This one is all about FIFA Street, with us discussing everything posted today in a little more detail.

We’ve changed the way we record as well and although there are some kinks to be worked out in regards to one channel in particular, we hope you guys notice a massive improvement in podcast quality overall. If you do think the quality is better than before, or have further suggestions please let us know in the comments.

We also sadly lost a fair bit of audio, meaning that this podcast is stitched together. If you can figure out where, I’ll send you a FIFA 12 T-Shirt (Provided you live in the UK).

Enjoy.

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*The build of FIFA Street we played was an Alpha version of the game and was not representative of the final product. We played on the Xbox 360 and all online functionality was disabled*

Twitter Questions:

How is the Career Mode (World Tour) part of FIFA Street?

Tom: It’s great, but rather than regurgitate stuff, you can read the full preview of World Tour.

Is there a Pro Clubs mode?/Is there an Ultimate Team mode for FIFA Street?/What Online modes are there?

Tom: We didn’t get to see the online suite I’m afraid. We’re doing another Developer Q&A soon so we’ll try to get all online bits answered then.

Can you create a Virtual Pro?

Tom: Not in the way you have done in previous FIFAs. You do create a character in World Tour, but it’s not a VP with accomplishments and there’s no Game Face support either sadly.

FSB Community Questions:

Tom Moxey: What teams and arenas are in FIFA Street?

Tom: Loads. We’re hoping to get a complete list of them together soon. You can’t play every match type in every arena though so we’ll try to get that information for you as well.

Eric: How many players from each team are available, do you have a full squad?

Dave: You don’t have a full squad in the traditional FIFA 12 sense but you do have anywhere between 10 and 15 of the best players from each team to select. Given that the maximum number you can use in any match is 6, that’s ample.

Mendieta: Are there different weather conditions?

Dave: Sadly no but there are more than enough arena’s to provide sufficient variety and some of these venues show off day, night and indoor conditions.

Is the Impact Engine improved from FIFA 12 and how will this affect gameplay ie. player collision, physicality etc?

Dave: With the pitch size condensed the Impact Engine is certainly more evident in FIFA Street although there were still some issues with players reacting strangely to heavy contact but it was an Alpha build we were playing after all so that was probably to be expected.

Is diving part of FIFA Street? Or shirt pulling (push/pull)?

Dave: There’s no diving or shirt pulling in FIFA Street but you still have Tactical Defending and the use of push/pull.

Can you use objects such as bars, walls, to hit the ball in order to manoeuvre around players?

Tom: Yep, it’s great, discussed on the podcast but if you play a 1-2 with yourself (double tap pass) off a wall, it’ll come back with some pace on it. But if you try the same thing off of a chain-link fence, the ball is cushioned and probably won’t make it back to you.

Tim: Are their penalties in FIFA Street, how do they work?

Tom: Didn’t get to take any, but we did face one and as a keeper, it’s the same as FIFA 12. Penalties are only a possibility in the matches/tournaments which have referee’s.

Fasyx: Is the skill dribbling the same as FIFA 12?

Tom: Nope, Dave has explained how the dribbling etc works in the Gameplay Preview.

Luke: Will there be actual street players in the game eg, Issy Hitman and Edward Van Gils?

Tom: Yes to the street players, but we didn’t get to see who. We’re hoping to get full lists before release but can’t promise anything, if not we’ll do them as soon as we have retail copies but yes, FIFA Street does have real street players.

Will Futsal matches have the correct rules eg, can’t pass back into your own half once over the half way line?

Tom: Yes they do, including the fact that that isn’t a Futsal rule. I certainly couldn’t find any references to it in the rules, maybe you’re thinking of Basketball?

Shane: Have they recorded any new goalkeeper animations especially for FIFA Street?

Dave: Goalkeeper animations on the whole are the same but in true street fashion you can now use the skill pass modifier (L1) on goalkeeper throws. For example a keeper can throw the ball to a team mate through his own legs now, which we loved using.

BC87X: How is the player personality, are individual players distinctive visually (face, boots, body type) and in the way they play?

Dave: Yes, most definitely and the variety of the street clothing they wear is also really good. When going in to a match you can choose whether your team wear their licensed football kits or street wear and the street apparel randomises every time. We played a lot of World Tour mode so we didn’t have much contact with real footballers but Messi is predictably insane to control.

Sebastian: What customisation options are available?

Dave: Loads really and as you progress through World Tour you unlock more and more kits and accessories. When you create a street team you can customise the team badge, kits and each member of your squads appearance individually.

Theirfan38: What about the tactical defending?? Do you see any difference (progress) comparing to FIFA12?

Tom: Contain is better than in FIFA 12 because it brings you in to pretty much the ideal position, but outside of that it’s basically the same. Dave went into more detail in the Gameplay Preview.

How are the graphics are they exactly the same than FIFA12?

Tom: Hard to compare as the environments are so different. I’d say that FIFA 12 has better player models, but FIFA Street is brighter, prettier and generally easier on the eye, even in some of the grey urban arenas.

Can a defender do the same tricks as a forward? I mean can Ferdinand can do the same as Ronaldo?

Dave: All players can do all tricks once they’ve been unlocked. But it depends on player attributes how successful these tricks are compared with other players. So if Ferdinand does a double step over, Ronaldo’s version will be faster and more powerful because of his attributes.

Eli: How effective are aerial passes in such a small pitch?

Dave: They’re actually quite useful to pass to a team mate that’s across the pitch or to try and set up more spectacular finishes like overhead kicks. We did manage to cross and score a header in a 5-a-side goal so yeah, quite effective.

Are skills necessary to beat a player, or can fast players be used to run straight through?

Tom: Depends on the match type/arena in a way but sprinters won’t be steaming straight down the middle of the pitch. At the same time, you don’t HAVE to use tricks to beat players but it’s obviously the most effective way. Knock ons work pretty well too, but you need space to knock the ball into which isn’t always available.

Adam: Is FIFA Street easy for non-skillers to pick up and play or is it more suited to those who have somewhat mastered skills in FIFA 12?

