Spoiler alert: I know very little about football. The damning evidence is below, scattered around an article on FIFA 13's nips and tucks and, specifically, how developer EA Canada has improved the virtual versions of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Peter Crouch.
But I'm trying, reader. I'm trying to make good. Why else would I choose to focus on FIFA 13's fine details? The few months between now and the game's (probable) autumn/winter release will be a period of personal enlightenment and redemption, similar to Manchester United's dramatic return to form following the Munich air disaster in 1958. See, I'm trying.
"The whole idea behind the push-pull is, if you're playing as Messi, if you watch Messi every match, he's just pushed and pulled every where, because everyone wants him off the ball, and they know they can't catch him and they're probably not going to be able to dispossess him," Rutter told the gentlemen and ladies of Videogamer.
"So he's developed a way of kind of stumbling around with the ball that looks ingenious. So we have that system now in the game too, which is great. We can create Messi as he truly is."
Cristiano Ronaldo - the most expensive footballer in history, since you ask - has also benefited. "The way that Ronaldo controls the ball in close quarters, and chops and changes directions rapidly when he's facing off against someone, we've sort of had that in the past, but not to the extent that you can actually keep moving whilst doing it. You'd always have to stand totally still."
England's Crouch, finally, will find it easier to get support up-front thanks to the game's smarter AI. Computer-controller players now think several moves ahead, second-guessing your tactics and making way. "So last year with personality plus we had that, we introduced the concept of vision which I think worked really well. I think the idea was that your team mates last year could kind of spot what your attributes were and try to support you in that.
"So, if you're Peter Crouch: he runs into the box, kind of stands there hoping to either nod the ball onwards or down to someone to try and do something with it. The team would know that and play balls to Crouch's head.
Sounds... good? Who knows, maybe I'll end up reviewing this. For more on FIFA 13, check out our reveal day interview with Rutter and pick up a copy of issue 86.
1 comments so far...
SidTheSloth on 17 May '12 said:
Sounds impressive and certainly an area that could do with improvement. Players like messi are ineffectual almost compared to the real life counterparts due to the phsyics and over-reliance on strength etc.
What the game still needs for me more than any of this though is that the opposition AI needs to play a much better game than it has for the past few years as once the novelty has worn off this is the biggest achilles heel for me with FIFA, not everyone wants to play online, and the matches often turn into somewhat drab and predictable affairs. The pro-evo's of the PS2 era used to beat you by outplaying you, each team with different tactics. Tactics exist on FIFA, but it relies more on brute force and countering human error on the players part to take advantage.
I love the controls, options, modes, glitz & glamour of FIFA, but once you get down to the 'meat' it's remarkably shallow, and this is the area i'm desperately hoping they improve on!