"Redefining soccer simulation"

Developer: EA Sports
Publisher: Electronic Arts 
Release Date: TBA
Platform(s): PC, PSP, PS3, PSVita, X360, Wii, 3DS
Genre: Sports


The fight between the two biggest names in world football will not end anytime soon. We're not talking about Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, not even Pelé and Maradona, but Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA.


After the success of FIFA 2012, Electronic Arts is preparing to bring many new features for FIFA 13. Proving that you can improve what many people already considered ideal, the company wants to make their soccer simulator even closer to reality. Of course, everyone was expecting some corrections in certain points of its predecessor, especially in the bizarre bugs engine. However, the company was not satisfied to just eliminate these problems and announced several novel features. According to EA, the main objective about FIFA 13 is to bring the drama and excitement of sports to video games, leaving it less mechanical and more human. The idea is to exploit this unpredictability of bids and the results themselves. Each game is an unique spectacle.
 

One of EA's main "weapons" to bring this characteristic of the fields to the consoles is called First Touch, that will let the ball control much more realistic. According to the site FIFA Ultimate, the idea is to bring more balance to the bids and make the players lose their "immunity" to receive a pass, which means attack and defense will have equal opportunities in every play - with variations based on their attributes. Speaking thus, the operation might seem a bit confusing, but the reality is very simple. Just remember the old editions of the game that the ball simply "stuck" in the player's feet, making the work of defenders. 


This is a thing of the past. The proposal is that, from FIFA 13, this area is somewhat unpredictable, making even the most skilled athlete can lose a ball considerably simpler if not careful. The same happens in longer entries, in which the player must consider the difficulty to predict a good way to get the bid without harming the game. But more than just balance things, First Touch will also be an important factor both for attack and for the back four. As the application was created from the movement of Lionel Messi, it is natural that you can keep the ball close to his feet to avoid losing it in a dribble. On the other hand, the defense can use an oversight to start a counterattack.
 

But this is not the only novelty of FIFA 13. Electronic Arts decided to move the defense system introduced last year and now also refines the attack with the so-called Complete Dribbling. According to the game's executive producer, David Rutter, it is the mechanics of dribbling more understandable and intuitive has made to date in a soccer game. The idea is to get players to explore all possibilities when it comes to starting up the opposing team. Inspired by the creativity of FIFA Street, FIFA 13 development team  want athletes to "play" more with the ball during the match. 


According to EA, mobility takes place in an area of 360 degrees and allow the creation of creative solutions for certain plays, mainly in those where attackers and defenders confront. To do so, the boldness is a fundamental ruse. In addition to the possible "frills" on the ball, you can also simply change the direction of the attack to confuse the opponent or just shoot towards goal. However, to make this possible, EA had to invest in Attacking Intelligence, a feature that will expand the possibilities of creating plays. With this, the athlete can analyze the area and develop more elaborate moves to break the rival defense. It's as if you had a larger vision of the game to provide some moves, as well as the biggest stars of football.
 

For free kicks, we have some news. First up to three players can gather near the ball to deceive the opponents defense and goalkeeper. Second it is possible to cheat in the free kick and instead to send straight to the goal, it's possible to make a pass for someone just out of the barrier. Artificial intelligence was "considerably improved". Players controlled by the CPU will make more intelligent sprints to receive passes, anticipating plays and positioning itself more appropriately. In addition, the attackers will know better the offside line, positioning themselves near the defense to run towards goal at the right time.


After the success of FIFA 2012, Electronic Arts brings the new version of its football simulator. In FIFA 13, the developer proves that it can be improved what many people already considered perfect, especially when adding several features to enhance gameplay. FIFA 13 arrives on the back of one of the most revolutionary instalments of the game in recent memory. Last year's release, FIFA 12, introduced new ways to defend and dribble, not to mention a much more realistic and robust physics engine. This year's title takes those features and improves them, adding a few new skills and tricks of its own. FIFA 13 releases for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PS2, iPhone and iPad this fall. 



Marco Cecilio, NoobFeed