Tom: Definitely easy to pick up. The trick system is really well designed, you’ll grasp feints and general ball control immediately. The tougher tricks are still fairly easy in terms of input, but you need to apply context to get the most out them. Neither Dave or myself are big on tricks in Fifa 12 but we still hit the ground running, that said, we did have Hjerpseth helping us out. You’ll be chaining combos in no time though.

Kieron: How many players a side can we have?

Tom: Up to six, depending on the match type. Panna for example is always 2v2.

Zidane: Is there an Arena mode before matches in FIFA Street?

Tom: No, just a loading screen. There is a 1vKeeper practise arena that you can jump into though, so you do have a place to learn and perfect tricks.

Happyfeet-efc: Can you create a team without being on World Tour Mode?

Tom: We didn’t get a chance to try, but I’m certain I saw it referenced in the team selection window, so I’m pretty sure you can.

*The build of FIFA Street we played was an Alpha version of the game and was not representative of the final product. We played on the Xbox 360 and all online functionality was disabled*

FIFA Street: World Tour Preview

The first thing you’re tasked with in World Tour mode is creating your street football character. The player creation suite is very similar to that seen in the main FIFA series but the menu style has been completely overhauled for FIFA Street. The options you have at your disposal are good and you’ll be guided through the process of changing body types, skin colour, hair, eyes, face shape, etc.

The one notable absentee from the character creation suite in FIFA Street is the option to import a Game Face. This has been left out by design because the technology still doesn’t support multiple Game Face’s. So if you downloaded a friends FIFA Street player lets say, you wouldn’t be able to see their created Game Face. It’s a minor disappointment but none the less the interface is slick, the options are exhaustive and you should be on the pitch with a lifelike representation of yourself in no time at all.

Your first match in World Tour acts as a sort of tutorial really because you haven’t actually created your street team at this point. There are proper Tutorials available in-game too which guide you through the games core components and these are voiced by none other than EA SPORTS FIFA Podcast host Stevie Morgan. At the beginning of World Tour though its just you and a random collection of mates having a kick-about but once this match is completed, your rags to riches street tale can begin in earnest.

The team creation suite is also nicely presented and you have the ability to customise your teams badge from a host of pre-sets and setup kit options for home and away variations. The colour schemes you choose for your kits are also quite clever because they work in colour bands. So, if you choose blue as the primary colour for your home kit, all your players will turn out in blue but they may wear slightly different shades depending on the apparel (hoodie, football shirt, tank top) they have equipped. It’s subtly done but it adds a pleasing amount of depth to your squad’s appearance. Initially your kit options are quite limited but as you play through World Tour mode you begin to unlock more and more items and eventually you’ll be sporting the finest licensed street gear.

Then it’s on to naming your team and finally choosing your starting Nation. We chose the UK and were pleased to find that the game then asked us to choose a starting region within the United Kingdom. We selected the South East and the first Challenges and Tournaments available to us were in Maidstone, Guildford, Portsmouth and Brighton. Taking the regional detail to a level this finite is just fantastic and starting in Spain, Italy or anywhere else for that matter will invariably provide a completely different World Tour experience.

The World Tour map itself is beautifully presented and the variety of match types on offer even in the starting region is excellent. Some of the matches are one-off Challenges which you just need to win to complete and others are Tournaments which could be knock-out or league based. There are three match difficulties to choose from, Easy (Bronze), Medium (Silver) and Hard (Gold) which control the rate that you unlock new kits and accessories as well as game difficulty. Completing matches on Hard will unlock all three items available per match; on Medium you unlock two and Bronze just one. This gives you total control over game difficulty in World Tour and if you do get stuck at any stage, you can always retry the same Challenge at a lower difficulty or revisit it when you have better players.

And that rather neatly leads me on to the way that your players develop and improve during World Tour mode. When playing in matches your squad members will accumulate XP for beating players, performing tricks, scoring goals and generally playing well. This will eventually result in them leveling up and having points to spend on upgrading their attributes which you can choose where to assign. Once enough XP has gone in to particular attribute categories your players begin to take on specific squad roles. So if Player X has a high Defence skill that makes them a “Stopper” and if they have high shooting they could be classed as a “Finisher”. It’s similar i guess to the traits system in FIFA 12 but you now have the kind of control over player development that you’d expect to see from a traditional RPG rather than a sports game.

There are a number of ways you can choose to populate your street team one of which being you hand creating each team member individually by using the character creation suite. You’ll also have the ability to download characters that your friends have created, or simply fill your squad will randomly generated players. The option to add real life footballing stars to your World Tour team happens a bit further down the line and some challenges will even allow you to hand pick one member of the opposition to join your team as an additional reward. You also have complete control over the apparel and accessories each of your squad players wear, which makes putting your own unique stamp on FIFA Street incredibly easy and satisfying.

Once you’ve played through and won the Regional street matches its then on to the National stage where we had matches in Aberdeen (2v2 Panna), Liverpool (6v6 Futsal), Belfast (3v3 Freestyle) and many more. Again the variety is fantastic and when you start playing in bigger tournaments like the Futsal one in Liverpool, where there are proper stands, a big crowd, a referee and more professional teams to play, World Tour really begins to flesh out in front of you.

In the limited time we had with FIFA Street the National level was as far as we got in World Tour mode but after that you eventually advance to European and then finally World events where you’ll come up against the very best players and teams the game has to offer. It’s a mouth-watering prospect and I for once can’t wait to venture in to World Tour in more depth once the game comes out in March.

What’s also unclear is how the online aspect of FIFA Street will integrate with World Tour but even with the online functionality disabled we were able to see leaderboards for each Challenge on the World Tour map, so you will be able to compare your offline scores against your friends. That’s really important because there needs to be more to World Tour than just completing every match on Gold and unlocking items, so it’s pleasing to know that a competitive element between you and your friends will also be persistent in your World Tour experience.

Verdict

Playing through a games core single player component is always difficult in such a short space of time and we did have to fast path a lot of the upgrading and customisation in favour of just playing matches to advance the mode. That’s probably a blessing in disguise to be honest because there’s so much to customise and micro-manage about your FIFA Street team, that delving in to it with full code is probably the only way to do it justice. None the less, for those of you that like tinkering, FIFA Street has more than enough options to quench your creative thirst.

