FIFA 13 Demo Available Now - Post Your Impressions

[Gnemi]

I think the comparisons are fine as long as they're constructive and not petulant towel-waving.

I'm sorry, but the last post from artmind about EA learning from Konami and being smashed...definitely wasn't constructive or even interesting.

[KG]

My impressions after 6 or 7 matches:

First Touch:

Negatives:

• It's evident but the variation in control is lacking in the sense that I have only seen the ball pop-up, never to the left or right or roll-up on a player.
• I have seen too many accurate volley shots off poor first touches. Volleys should be one of the least successful shots (on target & for goals)
• This is a demo setup complaint - These teams are very good with players who represent their countries. If they wanted us to really see how good this new feature is they would have thrown in some lesser clubs.

Positives:

• It helps to tone down the success of through-balls for the CPU and most likely in human matches.
• For all manual users it REALLY rewards you for getting placement and power correct. Hit it with too much power and IRL you should have difficulty controlling it. Replicated VERY well in the game

Movement:


Positives:

• Animations are still silky smooth
• You can shield the ball from defenders/attackers

Negatives:

• Inertia/Momentum is still overpowered. You're still able to sprint and stop a dime to cut it back with good acceleration.
• Akin to the above, the CPU players are still very twitchy in that they run, stop-on-a-dime and spin back and forth with no regards to inertia. I hope that this takes a toll on their stamina but I know it won't.

Defending:

Positives:

• Push/Pull works a lot better than last year
• New tackle animations
• Tackle animations have been cleaned up and generally look better (players leading with the correct foot, etc...)
• Generally more interceptions

Negatives:

• Still entirely too dependent on user input. Your CPU teammates lack the awareness to keep up with the increased CPU attacking AI.
• Midfielders still don't play defensive enough which leads to a huge game between your midfield and back 4 exposing the space in between. Team Tactics might help but by default your defense should defend as a unit which they don't.
• I wish there were seperate buttons for Push/Pull & Standing Tackle. There are times where you'd like to attempt to tackle the ball off a defender and they instead stick their arm out.

Other:

• Players are still entirely way to successful with their weaker foot. No real "footedness" evident.
• Fouls are still inconsistent. I have seem great calls by the refs for standing physical play but I have also seen players get clobbered in the air with no call.
• Impact engine is a lot cleaner. Less comedic head-scratching moments.
• SLOW felt much faster than last year (pace & default player speed)
• Goal kicks are STILL broken.Your defensive line plays waaaaay too high on them and the -> Win header with defender -> ball lands at Strikers feet ->start counter-attack is still very prominent. How it bypasses the midfield is beyond me.
• Keepers seemed pretty solid, no real WTF moments in all of my matches for the CPU & myself.
• Still too many 1-on-1's with the keeper. These should be rare but I still find myself getting the occasional FIFA goal.
• CPU actually shoots from range this year on default CTT. Huge improvement over last year.
• CPU is still too accurate with their passes. Poor first touches help but to me it's a band-aid solution. I routinely see the CPU passing % over 90 on World Class. Pass error slider is also flawed. Yes, keeping the ball on the ground is a sign of a good passer/passing team but passing error is also about placement. Combined with how free the movement is it rarely equates to a pass going wide left or wide right. Usually the passing errors are too much power in which the defender runs down the through ball.

Overall, I think the game will be fun H2H all-manual with a few slider tweaks but a 6 minute demo is not enough for me to judge the CPU with any confidence that the AI flaws of '12 have been corrected in '13. Hopefully a few days with the EA pass will show that teams do have their own distinct personalities and their styles will vary.

[Dazraz]

For those not liking the fast pace of the demo, try turning down player speed/acceleration to about 45 & turn game speed to slow. I'm finding the game plays a lot better with these changes. Let me know what you guys think.

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by pk500

How the hell can you not compare? Soccer is the only stick-and-ball sports genre with longtime, annual competitive products on all console platforms... The level of discussion and comparison about the two games has been quite mature and rational in this thread. Long may these comparisons continue. They make us more educated gamers and force developers to create and release better games.

Did you miss this part?

Quote:

I have tried to make it clear that I'm not a hardline "no comparison/discussion" or "the other game" guy. But, I would really like to keep impressions threads focused on impressions of the game in question. I understand comparing an aspect of the two games can be useful in conveying your opinion of one game. However, that's not always necessary, and it's certainly not necessary to constantly refer to one's preference for either game.

I specifically stated I DO NOT take a hardline no comparison approach. However, when a FIFA impressions post talks more about what PES (or the reverse) does right (or wrong), that's not really what we're after here.

[rckabillyRaider]

I'm not really understanding the "too fast " complaints. The sprint and acceleration slider knocked down as well as pass speed and setting the game speed to slow has rendered that a non issue, IMO

[electrickeeper]

Quote: Originally Posted by rckabillyRaider

I'm not really understanding the "too fast " complaints. The sprint and acceleration slider knocked down as well as pass speed and setting the game speed to slow has rendered that a non issue, IMO

That's all well and good, but I am not terribly optimistic about being able to play with sliders online.

[Moses Shuttlesworth]

Quote: Originally Posted by electrickeeper

That's all well and good, but I am not terribly optimistic about being able to play with sliders online.

When playing online, both users face the same advantages/disadvantages. Personally, I only play FIFA for the online modes/playing with friends.

[Maxflier]

Just wanted to add that I really like the skill challenges they put in for you to play while your match loads.