If there’s one thing that can be deduced when commenting on this year’s football efforts from Konami and EA, it’s that these are sterling examples of why a little competition is healthy. Konami turned out a fine product with PES 2012, and EA has responded in kind with an absolutely brilliant effort for Fifa 12. This is an effort along the lines of a Robin van Persie free kick for goal; Landon Donovan scoring a last-second miracle in the World Cup, or Rooney throwing elbows with the intention to hurt people badly. It’s a near perfect effort that still has a few hang-ups and tweaks to go through, but Fifa 12 is surely the best EA has ever produced for the series.

This is also quite a different experience for Fifa veterans since the speed of the game has been toned down greatly. It’s a game that requires a bit of finess while attacking, and outright tenacity while defending. This is largely due to gameplay refinements brought by EA’s new Impact Engine; one of three major improvements EA has been banking on for improving the series. I was a bit underwhelmed when I played the demo in August, but it’s easy to see how these improvements have impacted the game once given a little time. Fifa 12 is shaping up to be the real deal.

Upon starting up Fifa 12, players are greeted by the familiar voice of Martin Tyler, who has become a staple for the Fifa franchise. This brief introduction puts a great emphasis on the Online modes in Fifa 12,and it’s clear that the community presence is playing a huge factor in this year’s game. Next, players are given a short tutorial that demonstrates the new tactical defending, however this training feels a bit rushed and not very comprehensive. Sure, there’s more of a defensive emphasis in this game, but there’s nothing about offensive improvements. There’s a need for more in-depth tutorials if all new concepts are introduced to many veterans and first-time players. It’s a missed opportunity for EA, and it leaves new players in an awkward position. The game’s learning curve came to about an hour for me, and the first matches were a very tough go initially. I was losing friendly matches with Arsenal against inferior teams by two goals or more. It was quite frustrating at first, but I eventually got around to modifying tactics to my liking. The control issues eventually wore off, and games became a more enjoyable fare.

A typical match in Fifa 12 feels much more intense than ever before; this is due to the defensive refinements and the much more aggressive AI. The default difficulty setting for Fifa 12 is different than what people may remember. There are the exceptional few who can turn on legendary difficulty and still rock shop, but 99% will feel a drastic difference in the AI. This is the toughest Fifa has ever been, and I think players will appreciate it once they get past the controls. Speaking of which, the controls are quite intuitive, and the tactical defending works well. Players will remember from last year’s game that tactical defending was pretty much based on pressing the A or X (PS3) buttons to send your defender flying with reckless abandon towards the attacker. However, this year shows a much more patient form of defense. Players hold down the right bumper to square up on an attacker to keep containment. The A button holds automatic contain, however, pressing the right bumper at the same time will call over a teammate to double down on the attacker. It’s a helpful addition that applies greater pressure to offensive players.

Next, the new precision dribbling feature helps provide more offensive security when charging down field. The left trigger helps produce shorter, more controlled dribbles to prevent easy takeaways. This also causes the offensive player to shield defenders away from the ball, and it requires a true sense of patience. Chances may present themselves as opportunities for quick steals or straight on attacks, but the tactically-minded players will know better and look for the more proper opportunities. The AI is dangerously effective, and risks will often be met with turnovers. Moreover, the new impact engine does a good job of giving weight to the players on the pitch. Disorganized play will result in players toppling over opponents or even their own teammates. Everything, including the ball, has a sense of presence on the field, and that is a very nice touch.

The only quibble I have with the gameplay is that passing feels rather sluggish and inaccurate. It didn’t seem to matter if I was playing short or long-ball tactics; passes would often go into uncharted territory when I didn’t want them to. When I pointed to a nearby player, the pass often sailed past him toward another player about 15 to 20 yards out. These would often turn into interceptions, and the passing made what should have been a stellar experience a little less so. The AI has been ramped up greatly this year, but it seems as though most of the enhancements went to the computer opponent side of the ball. I’m all for difficulty, but when your own teammates move rather anemically despite what sort of tactics are selected, it just adds a bitter taste to an otherwise fantastic cake.

THIS IS TRUE GAMING BLISS.

