FIFA Soccer 12 - Xbox 360

I am a lifelong soccer/football fan and player, both in reality and in the video game world. Topping FIFA 11 was not going to be an easy task, but it seems FIFA 12 has beaten its predecessor with flying colors.The graphics, sound effects, and control are all top notch and are an improvement over FIFA 11 overall, so there is no reason to spend much time talking about them.What is significant are the new changes to FIFA 12, and how they have affected the gameplay. The most noticeable two are the 1) Tactical defending and 2) Player impact engine.I will explain both briefly to give newcomers an idea of what to expect.1) Tactical Defending: Arguably the biggest and most significant change is the new defending system. No longer can you hold down A and B and watch as your defense swarms the hapless attacker automaticallyIn FIFA 12, you have to position properly and time your tackles well (as in reality) in order to gain possession of the ball. Mis-timed or poor tackles will often result in the attacker blowing past you or a foul and/or booking.I MUST WARN YOU, that this can be VERY FRUSTRATING at times when you are learning the new system as it is not very forgiving. For those of you intimidated by this there is an option to revert to the old system called "Legacy" (Identical to FIFA 11's system). But I HIGHLY recommend you take the time and effort to master the new defensive system, because it is highly realistic, extremely rewarding when you do that perfect tackle, and required if you want to master online play.2) Player impact engine: No more ghost players going through each other, players collide with each other when in the same physical space (shocking I know!). This can also result in injuries, some which are horrific and others which are just plain hilarious as your players fly around like ragdolls.The system isn't perfect and I've heard of a few bugs about it, but I haven't encountered any yet so I can't confirm. It is a welcome change though and, for the most part, adds to the realism of the game.OVERALL: 9.5/10This is by far the best soccer/football game out there, and even if you're not a big fan of the sport, chances are that you will enjoy this immensely fun and well designed game. Just about everything has been improved, and the extras (such as support your club) are just icing on the cake.Now if you'll excuse me, writing this review has already taken enough of my precious FIFA 12 playtime!

I've been a fifa fan since 98 but I usually play on pc...I gave it a break for a while until I got an xbox in 2010....I had fifa 10, and 11 and now I've got 12. Fifa 12 is ok so far...I've only played two games though and I am trying to get used to the new defense system...I find myself pressing A all the time for the standing tackle and nothing happens....Whats good about it is that if you dont time your tackles correctly (as in the real game) you will be beaten by your opponent..and the same goes for your opponent....I played one game online and one in career mode...I got my ass whoopped in career mode but i whooped simply because I havent gotten used to the defending the fifa 12 way.... However, I whopped some one online who seem to be having the same problem with defending....I guess I am a faster learner than he is....Overall graphics is better than fifa 11.....dribbling and passing seem to be better...you can change commentary teams instead of having just Andy Gray and the new fellow.....Fifa 11 topped fifa 10...and now 12 has topped 11.....its a good game.....go get it if u havent...Ps...There is no booklet (manual) in the case except a warranty sheet....so if your new to fifa you can go on youtube or download fifa 11 manual

I've been playing FIFA games since the original on the Sega Genesis. This may make me a bit older than the target demographic, so read this with that in mind:I enjoy playing video game soccer casually. A friend of mine comes over every couple of weeks, we play a few games after the kids have gone to bed, and that's about it. Good fun. Almost entirely offline. So I eagerly popped in FIFA 12 last night to see how the game had changed since its previous incarnation. Others have covered (and will continue to cover, for about the next year) the minutiae of gameplay, commentary, etc. I won't.What I will say is that getting to actually play a game of soccer took at least 15 minutes after starting the game, and I found this really annoying. The contrast between this and the immediate immersion of a game like NBA 2K11 is stark - getting to the point of playing the game shouldn't require nearly the amount of effort FIFA 12 required, esp. if you have no particular interest in gaining group club points, going through tutorials, exporting settings to other games, etc.. Yes, you may say, this is only something that you have to do once. And you're probably right.Perhaps more obnoxious is the lack of an instruction manual. Yes, there are online instructions in the game. Yes, if you've played the game in the past, the gameplay is going to be broadly similar. But in trying to navigate the game menus, I found it very difficult to figure out the differences between several of the game modes. The offline 'lounge mode' that tracks matches with my friend over the course of the year? Maybe it's there somewhere? Maybe not? Maybe it has been rolled into one of the other online modes? These are the sorts of questions that an instruction manual would answer. And this comes from someone who is familiar with FIFA games and is technically inclined - if you are a non-gamer parent buying this game for your child, I suspect it will take you a while to figure out how to actually, y'know, play a game of video game soccer.Maybe next-year's game should ship with a 'curmudgeon' mode, allowing you to hit the 'start' button, go straight into a game, and then figure out later which options you want to tweak and enable. And one sheet of paper in the box that says, in large text for those of us who are a bit older, 'if you want to play the game right now, here is how to enter curmudgeon mode...'