Even at Alpha build World Tour feels surprisingly complete and the variety on offer in the different match types, locations and tournaments makes it feel truly compelling. It’s very structured, very coherent and your path to success is literally laid out in front of you. That’s not a bad thing necessarily because you can complete the matches in any order you choose, but ultimately you’re locked in to World Tour’s grand design. Perhaps the rigid challenges could have been complimented by some dynamic ones which initiated randomly, I don’t know? I’m knit picking a bit here and that in itself is a good sign because during the four or five hours we poured in to World Tour I struggled to find anything that I really disliked about it and Tom was the same.

I think everyone can imagine how FIFA Street will fare online this year and the sense of style, fun and banter it brings to the FIFA franchise makes it almost guaranteed for success in that field. Offline is where some people would have been worried about World Tour being perhaps under-cooked or a bit thin on depth but that’s certainly not the case from what we experienced.

The team have focused so much time and energy in to the little details of World Tour that the only way to truly appreciate it in all its glory will be to run multiple game saves with teams from different starting regions. That’s going to increase FIFA Street’s replayability immeasurably and any question marks surrounding its longevity can be firmly cast aside because of that. The team at EAC traditionally produce offline modes which have a definite beginning and end with great success (World Cup 2010) and FIFA Street’s World Tour mode might just be the best of the lot.

*The build of FIFA Street we played was an Alpha version of the game and was not representative of the final product. We played on the Xbox 360 and all online functionality was disabled*

PANNA

Panna matches are tight, technical affairs, played 2v2 in the smaller, more enclosed arenas. You earn points for beating players, 1 for a ground beat and 2 for an aerial beat, but ideally you want to be aiming for nutmegs as they’re worth three. As you earn points through play they build up in your bank, to claim them and add them to your total tally you need to score. Scoring gives you one extra point but importantly wipes your opponents bank setting you both back to zero.

Whilst it’s fairly straightforward to build up points, cashing them in isn’t always easy. With the arenas being so tight, even just having four players fills the pitch up making it tough to break through the defence. Add to that the fact that the goals are so small, making space and shooting from distance isn’t an option unless you’ve already beaten the defensive line with tricks or you fancy chasing the shot down after it’s bounced off the wall. That’s not to say defending is a doddle, if you attack in pairs you’ll leave yourself wide open to being broken on in seconds, you’ll want to try and keep someone on the line as much as possible. The winner is the side with the most points at the end of the time limit.

We found the matches to be really exciting and a lot more tactically involved than you’d imagine. You’d think that scoring loads of points is all there is to it, which is semi true, but there’s definitely a knack to knowing when to cash in. Not to mention the fact that a cheap (tactical) goal can turn things around in seconds. When done at the right time it’ll reset all of your opponents hard work, frustrating them and giving you a slight edge, just ask Dave. 28-0. Panna is by far the mode I’ve missed most since we had to put the pads down.

FREESTYLE

Freestyle matches are similar to Panna in that you need to score to bank the points you’ve accumulated, but instead of being rewarded in small increments for beats, you earn points by doing tricks and combos, increasing your bonus bar and then cashing in by sticking the ball in the net whilst it’s at its peak. As you use tricks they become less profitable in terms of points, so you can’t just spam the high scoring tricks, you’ll need to mix things up. The games aren’t limited to 2v2 and the winner is the first team to pass a pre set points threshold. The matches we played had a target of 2500 points, which usually took around 8-10 minutes to complete, just to give you an idea of length.

FUTSAL

Futsal is as close as this game gets to the main FIFA series. With more players on a bigger pitch, there is much less emphasis on tricks to beat players. Matches don’t exactly play like FIFA 12, but they’re a little more relaxed when compared to Freestyle or Panna matches. The emphasis is obviously on scoring goals so whilst tricks can be useful, they’re certainly not the be all and end all. If clubs were ever to appear in future any way, then Futsal would be the only mode that could possibly make it work. It’s a great mode and a lovely change of pace from the frantic feel of some of the others.

LAST MAN STANDING

Last man standing sees both sides start off with an equal number of players, which decreases as the match goes on. When a goal is scored, the goalscorer leaves the pitch and the team carries on without him. It’s a match type I was really looking forward to, but ended up being unimpressed by. The matches aren’t particularly eventful and it felt like the teams were just trading goals as the players were whittled down, making the whole match largely pointless up until the inevietable 1 on 1 that it would end with. That’s not set in stone of course and I’m sure there is excitement to be found in those matches, especially if you do end up with 1v3 or 4, but I just didn’t get the appeal (Dave wanted me to point out that he loved it and that I’m wrong).

PRACTICE ARENA

Not so much a match type, but it’s important to point out that there is a practise arena that you can use to learn tricks. It reminded me a bit of the FIFA 08 arena in terms of style and lighting but the important thing is it’s just you and a keeper. Just like FIFA 12, the keeper AI is pretty aggressive, so if you get too close they’ll take great pleasure in stealing the ball and walloping it over your head into the open goal behind you. If you keep your distance you’ve got plenty of space to nail those neck stall to rainbow flick combos. Seriously, try doing one of those.

CUSTOM

Again, not a match type but you get four slots for saving custom game types. You can mix and match the options present in the modes above (within reason) and save them into slots that you can quick launch matches from. It’s a small touch, but you’ll find those all over FIFA Street, little tweaks and touches that make your experience that much smoother and more enjoyable.

Overall there is plenty of variety to the match types available in FIFA Street,  the beauty being that they each offer something completely different but none of them feel out of place.

*The build of FIFA Street we played was an Alpha version of the game and was not representative of the final product. We played on the Xbox 360 and all online functionality was disabled*

Street Ball Control

One of the biggest changes to the gameplay in FIFA Street comes in the form of Street Ball Control, which is an evolution of Precision Dribble which we all know from FIFA 12. This time Street Ball Control is initiated by holding L2, but instead of being mobile you’re now stationary. You then use the left stick to manoeuvre the ball with incredibly accuracy from left to right, front to back and anywhere in between. This allows you to tease a defender in to a tackle, shifting the ball away in a flash, or to maintain possession in extremely tight spaces.

