It's an overlooked fact in the world of football
that when one team starts moving up the league
tables others will start to suffer.
With only a limited number of spots available
at the top of the table, tabloid tainted 'crises'
when the big boys start to slip are an inevitability.
The only way to stave off such a fall from
grace, of course, is to keep on moving forward
yourself.
Progress - or the illusion of progress - is
an art EA has made its own with FIFA 12.
The series has rarely been anything but a
major force on iPhone, but that hasn't stopped
it upping its game ready for the fresh season.
EA's ambition is clear even from the game's
menu screens, adorned with 'EA Trax' like
FIFA 12's bigger brothers on consoles, but
sporting what's arguably a greater array of
features.
Of most note is FIFA 12's accommodation for
cross iPhone-iPad play.
Get your hands on two iPhones equipped with
EA's Gamepad app, and – for the full experience
– an HDMI cable to connect your iPad to
your television, and you can play out multiplayer
matches on the big screen, with your iPhones
acting as control pads.
Few will ever make use of the feature, but
it's a fitting testament to the attitude evident
in every cell of FIFA 12's being: EA has set
out to deliver the most accurate, flowing
take on the game to date, on any format.
And it's come fairly close to achieving it.
Making the biggest impression during gameplay
is the way FIFA 12's players move around the
pitch – both those you're in control of
and those seeking to block your path to the
goal.
The options available to you off the ball
are particularly well-balanced.
Sat right in the middle of the three pads
on the right of the screen is a 'sprint tackle'
button – an intuitive option that, when
held down, will cause your nearest player
to head straight for the man in possession
before launching a targeted, but usually safe,
play for the ball.
Cleverly, said player will wait for the best
moment to make his slide, rather than ploughing
in and earning the referee's scorn.
That doesn't make winning the ball back easy,
however: if you don't position yourself well
to make the tackle in the first place, you
won't make it.
This forces both sides' hands.
Whatever difficulty you play at, employing
a sprint tackle or two splits the good sides
from bad.
While the former will pass their way out of
trouble, causing you to run around like a
flock of headless chickens, poor teams simply
stand by as you nab possession from them time
and again.
It also brings about a change in your own
tactics.
FIFA 12 is undoubtedly a passing man's game,
and the goals that can result – from all
angles, and from almost any player on the
pitch – are often things of beauty.
Add to this some brilliantly shambolic own
goals, several hand ball calls a match, and
a series of gesture-based controls that broaden
your hand in your team's play, and you've
got an idea of just how rounded some of FIFA
12's games feel.
But the run of the ball is only half the story.
Little details throughout constantly lift
the whole experience: from unprompted highlights
of mid-match action through to on-screen icons
pointing out players standing in offside positions,
FIFA 12 is the real deal.
It's an overall level of presentation aided
by the quality of the commentary that acts
as the game's backdrop.
Even Clive Tyldesley's notable detractors
will have to admit that he does a more than
decent job here, and his commentary – which
ties in with the flow of play on the pitch
surprisingly well – really grounds matches
in a sense of reality.
Indeed, as far as those looking to simulate
the exploits of their favourite eleven go,
it's hard to imagine FIFA 12 being topped
this season.
Management mode is full of nods to the real
game.
Playing a fan favourite to keep those in the
stands on your side, for example, is a plausible
enough consideration.
As is meeting the often fanciful aims of the
board: making winning the FA Cup a clause
in your contract isn't especially canny, but
it's not hard to imagine it happening.
But, at the risk or repeating myself, that's
part and parcel of offering up a rounded take
on the game.
It's by mixing the frankly flaky side of football
with the fun that takes place on the field
that, now as ever, enables FIFA 12 to serve
up what's always been the franchise's signature
- soccer simulation at its slickest.
