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Highly-anticipated FIFA13 released nationwide

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By FRANCO PANIZO

NEW YORK — The day so many soccer fans in the United States have been anxiously waiting for is finally here, and the prepared reasons for missing work have surely already begun hitting employers' desks across the nation.

EA Sports' FIFA Soccer 13 hit shelves at midnight on Tuesday and its highly-anticipated release is sure to satisfy the cravings of gamers who have been needing a new fix after playing last year's edition ad naseum. FIFA13 should provide that fix, with its new gameplay features and added teams (like Venezuela and Bolivia) making the video game an even deeper and more entertaining experience.

SBI saw a glimpse of what the game is like at Monday night's Launch Party in New York City, where celebrities like Snoop Lion, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz and more than a dozen of New York Red Bulls fans were in attendance. And we can tell you that the game is much more difficult but rewarding to play.

With FIFA13's new first-touch control, long gone are the immaculate traps that seemingly every player could execute despite the difficulty and speed of the passes sent their way. Players will now take rough and realistic first touches and they can kill even the most promising attacks, which at times is frustrating but makes for a more rewarding experience when you do find the back of the net.

EA Sports has also fine-tuned the impact engine that was introduced in FIFA12. The hiccups that plagued the engine last year were not prevalent on Monday night but that was only in limited matches, so they could still be in there even if in a more limited capacity. Regardless, the games played smoothly and some of the animations looked like near-perfection, such as a headed goal we saw one on corner kick where a centerback rose up to meet the ball.

Those new features build on an already-steady foundation and may have possibly given the FIFA series its best edition to date. The game is more challenging and realistic than its predecessors and feels closer to the real game we all watch on TV with its new additions, making FIFA13 a must-have if you're a soccer gamer.

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Are you getting FIFA Soccer 13 this year? Which team are you looking forward to playing with? What new feature has you most interested?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Was that FIFA 97? Hard to remember. I actually hated that game, including the Indoor Soccer. I purchased FIFA from the first in 93 to 97 on Genesis. Then stopped and bought 02 on PS2. Due to the amount of sucktitude that game had, I waited to go back to FIFA in 09 where I purchased both PES and FIFA on PS3. PES was easily the winner gameplay wise. Since then FIFA13 has been the only game to show promise (I play the demo for each). Attacking AI did it for me.

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  2. I dunno … there are clips of Snoop wearing an Theirry Henry Barca jersey in a concert in Paris that’s at least several years old at this point.

    And, yes, he actually knows the guy, too.

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  3. They are because PES does not have license to do a World Cup version…

    In the road to the World Cup format for 2010, almost every nation was represented…

    An yes, I won the World Cup with the Cook Islands…

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  4. I must be getting old man, I didn’t even know who Snoop Lion is, until I googled him.
    Snoop Dogg evolved into Snoop Lion after a spiritual awakening in Jamaica. ROFL.

    Yeah I did see Snoop in the FIFA 13 commercials but got confused after reading here that there was a guy named Snoop Lion at the release party. 🙂

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  5. i was hoping to read something about PES in the comments. i’ve played all three demos (PES put out two) and have to say that with setting adjustments, FIFA seems to be the better purchase. i love ML, and have skipped FIFA some years when i felt PES made the more rewarding long-term experience, but this year FIFA has gotten their offenses moving slightly more realistically and varied. if i was a richer man, or even had more time, i would probably get both.

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  6. There’s a great article by roger Bennett about the impact this game has had on soccer’s perception and popularity in the US. It’s on Ives’ former employer’s website

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  7. Super stoked but the last FIFA game that i was actually good at was FIFA 10. The last two I’ve just completely sucked at. Hope this one provides a bit of a spark for my gaming!

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  8. Yeah i was thinking the same thing

    He’s all about representing Long Beach like anyone cares but he shouldve been wearing an LA Galaxy Jersey

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  9. Could someone please tell me whether you can edit a player’s nationality? I loved that ability in the past, but FIFA 12 removed it. I found that really frustrating, especially with so many young dual-nationality players.

    I know you can download updates, but those updates only affect players who have officially changed their FIFA allegiance. Even then, they aren’t comprehensive.

    Thanks in advance!

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  10. Inclusion is all about licensing. Licensing is all about money. Either those teams had a contract with someone else preventing them from being included or there was another payment factor for this. If it were up to EA, they would have as many of the top teams that regularly qualify for the FIFA tournaments as possible.

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  11. I don’t play video games (an old injury limits the use of my right hand), but is anyone else shocked that FIFA games don’t include all (or at least most) national teams? I could maybe understand not including Kiribati or Vanuatu, but according to Wikipedia even teams like Japan and Ukraine are left out.

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  12. Yeah…that’s enough copy to justify the free copies. I kid, I kid.

    But seriously, really looking forward to this. Tuesday night is FIFA Club Night.

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