What Street Ball Control also does is face you up to your opponent as soon it becomes active. This removes a lot of the finicky positional issues that Precision Dribble suffers from but more importantly it enforces the one-on-one essence of street football. If you want to use standard dribble or sprint you still can, but when using Street Ball Control it’s all about high control fidelity and ultimately, trying to embarrass your opponent with intricate footwork.

Now you can’t just stand still all the time no matter how precise the ball control is, which is why the real joy of Street Ball Control is found in the transitions. You can perform any myriad of skill moves direct from Street Ball Control but how you transition in and out of them is where the real success of the system is found.  A tap of R2 (sprint) will burst your player out of Street Ball Control in an instant and then it’s all down to your timing, the skill move and the exit angle as to whether you beat the man or not.

Street Ball Control is new and exciting but it will take people time to get used to it, especially when you factor in the added complexity of ball movement, plus learning all the skill moves. It’s what it adds to the flow of FIFA Street matches that’s so impressive though because it gives things a pleasing ebb and flow that FIFA 12’s break neck pace always fails to capture. There’s a genuine reason to slow things down in FIFA Street and the cat and mouse duels that Street Ball Control instigates all over the pitch are a joy to experience.

Skill Moves

Now FIFA Street wouldn’t be FIFA Street without skill moves and there are loads of them, some familiar and plenty brand new. What’s nice is that the fundamental moves (step overs, body feints, heel chop, etc) are now even easier to perform than ever before with only swishes of the right analogue stick required. Other skill moves require Street Ball Control (L2) to be held, some L1, some R1, some RS and others, a mad combination of any of the above. How difficult you want things to get from a control perspective is kind of up to you really and the harder the combinations get, the more elaborate the skill moves become.

Learning combinations is one thing but there are hidden depths to FIFA Street’s skill moves that depend entirely on the context of the move. For example, if you’re using Street Ball Control and you drag the ball all the way over to the right and complete a rainbow flick (back/forwards) your player will do a rainbow flick. But, if you drag the ball directly behind you and complete the same combination, you’ll still get a rainbow flick, but the animation of the move will be slightly different. This adds an awful lot of visual depth to FIFA Street but it also entices you to continue to experiment with ball position even once a skill move is learnt, to find that special animation that maximises the eye candy of beating a defender. That only covers things on the deck as well because once the ball is airborne another world of pain opens up for your opponent and some moves are designed solely for taunting and showboating.

The other notable change is that skill move input is no longer tied to the direction that your player is facing like in FIFA 12. With such a huge variety of moves on offer this would have made FIFA Street an impossible mess to navigate with the control pad, so the decision to keep skill move input the same no matter which way your player is facing is a good one. Because the arenas are much smaller the players invariably get closer to each other than ever before and this massively reduces thinking time when performing skill moves, making them feel instinctive and more natural than FIFA 12.

Everyone knows I’m not a fan of skill moves in the main FIFA series because a lot of the moves are too elaborate, too repeatable and for me simply aren’t suitable for a game which professes to be a simulation. In FIFA Street that’s all thrown out the window because for the first time the context of skill moves is correct. The street is where these moves belong and the simplification of basic moves, combined with the added difficulty of others, contributes towards what is essentially the ultimate FIFA skill move playground, providing depth and intrigue on every level.

Tactical Defending

With such a vast arsenal of skill move weaponry at the feet of the world’s best attacking players in FIFA Street, you’re going to need to be sound defensively. Fortunately Tactical Defending is back and it’s pretty much the same as in FIFA 12 although you can now get much closer to the attacker when at the shortest Contain distance – a crucial change.

There’s no slide tackling purely because it represents an instant foul in street football so defending well is all about using standing tackle, Contain and getting your timing right. If you miss a tackle in FIFA 12 there’s more often than not someone to cover you but in FIFA Street if beaten, you’re completely left for dead. Some people might not like that feeling of helplessness but for me it adds incredible tension and importance to each and every one on one duel.

The standing tackle is still a “lunge” and how powerful that lunge is, depends entirely on player ability. The problem with the standing tackle system is that you still don’t have any control over the direction of the tackle once you initiate it. The forwards now have Street Ball Control to manoeuvre the ball from left and right in an instant, so it seems odd that as a defender you can’t combat that power by having an input in to tackle direction yourself?

The balance between defence and attack is actually really good though, and neither feels over-powered. But, defensively whether you win the ball or not still feels like a lottery at times and in such a focussed environment, a one button defensive mechanic against the wealth of skill moves on offer feels a little bit light weight.  It’s more of a missed opportunity than anything I feel because the reinvented FIFA Street brand would have allowed the team the freedom to do something a bit different with Tactical Defending but with all that said this complaint doesn’t really harm the experience in any discernible way.

Shooting/Passing/Crossing

The most pleasing thing about the shooting and passing in FIFA Street is that it doesn’t feel Assisted at all and the game wide configuration contains a pleasing amount of direction and power based error. When you start playing with the better players in the game this feeling is obviously minimised but at the start of World Tour mode with only basic players, passing and shooting deficiencies are certainly felt.

The control layout for these elements is identical to FIFA 12 and you can still use through balls, finesse shots and skill passes (L1 and Pass) which now finally feel at home and can also be very useful to help divert the ball around an opponent or off an adjacent wall.

The ball physics are also exemplary in FIFA Street which is to be expected after the huge leap forwards we saw in FIFA 12. With the numbers of players reduced, and the playing field condensed, there are more subtle deflections to admire and of course a multitude of different surfaces like walls and fences from which the ball will bounce very differently. The attention to detail in areas like this feels remarkable at times when playing FIFA Street and even though elaborate goals and fun are the name of the game, having it all grounded by real physics truly forces home that feeling of authenticity.

AI

With the variety of game modes on offer in FIFA Street (which Tom is previewing) coding the AI to respond correctly in all the different scenarios the game offers I’m sure was no easy task. The AI was one of the things we were told was least finished in the build we played but that didn’t prevent a few promising behaviours shining through.

