The most noticeable difference that experienced players will realize is tactical defending. This new defensive technique replaced the simple, hold-down-a-button-to-defend tactic, and now forces gamers to think about defensive strategies. Players must use their skills to follow the opposition more closely and make quick decisions about when to launch an attack on the ball. This change frustrated most gamers, but after taking a while to get used to the new way of defending, most now approve and find it to be much more realistic. Poor defending is now more punishing to a player, as they must choose wisely when to take a stab at the ball, because a miss can leave the opposing striker with a clear path to the goal.
Once a gamer gets past the new defending, they will see the finer features that make the new edition of FIFA the best one yet. FIFA has improved Precision Dribbling, which allows gamers to have better control of the ball in tight spaces. This is especially useful when taking on defenders and getting around them, as well as taking a touch to the side to allow a player to buy some time in order to unleash a shot on goal. Also, gamers will see that FIFA 12 has added Player Impact Engine, which makes collisions between players much more realistic. Sometimes the collisions are anatomically impossible, but for the most part, the reactions of players are what a gamer would expect a real life clash to be like. In manager mode, the injury the player suffered is listed, which is a nice touch instead of just being told a player is injured and will be out for a certain length of time. All in all, the improvements made to FIFA 12 greatly improve the game play. It is not just the franchise making changes simply for the sake of putting out a new edition of the game.
