Along with death and taxes, an annual FIFA release is pretty much a sure bet, with the latest iteration bringing some minor improvements over FIFA 12. Are these good enough to land FIFA 13 the top spot on your soccer game acquisition list?

Graphically, FIFA 13 has not improved much over its already awesome predecessor, and you’ll need the detective skills of Sherlock Holmes to point the enhancements out. Stadiums the likes of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium or The Theatre of Dreams still look great, and so do the true-to-life player models.

Unfortunately, the crowd models are very pixelated up close and there is still a lack of variety between individuals that make up the masses of fans. The same does however, also ring true for all other sports simulation games as well.

EA’s redesigned menu system is well laid out and a lot more visually enticing compared to the stock standard static fair. It features a virtual Lionel Messi being displayed in the background in between the game’s startup and main menus. However, the slight drawback to that elaborate menu system is that there can be a bit of noticeable lag on occasion, as the next animation loads. This can be somewhat annoying when you are just looking to get back to the action as quickly as possible.   

Gameplay

Unlike the graphics, EA Sport’s tinkerings to the gameplay is slightly more significant. The company have managed to up their game thanks to advancements in the Player Impact Engine (PIE) introduced in FIFA 12.

PIE is a physics engine built to deliver real-world physicality in every interaction on the pitch. Within FIFA 13, this system allows players to jostle for the ball more realistically. The engine works well and can give rise to more than a few penalties and free-kicks over the duration of a season. This, as over-eager defenders tend to pull a striker’s shirt or get too physical in their attempts in knocking you off the ball when they can’t keep up with your Messi-inspired ball handling skills or Rooney-like pace.   

FIFA 13 also introduces its own new feature called First Touch Control (FTC). This means you now have to employ chest control for balls that are passed too high and take the heat off of balls that have been passed far too hard, before setting off goalward bound. This in comparison to previous iterations, where it almost felt like the players had a layer of glue on their boots, since they managed to control the ball with their first touch no matter how poorly it bounced, or how hard it was kicked in their direction.

FTC not only makes FIFA 13 more realistic, it also allows the AI-controlled defenders to breath a sigh of relief as they are better able to win back possession in certain one-on-one situations, where the ball service has been less than stellar.