In FIFA Street you could be playing in an arena with any number of different goal shapes and sizes from tiny one-foot goals, to Futsal goals, or 5-a-side goals which are quite wide but low. We’d become fairly accustomed to the AI’s shooting behaviours in the smaller arenas so when we experienced a wide open 6v6 Futsal tournament it was incredibly refreshing. Mainly because for the first time the AI was actually shooting from distance due to the increased goal size and regularly tested our keeper from range. It’s a small detail but it’s an incredibly important one if FIFA Street’s AI is going to have the depth required to add the longevity we’d all like to see.

The only niggle we found with shooting was that on the Hard difficulty setting there were probably too many occasions where a wayward shot would let us off the hook. That’s probably down to tuning and balancing as much as anything but none the less it was a minor gripe we had.

The AI of course will harnesses the power of Street Ball Control against you and it most definitely will bamboozle and embarrass you with its own skill moves, especially on Medium and Hard difficulties. We’ll need much more time to judge just how good the offline AI is in FIFA Street but even in the short time we had, it was displaying some promising signs of street football savvy.

Verdict

I guess the most critical success factor for FIFA Street on the pitch is that it stands out compared to its behemoth big brother FIFA 12. Simply copying the gameplay from FIFA 12 and putting it indoors, with half the players would have been a total disaster but that was never a worry of mine to be honest and the message from the team at EAC has always been, “FIFA Street is it’s own game”.

And standout it does because it’s a completely different experience to any FIFA game before it and personally I do think it can co-exist with FIFA 12 because of the obvious distinctions in style. Many of FIFA 12’s gameplay features were built up as revolutionary during 2011 and sadly most fell short of that benchmark. However in Street Ball Control, FIFA Street has something that feels genuinely special and in terms of the impact it has in instilling the essence of street football alone, it’s every inch the revolution.

Gary and his team have worked wonders with FIFA Street’s gameplay and although a few minor issues turned our heads for just a moment, on the whole it’s an incredibly rewarding and fun game to play, which in itself is refreshing for FIFA. On the pitch FIFA Street is more than a credible alternative to FIFA 12 and in fact comparing the two probably doesn’t do justice to the way FIFA Street comfortably stands tall as its own game, on its own merits.

It was a little later than first advertised, but the revolution is finally here.

“The ability to take a ball between an opponent’s legs–known as panna or nutmeg–is actually the basis of one of the modes. The idea is to pull off this maneuver of humiliation while scoring a goal during the same play”

“Equally intriguing is the feature-filled multiplayer component of FIFA Street, which offers not only the traditional versus and co-op online play, but also the asymmetrical multiplayer inspired by Need For Speed’s Autolog”

If you played Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit then that last line about a variation of Autolog being in FIFA Street should definitely get your pulse racing and personally Autolog was one of my favourite additions to one of the best Need For Speed titles I’ve ever played.

Make sure you check out the G4TV FIFA Street Preview in full for even more juicy information.

Yeah…. we’re excited too.

FIFA 12: The Art of Refinement

5 years is a lifetime in the video game industry, but in that amount of time EA have managed to push the bar of soccer gaming and set new benchmarks.  FIFA 07 was the basis of things to come, but in reality FIFA 09 was the title that changed the game capturing the attention, appreciation, and admiration of the masses. The last two years have seen the FIFA Team receive such a vast range of awards that even Lionel Messi would be envious and their metacritic score seems to be in line with his overall rating in-game.

Over the last week or so we have been sampling this years’ offering in the form of Preview Code (95% complete), spending time with the game and delving deep into its 6,000 game modes. In a nutshell FIFA 12 > FIFA 11, and that rounds up our FSB Preview….. If only people would be satisfied with that simple an answer! This was the year of the “Holy Trinity” that would revolutionise the series and bring the competition to its knees. It’s immediately evident that the gameplay in FIFA 12 is much more cultured than that of its predecessors. All aspects of the game have been refined from player movement, to ball physics and reactivity.

The introduction of the Player Impact Engine was seen as salvation for those who required a realistic visual experience. This offers the player a much wider range of player collisions and eradicates the issue of repetitiveness with regards to physicality and collision animations. However, our first experience with it during beta phase a few months ago was not a favourable one. This time, it seems EA have tweaked it and done a very good job too. In a sense it has been dampened down, but saying that the players now react in much less theatrical fashion. Having addressed the issue of off-the-ball collisions (between players not on the ball/involved with play), the collision system is now a compliment to the game and not a nuisance as it was in previous builds. Tying in with the Player Impact Engine is the True Injuries system that is now possible as each knock and collision is taken into account as well as the part of the body that was affected. This will prove to be a welcome addition particularly for those who love Career Mode as it will provide true-to-life injury situations and frequency.

Defending is an aspect of football that games have been unable to capture with much conviction. FIFA games of the past have forced the player to rely on the “Pressing” feature and the occasional well timed standing or sliding tackle. The implementation of Tactical Defending changes that drastically and levels the playing field in a significant way. Protecting your goal is now a complex task, one that requires concentration and anticipation of what your opponent’s next move will be. The onus and in a way the advantage is now with the attacking team, but rest assured that it doesn’t handicap the defending aspect of FIFA 12. Instead it rewards those who take the time to refine their defending skills particularly as Tactical Defending is turned on in Online ranked matches but you can switch to Legacy (Old School) defending in Unranked or local matches. Nevertheless, one possible issue that may arise from this new implementation is the lack of pace with defenders when jockeying.

What does it feel like to dribble with MESSI in FIFA 12 you ask? The simple answer is it depends whether you are dribbling at pace or in confined spaces. When dribbling with pace, things are pretty much the same as FIFA 11, however the Precision Dribbling is what has really augmented the ability of the user to hold up the ball and make those deft turns and shuffles to lose a defender. An example being playing a long ball to Suarez who is being hounded down by two defenders, hold up the ball, turn to place him in position to play a pass and wait for support. This offers the player much more time on the ball and combined with the new limitations of Tactical Defending in not allowing better defenders to always step in and win possession, build up play is now a more frequent occurrence in contrast to days of the past when play was usually much more direct.

