FIFA 13 – 5 game-changing mechanics to look out for

With every new football season, comes a new FIFA. The annual series has proven itself to be one of the franchises that never says die, and has garnered a strong reputation by continuing to evolve again and again – making it that much closer to footballing perfection.

EA Sports have just about done it, with FIFA 12 being an entry that showed a significant leap forward in comparison to predecessors. But there’s still room for improvement, and FIFA 13 is looking at five core areas where EA are aiming to up-the-ante.

1. First touch control

In previous FIFA iterations, whether you were controlling Ronaldo or some third division bench-player, they all handled the ball relatively similarly. However, this time around players will see a big different in the level of control from different players. Trajectory of the ball, velocity of the pass and player skills will determine how the ball moves between players’ feet.

2. Tactical Free Kicks

Free kicks have always been somewhat of a unbalanced entity in the FIFA franchise. Often they felt solid and accurate, and sometimes completely obscure. FIFA 13 now gives players the chance to use multiple dummy runners and other customisation tools to create new angles and strategies during free kicks. Defending players can also move the wall at any time (as opposed to FIFA 12, where the wall could only jump as the ball is kicked). The wall can also creep forward, although being seen by the ref will result in a card.

3. Complete Dribbling

One of the biggest changes in recent FIFA history was the jump from 2009’s 10-direction movement to 2010’s unlimited-directions movement system. FIFA 13’s “complete dribbling” is said to be as big of a jump, with players gaining full-360 degree choices of dribbling with greater precision on control. FIFA Street’s impressive one-on-one dribbling mechanic has also been borrowed, giving a new dynamic to those player vs. player encounters.

4. Attacking Intelligence

While some players have always struggled against the opposition AI, the artificial players on your team have in the past seemed to lack a bit of creativity. A new positioning code improves how players analyse space and select lines to run. AI will scan a larger area of space on the field, as opposed to close proximity around the ball.

5. Player Impact Engine

Last year, we saw the introduction of the Impact Engine, which animated real-time collisions when players made contact. It left some really awkward moments, such as an infamous make-out session between Andy Carrol and Lukasz Fabianski. This year however, the engine has found its feet, where you can use your body weight to win possession, with off-the-ball AI players even pushing and pulling to get into better positions.