FIFA 12 Game Preview

This fall, EA Sports is setting out to revolutionize the soccer video game with its new title, FIFA 12. Year after year, the FIFA series has offered fans innovative and exciting gameplay enhancements to make it one of the best-selling sports franchises of all time. With the much-touted Player Impact Engine, as well as the new Precision Dribbling and Tactical Defending engines, it’s clear that this year’s title is set once again to improve on an already winning formula.

Whereas previous titles have relied on motion-captured animations for the movement and interactions of your favorite virtual players, FIFA 12’s ambitious Player Impact Engine sets out to change all that. With the new engine, a real-time physics system is in place for every player on the pitch. When one player tackles or collides with another, the body mass of each player as well as the point-of-impact is taken into effect as the action plays out on screen. This system will make each match a completely unique and more lifelike experience.

Also new is the Precision Dribbling system. Now wannabe Ronaldinho’s will have more control than ever when dribbling the ball. Virtual players now know their positioning on the field and will not idiotically dribble the ball out-of-bounce when near a sideline, as they have in the past. In addition, players can now shield the ball while dribbling, allowing for more deliberate, slow-moving possessions, as opposed to the video game standby: sprinting down the sideline and sending a cross into the box, hoping for the best.

Another new feature poised to make FIFA 12 even more realistic is Tactical Defending. The “homing-missile” defender pressure button that’s been present in most soccer games of the past few years has been removed and replaced with a more realistic “contain” button. Defenders will no longer sacrifice their positioning to make a B-line directly towards the ball carrier. Instead, players will stay back several yards, “containing” the attacker until you decide to increase the pressure and move in for the tackle. Additionally, tackling is not automatic this year, so one mistimed button press could lead to a breakaway for your opponent.

Check out these improvements and more when FIFA 12 is released this fall for PS3 and Xbox 360.