Another big feature from the back of the box is the Pro Player Intelligence that has “infused CPU players with self-awareness and aptitude”. The overall message being that teams and players are now more akin to their real life counterparts in intelligence and ability. This should be reflected on screen. When playing against the AI, there are subtle differences in the approaches that various opponents take in their attacking play. Furthermore, this is also seen in individual performances where a Xabi Alonso will utilise his Vision and passing ability more often than not. Conversely, the frequency at which these events happen is not as regular as one would hope for. In addition, going back to the Xabi Alonso example, this intelligence is affected in-game when a human is playing by limits to vision based on camera angle etc. You’re not going to spot a 60 yard darting run from your left-back if he isn’t on-screen (Tele Camera) and you typically don’t refer to the map that often, but if you are playing in the Be A Pro camera angle then you may spot the pass. How this feature will influence the game for Manual players out there we aren’t entirely sure, but time will tell. All-in-all a welcome addition but not a Gamechanger.

The visuals in FIFA 12 have clearly benefitted from an added sheen or gloss this season. Lock you PS3 display to 1080p and player detail is sharp, faces look brilliant and even in Tele Camera the details remain. As it currently stands the visuals in FIFA are excellent. I might have reservations about player models and in particular the limb length and fit of shorts and shirts on player models, but that’s just a personal opinion and nit-picking. The graphics junkies out there will give FIFA 12 their seal of approval, of that I have no doubt. Furthermore, this season sees the addition of new match presentation that includes cut scenes of the two teams playing and walking onto the pitch etc. Very welcome additions for those who love the whole match day realism/atmosphere.

One feature that really stands out is the dynamic commentary of the new duo, Martin Tyler and Alan Smith. Adding intuitive commentary and play-by-play analysis that really fits in well with occurrences during the match, I’m pleasing to say, I liked you Andy Gray but good riddance. An improvement that may just fly under the radar this year are additions to on-the-pitch noises. A plethora of sounds from around the pitch have been added, my favourite being when you smash home a goal and the ball hits the behind-the-goal microphone. That’s attention to detail.

Goalkeepers, the pitfall of football games for years. FIFA has managed to address this problem position very well over the last few years with yearly improvements. This year the keepers seem more aggressive, with better responsiveness and reactions. The just seem to be hell-bent on protecting their goal at all costs. Don’t be surprised if you see some excellent reaction saves from Reina or Buffon spread himself as a player bears down on goal in a one-on-one situation. What is instantly obvious is the aggressiveness and almost desperation in the keepers’ actions. One Gold Star for Rutter and Co from me.

But hold on there a moment, that the biggest improvement in Gameplay has to be in the changes made to Shooting. Finally we have Daisy Cutters. Shooting feels refined in all its varieties (Power shots, finesse shots or volleys), and the trajectory and movements of the ball much more true to life. People are going to love hitting long range efforts with known sharp shooters. Passing is fundamental to any football game, so how does it feel in FIFA 12. If I’m honest, pretty much the same as FIFA 11 with a little added zip in certain situations and when using certain players (Alonso’s & Xavi’s).

I say forget the big talk, in reality what shines in FIFA 12 is NOT the “Holy Trinity” but rather the smaller less significant refinements to the simpler aspects of the beautiful game. Not to be too harsh, but as it currently stands the “Holy Trinity” additions are welcome and compliment a great game, but the refinements in other gameplay aspects are what truly stand out from a personal point of view. Expect our FSB review to be more in depth but we hope this light preview will address many of the FIFA community’s curiosity until demo and final game release.

“Being the moody cynic that I am, I went into the FIFA Street meeting with little to no expectations given the sub-par offerings of previous games in the series. Happily, I came out optimistic and eager to play more.”

IncGamers: FIFA Street Hands-On

We’re working on some FIFA Street coverage ourselves at the moment and will keep you guys updated on any progress.

Whilst myself and Tom were fixated on Career Mode elsewhere, NextgenGamingBlog team members Asim and Mark headed straight for the PC rigs and spent the majority of their time with EA’s latest PC offering. The question is, did the PC experts like it more or less than the previously superior console version of FIFA?

Find out here: NGB Preview FIFA 12 PC

Content is flowing from NGB at an incredible rate right now so make sure you pay the guys a visit and follow them on Twitter.

Six weeks ago we sat down and spoke to the Career Mode development team and they asked us to rate the FIFA 11 managerial experience out of ten. The general consensus was that Career Mode last year was probably a 3/10 and the team in Vancouver agreed. But FIFA 12 is on the way now, riding on the crest of a revolutionary wave so how does the latest Career Mode offering stack up against last years managerial benchmark?

The Interface

The Career Mode layout hasn’t changed a great deal in FIFA 12, but to be honest there wasn’t any need for drastic overhaul anyway. What has happened though is an incredible amount of polishing, fine tuning and the addition of some really intelligent design choices.

The first being the in-game calendar which now embeds at the top of the homepage when you ‘advance’ through the mode. It’s a simple change but it keeps the mode feeling cohesive and maintains visibility of the big football stories evolving around you. The calendar icons which indicate upcoming friendly, league, cup and European matches are properly colour coded too, which means there’s no magnifying glass needed to decipher the minute badges seen in FIFA 11.

The speed at which Career Mode advances is certainly better too, although when the transfer window is open, it definitely slows up to accommodate for the extra information. Besides loading times the main thing which disrupts the flow of Career Mode is the constant stream of emails. The good news is that you can now deal with multiple transfer negotiations in one email, rather than receiving an individual email per player. What I think the game needs to do though, is prioritise emails better and only interrupt Career Mode advancing if an email requires genuinely urgent attention. It just feels a little bit stop, start, stop, start for me at the moment and there can be lack of fluidity between game weeks.

The media pane has also seen some welcome changes giving you the ability to view news stories in full now, without having to open a separate window. The information contained within the media stories is good and the transfers, offers and rumours we saw throughout the play test were all plausible, without being ridiculous.

The most important thing though is that the Career Mode homepage now feels and acts like a command centre for everything you accomplish as a manger. Whereas before it was just an index which would send you spiralling through unnecessary sub menus and grey drudgery. As I said at the start, there’s been no drastic overhaul to the interface but the aesthetic changes that have been made make Career Mode a genuinely pleasant place to experience your managerial journey.

