flaws, except the tendency to have repetitive commentary year after year. Other than that its a great game.… Expand

Fifa 12 is a fun game but a 90 metascore is shocking. I play this game regularly and have fun while doing so but it is so similar to the previous games. they only added a few new features and that's it. Also the game has many small but frustrating bugs and mentally challenged referees. This installment of the fifa series deserves around a 70-75 and overall not enough new content to be called a new game its more of an upgraded fifa 11 in my opinion.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's nothing compared to Fifa '07 or '08! It's Slow and not as funny as previous editions.Konami has finally passed EA.A huge missed opportunity! … Expand