The first details about FIFA 12 are starting to stream in, and the top priority of the game is to further improve team AI and game awareness.
According to EA Canada producer David Rutter, the development team was pleased with the individual AI, but improvements are still needed, and they have an “enormous shopping list” of fixes to work on.
“I think we did a great job with the Personality Plus feature (in FIFA 11) but the the teams AI doesn’t support that quite as much as it should. As an example, a team doesn’t spot that if Peter Crouch in the area, they can lay a load of high balls onto his head.”
There are other major changes in the game coming too. Rutter admitted, “Set-pieces are still a bit lame. I get frustrated by not being able to do quick throw-ins, not being able to quickly select my free-kick takers, on the fly stuff. We’re somewhat last-gen in the way the game cuts (before those things).”
He also wants to increase the emotional content as well, such as when a player faces his former club on the road:
“Those moments where you take one (player) to his old club and the boo boys come out, or his old team are more aggressive in the tackle towards him. SO you think: ‘Wow! FIFA understands not just the game of football, but the sport and passion behind it’.”
Seems EA Sports will be taking its excellent footie action even further.
Jonah Falcon is a blogger for TMRzoo and GameStooge.com and covers all gaming consoles and platforms including Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP and computer games designed for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Jonah provides his readers with reviews, previews and up to date gaming industry news and rumors.