Transfer Negotiations

Without doubt the best thing about any managerial simulation is the buying and selling of players. Nothing compares to the feeling of making a huge marquee signing for your club and there will be plenty of opportunity for this to happen in Career Mode, I assure you.

One feature I know everyone wanted was the ability to loan any player regardless of their contract status and thankfully it’s now in the game. You no longer have to rely on the game to offer up a decent selection of young loan talent as you can now in theory make a loan move for anyone, should their circumstances fit. As a test we tried to loan Xavi from Barcelona and were immediately slapped down and with our tail between our legs we swiftly moved on to other targets.

The other ‘most wanted’ transfer feature however, player plus cash deals, did not make the cut this time round. We spoke to the developers about this at length and whilst they do have a system which will make player plus cash deals work, they weren’t happy at all with the results being displayed by the CPU. Quite simply the AI to support, the valuation, whether a club want a player offered for exchange and the ensuing contract negotiations, just isn’t there yet. Player plus cash deals are a lot more complex than we realised and I’m happy the team are spending extra time to get it right, rather than adding it to Career Mode half finished.

A major plus point with transfers though is that the CPU will now make offers for players not transfer listed by you consistently. And when they do want one of your star players they can be ferocious in their attempts to sign them. I rejected four increased offers from Juventus for Dimitar Berbatov before eventually agreeing to sell him for 22 million. The bidding started at just 12.5 million, so it was very clear to me that Juventus had identified their primary target and were prepared to get their man at any cost, which was really satisfying to see.

For transfer negotiations to go to the next level I’d like to see some more contractual options around performance based incentives, now common place in today’s game and I’d also like the ability to set an asking price for a player if a bid comes in lower than my expectations. In my opinion there’s still an awful lot of work to do to flesh out Transfer Negotiations fully. The features that have been added this year do their jobs well, but the experience of buying and selling isn’t quite as inspiring as it could be.

Scouting and Youth Academy

After a period of absence longer than anyone expected, scouting is finally back in Career Mode and the implementation is top drawer. Firstly, it’s key to point out that the scouting system is for unknown youth players only and not players already present in the FIFA 12 database. It’s about unearthing a hidden gem and not finding out whether Xavi has a pass accuracy rating of 84 or 85.

To begin your scouting adventure you’ll need to hire one and you’ll be presented with four scouts initially, ranging in ability. The better the scout, the more money they cost, so lower league clubs will need to get by with lesser rated scouts to begin with. Personally, I think every club should start with at least one scout as default rather than having to sign one, but that’s a minor gripe. You can have a maximum of three scouts at your club and these can be chopped and changed as Career Mode progresses.

It will take a few days for your scout to join your club (just like a player transfer) but once signed you then need to decide on a region to send them to. The interface for doing this is excellent and it’s very similar to the team selection in FIFA World Cup 2010, clearly a favourite of Simon Humber’s. After selecting a region you then choose the type of player to search for, their position and so on. It will then take your scout a few weeks to set up a scouting network in that region before players begin to be suggested on a monthly basis.

The scout reports are presented really well too and you’ll be shown a potential OVR rating range (45-84) that the scout thinks a player could potentially reach. The more months you scout a player for, the tighter that range becomes, but if you wait too long rival clubs will step in and sign players should they be revealed as future superstars.

I’m torn about whether scouting should be used for players that already exist in FIFA 12’s database, as well as unknown youth because scouting the very top stars is an obvious waste of time. We already know Messi is a great player and that Sneijder can pick a pass.  But for gauging the potential ability of younger players already in FIFA 12, I really think this scouting model could be applicable and I hope it expands in future Career Modes.

Of course once you’ve signed a youth player they will be added to your Youth Academy, and from there you can track their development and when the time is right, give them some game time. Not every player will reach their full potential and you will invariably sign some duds, but after the scout has made his recommendations it’s down to you as the manager to cultivate raw potential with the aim of creating the next world superstar.

Team Management

There is one massive issue with Team Management in FIFA 12, which I’m afraid I just cannot get past. It isn’t solely a Career Mode issue either, because it annoys me in each and every FIFA 12 game mode available. The usability of the squad and formation management systems in FIFA is just, terrible. Changing a player’s base position requires a degree in Astro Physics, and that’s only if you can handle the sheer volume of button presses it takes to get in and out of the sub menus.

This isn’t just a FIFA 12 problem though because the Team Management menus are shared EA SPORTS technology, which is why it’s so bloody difficult to get rid of them. We hate them, the developers hate them, but until next year at the earliest we are well and truly stuck with them.

However, there is a new addition which makes the arduous squad management much easier to digest. The Alternate Selection system. Now, when you scroll down to your right back (for example) and press ‘triangle’ the player will highlight. You then use the d-pad to scroll left and right and the game will suggest replacement players for that position in order of suitability. It works brilliantly, firstly to reduce the volume of button presses and secondly the players it suggests are spot on. It’s a wonderful example of how simple innovation can work wonders and I can’t praise this inventive change highly enough.

As I said at the start this isn’t a Career Mode or even a FIFA 12 problem but when you’re in a mode which is trying to serve up a realistic management experience, you just can’t have something so restrictive in an area so fundamental. A new Team Management system needs to be priority number one, for FIFA 13.

Transfer Deadline Day

This one has been on the community wish list for a while now and its one of the new Career Mode features I’m most excited about for when release day comes round. Transfer deadline day is now a fully fledged mode of its own, attempting to bring the real world drama of the final hours of trading to life in Career Mode and boy does it succeed.

Transfer deadline day is broken down in to eight hourly slots which allow you to conduct multiple rounds of transfer negotiations. The communication back from clubs is prompt and deals can go through extremely quickly, if terms are agreed at the first time of asking. But when the drama really ramps up is when you struggle to agree terms and the hours begin to tick dangerously past. I’ll be honest, I caved and offered more money than I should have to force a deal for Ashley Young, but in the heat of deadline day drama you need to act on instinct.

In the top right of the screen, counters keep track of the number of deadline deals which have been completed and the total amount of money spent. Which when combined with the rapidly updating media pane provides excellent visibility of the transfers happening elsewhere in Career Mode. Most importantly it gives you the feeling that you’re personal agenda is only a small part of something much, much bigger.

