FIFA 12 review

One last bad point and I swear I’ll end on a positive. Promise. The passing has been given an overhaul to eliminate the ping-pong passing that plagued online games and made EA sad as it didn’t represent a real game of football. But I fancy they’ve gone too far in the opposite direction.

Playing as Barca – the pass masters of world football – I found that I could keep the ball with passes for a certain amount of time, but then the game would inexplicably make a short pass go wrong, thus conceding possession needlessly. Like the ball literally going in a different direction to where the intended recipient is waiting. I understand the need for fallibility in the players to make it feel real but this seems like cheating at times.

Above: The new precision dribbling allows you to exploit gaps like a boss

The on-field action is slicker than ever and really allows you stamp your own personal brand of football onto proceedings, so you can lump it to a big man like Bolton Wanderers or steadily build up passing pressure with Arsenal. And the player likeness have been given an upgrade too, so it's no longer a close approximation of Man United's Little Pea as this video shows...

The Be A Pro mode is still brilliant as you work your player from zero to goal scoring hero and the variety of match types, which includes the return of Ultimate Team, will give you more than enough hours of fun.

With a lean towards creating the most thrilling multiplayer sports title to date, FIFA 12 has overlooked those looking to escape into the world of football on their own. The game still looks amazing and it still provides an authentic footballing experience but the bells and whistles that should be present in the single player experience are severely lacking.

You’ll instantly forget about all of this when you go head to head either online or offline, mind, but with the engine requiring less attention now, I’m hoping for these cosmetic features to be addressed next time out to really fulfill FIFA’s amazing potential.