FIFA Soccer 13 Review, 5.7 out of 10 based on 3 ratings

Soccer. Fútbol. Synchronized injury faking. Whatever you happen to call it, there’s no denying that EA Canada’s FIFA 13 has dominated it during this console generation. By staying ahead of the innovation curve and providing players with an overwhelming amount of options, the franchise has managed to avoid a lot of the accusations of stagnation lobbed at the sport simulation genre. But this year has exposed a pretty serious issue for the future of EA Sports’ most consistent series: The game can’t get much better.

On the pitch, FIFA is second-to-none. Madden and NHL are going through exciting and (mostly) successful transition periods, but there are still rough edges to smooth and scratches to buff out. FIFA is more akin to Sony’s The Show, as its gameplay is as honed and satisfying as it could reasonably expected to be on current hardware, with only the promise of minor tweaks and presentation improvements in the foreseeable future. This is a good thing–of course it is–but it does make recommending it every year a bit of a diminishing value proposition.

We must go. Our people need us.

The touted improvement of this edition is “First Touch Control,” and, credit where credit is due, it is an appreciable improvement. The idea of the feature is that player/ball interaction was too precise in year’s past, as passing and dribbling was carried out with robotic efficiency. “First Touch” sets out to recreate the effect of random human error on a highly unpredictable competition, and the effect is noticeable. Hard passes are clearly less reliable, and you’ll see players attempt to reign in and control the ball with considerable realism. It’s a small thing, but it adds dynamism to the minutiae of the game that results in a more fulfilling whole.

However, that is the biggest difference between 12 and 13. Sure, there are other refinements–dribbling has been touched up, while CPU A.I. is more intelligent on the attack–but you wouldn’t notice these things unless you were either actively in search of them or incredibly dedicated to the progress of the series. There are a few miniscule legacy issues as well, including the occasional silly physics engine result or nonsensical commentator observation. The only real new flaw I encountered came abruptly, as the game froze on a loading screen. After it happened a second time I took a second to see if I was alone, only to discover that it was a known issue.

The NFL replacement refs strike again.

While that issue can possibly be resolved with a patch, my other concern will most certainly not be. The fact is that FIFA‘s front-end is overdue for an overhaul. It may seem petty, but the user-interface is downright ugly compared to Madden 13‘s, which streamlined the experience so hard that it made the stalwart “Franchise Mode” redundant. Meanwhile, FIFA is soldiering on with an excess of menus and sub-menus, many of which could serve to be combined, reorganized, or simply renamed. If you hop into “Be a Pro” mode expecting an equivalent of the NHL campaign of the same name, prepare to be surprised.

Of course, the clutter may be inevitable. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association and sundry other organizations represented in the game comprise a whopping 30 whole leagues and over 500 separate teams (or “clubs,” if you’re feeling especially international). The amount of data on the disc is simply staggering, even if there aren’t actually that many appreciable differences between many of the more obscure units. This sheer wealth of freedom, combined with the voluminous content of the software, portend an inevitable sensory overload. At a certain point we just have to put up with sub-optimal menus.

What color card do you get for excessive rudeness?

Speaking of observations most players probably don’t care about, the licensed music of FIFA 13 comprises quite an interesting collection. As one might expect, the EA Trax for the title are a bit more European in taste than other EA Sports products, but that doesn’t mean North American players won’t recognize any of the tunes. Perennial indie darling Band of Horses stars alongside of bands like The Heavy, which Americans only know from their song which happens to sample “Let a Woman Be a Woman” by Dyke & the Blazers. All in all, it’s not a bad mix, but it is curious to note the relatively less aggressive bent to most of the soundtrack, which stands in contrast to older versions of NHL and Madden which were more than happy to spotlight Wolfmother and Avenged Sevenfold.

There is one other feature that I’ve neglected to mention, but I do so out of honesty. “Football Club Match Day” is a mechanic whereby the game injects real-world soccer happenings into the narrative of your season. Injuries, trades, and general trends should work their way into both the gameplay and the commentary, just as MLB 2K12 promised. However, I’m not sure I feel comfortable delivering a verdict on something which, by design, is a long-term and community-driven experiment. What I played of it worked, but it could all fall apart in a few weeks. I guess we all just have to assume that these are the types of initiatives that EA is spending the online pass money on.

Tag! You’re it, ball.

There are plenty of other things to touch on. Ultimate Team should be a familiar concept by now, but a new “Icebreaker Flow” system has been implemented to simplify it for newcomers. There are also a series of “Skill Games” which serve as a sort of incentive-based tutorial. In addition to learning the subtleties of defensive pressure and chip shots (which are admittedly difficult to make use of in a game), you can win bronze, silver, and gold challenges by mastering the techniques. It doesn’t have the pedagogical acumen of Gran Turismo‘s License Tests, but it’s an addition worth mentioning.

By this point it should be clear that FIFA Soccer 13 is a massive game with only very minor drawbacks. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind buying your sports title of choice each year then you have my recommendation. If you prefer to wait for the years that bring dramatic improvements or bold reinventions then you can probably stand to sit this installment out. The quality on the field is undeniable, but when you set the bar so far above the competition you have to jump even higher to impress people.

A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes and played for about 10 hours. The title was played on PS3, but is also available for Xbox 360. Different versions are also available for Wii, PlayStation 2, PC, iOS, PS Vita, 3DS, and PSP. A Wii U edition is scheduled to release after the console.

Also, follow me on Twitter @austinyorski (please).

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