In FIFA 11’s Career Mode the transfer deadline day passes with a whimper and poorly constructed news article. In FIFA 12 it passes with an adrenaline filled, mad dash, to get that one crucial signing in the bag for your title challenge. As a sensible manager you’d have all your signings tied up well before any last ditch drama. But to be honest, I’m tempted to leave all my transfer dealings until deadline day in FIFA 12, just for the rush. Without doubt a AAA addition to Career Mode.

Squad Report

Another new addition to Career Mode is the Squad Report system which allows you to track and compare player growth and statistics throughout the season. The design and layout of the Squad Report is really well constructed and it works brilliantly to provide a top level, managerial overview of your entire squad.

The screen is split in two (as always) with the left panel showing a list of your squad members and the right hand side showing player’s stats in full. Player growth is tracked very simply by green or red pluses and minuses, so you can see at a glance where a player is improving. You can view player form and morale (which are both back) within the Squad Report but crucially they have been added to Team Management as well.

The Squad Report screens also track player statistics across the competitions you take part in. One thing which always used to annoy me was that the game would never show you how many yellow cards a player was away from a suspension in different competitions. So as a manager you never knew whether to rest a player to protect them for a crucial match, the following week. Thankfully the Squad Report now has this information along with other many other useful player statistics.

My one criticism is that the Squad Report is so brilliant and so helpful, why isn’t it plugging in to every facet of Career Mode and Squad Management? It’s a more efficient way to view and compare player stats and most importantly its displayed full screen. And because it isn’t weaved in to the fabric of Career Mode deeply enough, the Squad Report feels a little bit tacked on at the moment, almost separate. Its influence should be consistent in all squad based decision making for me as it’s simply too good an implementation for this opportunity to pass by.

Player Stories

As well as looking after transfer policy and getting results on the pitch, you’ll also need to handle the games biggest egos in Career Mode. Player Stories can pop up at any time and are based on a number of different scenarios including, morale, retirement, form, wanting to play, new signings and many more. It is then down to you as the manager to deal with the situation appropriately and live with the consequences.

The best example I saw of Player Stories at work, actually happened during the Career Mode play test six weeks ago and the scenario involved big spending Man City. Who with their financial muscle targeted ‘best player in the world’ Lionel Messi. After much negotiation they eventually managed to get their man for £80 million and 250K per week wages. I know most people were annoyed by ‘player affinity’ preventing massive transfers between big clubs last year and this deal proves it’s now possible.

After Messi had made his much anticipated Man City debut, a Player Story appeared from David Silva stating his unhappiness at the new acquisition as he didn’t feel he’d get enough game time whilst superstar Messi was in the team. Personally I though that was a fantastic reaction to the transfer story, however it then got even better. After Silva’s moan the Man City board stepped in saying that they would leave it up to the manager to decide whether to sell Silva but would support any move to keep him against his will, in a word, awesome.

That’s just one example of course and already you can see that Player Stories are reacting really well to Career Mode events. My only worry is that over multiple seasons the stories the game portrays may begin to repeat themselves and the wow factor that the Messi/Silva saga provided could be lost. Only time will tell I guess but if the scenarios stay varied then Player stories could be a real tale of success in FIFA 12’s Career Mode.

Commentary

As I’m sure you all know by now, Martin Tyler and Alan Smith will be taking the English commentary reins in FIFA 12 and having listened to them in action, I think people will be surprised at the impact Alan Smith in particular has on the game. But aside from the general gameplay commentary there is also a lot of specific dialogue focussed entirely on Career Mode.

When your first match of the season comes round the commentators discuss your clubs ambitions for the season, where you’re squad may be lacking and in some cases even the clubs history. This adds so much to the immersion of the mode and the fact that EA have dedicated so much recording time to Career Mode, shows their intent to improve this aspect of the mode going forward.

Another brilliant addition is the use of multiple commentary teams for league and cup competitions. David Rutter informed us that you’ll have Tyler/Smith for Career Mode league games and then Tyldesley/Townsed for cup matches. If you desperately hate one of the duos then you can pick and choose yourself, but I can’t see why you’d want to? Variety being the spice of life and all that.

The success of the specific Career Mode commentary is going to come down to how in depth it actually is. As soon as you start hearing the same lines over and over the spell is broken and whilst repetition is inevitable in a game like FIFA, it can and should be minimised.

Bugs/Glitches

It’s worth noting, before I plough in to my verdict that we did encounter some bugs during our time with Career Mode. Which to be honest when you’re playing alpha code is to be expected. The vast majority of things we flagged up were met with the response “already fixed” which was pleasing to hear but I just want you guys to be aware of the full picture.

Verdict

I’ll be honest with you. This is not going to be the all singing, all dancing Career Mode that everyone ‘dreams’ of having to compliment FIFA’s gameplay. There are just too many big things still missing to call the mode anywhere near complete or perfect. This feeling is also enforced by some of the aging tech still being utilised by Career Mode, like the Team Management interface. This in my eyes has no place in a modern day football game and should be cast aside at the earliest opportunity.

It’s also worth mentioning that whilst all the above features sound great, the success of Career Mode this year is ultimately going to come down to the modes stability and reliability, long term. If we start getting widespread game save corruptions, players disappearing and regular crashes, much of the excellent work done in the features department will be irrelevant. Career Mode is as much at the mercy of bugs and glitches as it is to the actual innovation by the development team.

Having said that, for the first time in about three years I’m actually seeing genuine progression in Career Mode and when you see things you fed back to the devs six weeks ago, now in the game and flourishing, it makes it all of this worth while. Career mode seems to have a defined vision now and you get a real sense that the team in Vancouver know how to achieve it.

If FIFA 11’s Career Mode was a 3/10, this year’s is probably a strong 6/10 maybe even 7/10, if we get the stability we crave. That’s a pretty huge leap in one development cycle and for the first time, in years I actually believe that under Simon Humber’s stewardship, Career mode can continue to develop and improve year on year.

Career Mode is good this year and it will be the most playable and enjoyable Career Mode we’ve seen this generation. The ‘great’ however, may take just a little longer.

No pressure Simon…