With the gameplay enhancements making a raucous entrance this year, the other aspects to the game have received some much needed attention. It is clear that EA is placing a big emphasis in online play inFifa 12 with several community enhancements to improve the experience. One feature that has become a standard in recent EA Sports games is the support your team option that pits clubs from around the world in an all-out fan war to claim dominance. As players accumulate XP, the effort begins to show in the club leaderboards. However, since this is a world-wide popular franchise, some clubs may not have the support in numbers as others do. In a twist to even things out, smaller clubs receive a special XP modifier to make smaller clubs more relevant on the world stage. Also included in the online functionality is a community effort to keep friends together, and eliminate random encounters. Players can still enter public lobbies, but the community feature makes playing Fifa 12 a much more enjoyable experience from an online perspective. Also, as far as I could tell, the latency was rather smooth during online matches. It didn’t feel overtly laggy compared to other EA Sports titles (I’m looking at you, Madden and NCAA Football).

Not to be kept out of the loop are the offline modes of Be A Player and Be A Manager. Both experiences are more robust compared to last year’s effort, and the drama is heavier this time with an improved transfer window that goes to the midnight hour on the last day. It’s an intense experience, wheeling and dealing up to the final hour, and squad morale becomes a greater factor for this year. This makes for a dynamic experience, and it can be disheartening when star players demand to be transferred (van Persie, how could you?). Another interesting mode is the Fifa Ultimate Team which essentially comes across as a mix of CCG mechanics and fantasy football. Players begin with a “starter deck” of players and a manager, which can be modified and improved as much as the player wishes. Players begin with a bottom feeder team and can play other teams online or offline to collect coins. These coins can eventually be traded in for booster packs for additional players or consumable cards that enhance teams in a variety of ways. It’s an interesting mode for the true football junkies as the quest to put together the perfect team is sure to be a time consuming one.

Moving on to presentation, it’s quite clear that EA really has the best methods for recreating a live match-day broadcast. Martin Tyler and newcomer Alan Smith represent the best commentary team produced for any sports game. The conversational aspect of their broadcast style shines in this year’s effort, and Smith steps in as a proper replacement for Andy Gray after Gray’s controversial 2011. Smith is a former Arsenal player, and his presence brings a great player’s perspective to the commentary. Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend serve as backups in tournament and exhibition matches, but the premiere team of Tyler and Smith is absolutely perfect. The commentary is also top-notch due to the depth of topics that Tyler and Smith exhibit. I normally turn commentary off for all sports games, but Fifa 12 makes a stellar argument against doing that.

EA’s partnership with Sky Sports has not gone to waste as the development team has shown great care in replicating the feel of a match-day broadcast.  Furthermore, stadiums from around the world have been recreated in stellar fashion. Crowd noises are incredible in places like Emirates Stadium and Old Trafford, but even the smaller stadiums have a life all their own. Even playing at smaller venues like Sunderland’s Stadium of Light are rowdy affairs as passionate fans sing and stomp and cadence. The smaller stadiums are actually a joy to experience, and apply a great amount of pressure to away teams.

I NEVER THOUGHT WAYNE ROONEY COULD LOOK UGLIER

Graphically, Fifa 12 doesn’t match up to Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, but it does run drastically smoother and animations don’t come across quite as janky. However, it’s a bit disappointing that players still look like lifeless, plastic toys in comparison to their real-world counterparts, especially when such great care has been provided to the recreation of stadiums and broadcasts. Perhaps this allows for smoother animation and framerates, but they simply don’t match up to what PES has made as a standard for visual fidelity.

TWO FRANCHISES ENTER…

Fifa 12 is really on its way to becoming the de facto premiere franchise if Konami cannot keep up with EA’s pace. While both franchises are practically neck-and-neck as far as quality footy goes, the choice between the two just comes down to what feels right.

PES 2012 is the better looking game, and the UEFA license helps the series stay relevant, but EA is applying the screws to Konami in nearly every way. The Managerial modes in both PES and Fifa have been greatly improved, and both games provide fine experiences. I think Konami wins out with its Master League and The Life modes since those are true experiences for first-time managers or players. That “work from the bottom to the top” approach adds more drama and excitement. In contrast, when I created a player to play for Arsenal, he was a striker rated at 70. For some reason, the manager thought it brilliant to place him as a starter in front of Robin van Persie. I was expecting to toil as a reserve to some extent, but that turned out to not be the case. In contrast, EA’s online modes are superior to Konami’s effort for PES. While PES has included facebook community integration, EA has a more robust community with Virgin Gaming backing its online arena.