FIFA is perhaps the most popular soccer sim series in videogame history. For years, it has kept us entertained not only on home consoles, but also via handheld consoles. However, the handheld versions have always been a little short on content, and not as polished as the console games. Well, that has just changed with the arrival of FIFA 12 3DS. Check this review out to see for yourself. Ready? It’s time to score a goal!
In the home console versions, the graphics in the FIFA series have always been great, however, the handheld FIFA games’ graphics have suffered from a lack of polish. In FIFA 12, we see a remarkable improvement in terms of graphics; the players look more realistic (almost as good as in the Wii version) and the crowds also receive some love.
While playing a match, you will see short cinematic scenes given certain situations like fouls, free-kicks, missing a goal, etc. The aforementioned cinematic scenes look awesome and they make you feel like you are actually at a stadium watching a soccer match.
The 3D effect is implemented very well in this game. There is a special camera angle which is programmed to enhance the 3D experience. While playing with this camera angle, you will be able to really tell how far away the players are one from the other in order to send a perfect pass and many things more. Of course, while playing in 3D with other camera angles, you will not feel the same sensation. However, in general, developers did a great job with the 3D effect.
In FIFA 12 3DS, the classic soccer gameplay has been refined. The inclusion of the Circle Pad on the Nintendo 3DS makes the experience much better. No longer do we need to put up with the restrictive D-Pad controls.
The ball physics and the players have also been greatly improved; now players run and fall more naturally and the ball is more easily controllable. Still not as detailed and polished as the console versions, nevertheless it’s a welcomed improvement.
The Artificial Intelligence has increased in difficulty as well, adding more challenge to the game. The touch screen has some interesting uses in this game. While being at a certain distance of the opponent’s goal, the touch screen will become the goal, and you will be able to touch where you want the ball to go.
Of course, the ball will not always go where you want, because the player shoots to a place according to the difficulty of the shoot itself and the player’s abilities. Also, with the touch screen, you will be able to shoot free-kicks and penalties really accurately. While not in the aforementioned situations, the touch screen becomes simple radar, in order for you to see where the players are more easily.
One really nice characteristic of soccer is the commentaries. You will find commentaries in different languages, for example: English and Spanish commentary appears in this version. The commentaries really improve the experience, because they add much more realism to the game.
There is something that has characterized the FIFA series since the beginning, and that is the incredible amount of game modes that they add to the games, even for handheld consoles.
In FIFA 12 3DS, you will find an incredible amount of game modes, like Career Mode, Be a Pro Mode, Training Mode, Tournament Mode and many more, including the brand new Street Mode (screenshot above), where you will be able to play in five-to-five matches in the streets of many important cities around the world. With this mode included, it is like having two games in one.
As always, this version of FIFA has hundreds of official registered teams to play with, from many leagues around the world. Also, you will be able to keep your favorite team updated through SpotPass, where you can download updates which range from team kits to transfers. Everything up to this point seems really interesting, doesn’t it? Well, that is about to change, because the multiplayer component, the staple feature of the feature franchise, is missing a major feature.
FIFA 12 3DS only supports local multiplayer. Which means that no online multiplayer is present. The developers at EA have stated that they wanted to focus on creating a good local playing experience, and later they will move on to the online multiplayer experience in a future version.
In my opinion, if they wanted to do this, at least they could have included a really simple online multiplayer mode, but hey, you can’t always have what you want, can you?
Online multiplayer is such a huge loss to seasoned FIFA players, to the point that there isn’t selling a point of selling a FIFA game which lacks an online mode.
However, if you’re not a huge fan of online multiplayer (like me), then this won’t be much of a problem for you, because the single player side of things is pretty good. FIFA 12 3DS is amazing, considering this is just the first version in the series for the 3DS. As always, there are some things that need to be improved, but those improvements will be found in future versions, you can be sure of that.
The lack of multiplayer online is the biggest let-down of this game. However, as I mentioned before, if you don’t like to play online so often, you won’t miss this mode that much.
If your biggest dilemma here is whether FIFA 12 is better than launch title, PES 2011 3D. It is because features more modes, has official teams, better graphics and more. The only thing missing from FIFA 12 is online multiplayer, which is also missing from PES 2011 3D.
Loved:
-Great graphics, close to the Wii version
-In depth commentary
- A lot of game modes
- New Street Mode is fun
Hated:
-Lack of online multiplayer
-The gameplay needs to be a tad more refined
Fantastic: This product is fantastic however it’s missing one or two features and needs to be a tad more refined. (80%)
[or here if you live in Britain]
