FIFA 12

FIFA 12 introduced three major gameplay changes: the Impact Engine, Tactical Defending, and Precision Dribbling. A new advanced procedural animation system is used along with collision physics to produce different results depending on the players and physical forces involved. This affects all players, so even those off the ball may have collisions. when compared to the defensive "press" system used in previous FIFA games. and in online friendlies and custom unranked matches. The Precision Dribbling feature allows players to dribble whilst shielding, meaning that the player can still move around the pitch whilst holding players off, rather than being rooted to the spot. An improved artificial intelligence system named Pro Player Intelligence aims to make AI-controlled players react to the skills and capabilities of other players with appropriate actions. For example, a winger will be more likely to cross the ball into the box when he has a waiting teammate with aerial ability, whereas he might look for support and play the ball along the ground if that teammate is less of an aerial threat. Players will also make better use of their own strengths, so for example a creative player might look for less obvious opportunities such as playing long accurate passes, where another player in his situation would be more likely to play it safe with a short pass. Some in-game cutscenes have been removed, such as those before throw-ins and corner kicks. Instead, a player will simply run to perform the task in question with no interruption. == Career mode ==

The manager's relationship with players and the media will play a larger role, and with team selection, success, and salaries all affecting individual players' attitudes and morale, and the press picking up on injuries and unrest, all of which can impact performance on the pitch. Facebook integration has been implemented. == Online modes ==

EA claims to have "revolutionized" the online side of FIFA 12. Among the changes is a new mode called "Head to Head Seasons", a variation on regular ranked matches where league points are awarded for winning or drawing matches. The aim is to progress up through ten divisions, with each "season" consisting of ten games. All players will start in the tenth and lowest division, with promotion and relegation based on a target number of points won in each season. The player also chooses a particular football club to support which will be apportioned a share of all XP earned, with league tables for clubs based on the average XP contributed by their fans. EA Sports Football Club will in future connect play across multiple titles, starting with FIFA 12 and the forthcoming FIFA Street. By playing both games, XP earned in one will be carried over to the other. National teams FIFA 12 has 42 national teams in its international division. Five new teams are added to the list, while Czech Republic, China PR and Paraguay. Ukraine is not present in the base game but was later introduced as a part of the UEFA Euro 2012 DLC. == UEFA Euro 2012 ==

UEFA Euro 2012 was released as an add-on for FIFA 12 on 24 April 2012. Unlike previous Euro games, it is a downloadable expansion pack for FIFA 12, requiring the game and internet connection. It was released on 24 April 2012. The expansion features an all-new game mode, Expedition Mode (similar to World Tour mode from FIFA Street), where players create a customized team to bid against the European nations. Players can import their Virtual Pro into the mode. The Story of the Finals scenario mode from 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa returns in a form similar to normal FIFA 12 Football Club scenarios. The DLC includes all 53 UEFA-member nations, although 24 of them are unlicensed, including co-hosts Ukraine and Poland. One user can play through the UEFA Euro 2012 finals. Following numerous customer complaints, a new update was released by EA which fixed many of the issues, including the constant freezing. == Stadiums ==

There are 56 stadiums in FIFA 12. Most are from Europe's most prominent leagues, and a range of generic stadia. In FIFA 12 there are new real stadiums: Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, Juventus Stadium and the Vancouver Whitecaps' BC Place Stadium. All 8 official stadiums of the tournament are included in the DLC. == Commentators ==

Martin Tyler returns as the main commentator, with former Arsenal and England player Alan Smith as co-commentator. and his subsequent dismissal from the Sky Sports commentary team. They were also in the PS2 version of the game. FIFA 12 was the first in the series to be released in Arabic, with Essam El Shawaly and Abdullah Mubarak Al-Harby providing the commentary. == Covers ==

As with previous FIFA games, a number of different national covers are used. Most of them depict either Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney, or Real Madrid's Brazilian international Kaká, while Everton's Australian midfielder Tim Cahill partners Rooney and Kaká on both the Australian and Asian covers. Rooney appears for the first time on the North American cover along with LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan and Rafael Márquez of New York Red Bulls. The French cover features Rooney alongside French stars Karim Benzema and Philippe Mexès, while the German cover only features two Germans: Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund and 1. FC Köln's Lukas Podolski. The Hungarian cover features Rooney alongside Balázs Dzsudzsák. In Italy, Giampaolo Pazzini, Philippe Mexès and Wayne Rooney are featured on the cover. Finally, in Spain Xabi Alonso and Gerard Piqué are featured, while in Poland Jakub Błaszczykowski alongside Kaká. Covers are also available to download from the internet, for example, a fan could go to search for their preferred club and download that cover. The cover players are also utilised in the FIFA 12 advertising campaigns, and other promotional and social media activities worldwide. EA spokesman Matt Bilbey claimed that the chosen players all "passionately play our game" and will be talking to fans about their own experiences with FIFA. == Sponsorship and promotions ==

As part of their promotion of FIFA 12, EA Sports have signed a deal with English Premier League club Manchester City that was described as "unprecedented in both its scale and scope within the computer game industry". The deal will involve content distributed through the digital channels of both the club and EA, including "match simulations" before the actual fixtures and "unique visuals of the City stars in action", For the third year running, EA Sports co-sponsors English Football League One side Swindon Town, with the FIFA 12 logo featuring on the back of the home shirt and on the front of the away shirt. == Reception ==

FIFA 12 has received critical acclaim with a score of 90 on Metacritic for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. IGN gave the game a 9.5 out of 10 rating. 1UP.com gave it an A score, praising its refinements and new features. Eurogamer gave it a 9 out of 10 rating, calling it a "welcome edition" and "a step forward for the series". Although several errors have been found throughout the career mode such as players disappearing from season to season and being unable to load progress. The UEFA Euro 2012 expansion pack received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. == Sales ==

FIFA 12 sold 3.2 million copies in its first week of availability, up 23 percent over FIFA 11's performance. This makes it the "fastest selling sports game ever", according to publisher EA. On October 27, 2011, EA reported that FIFA 12 had shipped eight million and sold five million units. == See also ==