FIFA 13 (Wii) Review

Mixing an almost Sim City-esque city building mechanic with RPG levelling up, the initial idea of developing a FIFA City is indeed quite innovative. Take part in FIFA Street-like four-on-four matches, create a personalised team of new potential superstars, jump into regular leagues and cups, or even tackle the managerial side of the sport. There are plenty of options to sink proverbial teeth into, and the more FIFA 13 is played, the more prestige the footballing city receives, with the population rising in conjunction with its renown.

Sadly, the new gameplay system introduced in FIFA 12 made for a lesser experience on the whole, with the attempt at making an arcade experience a little too realistic to the point where a lot of the original fun was merely sucked out. Since FIFA 13 is nothing more than a squad update (no exaggeration, it is a case of what happened with the lazy Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 last year, with no changes other than player names and kits), that weaker game mechanic is back to dissatisfy gamers expecting an equivalent to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 iterations.

In fact, somehow this year's Wii version actually looks worse than ever in the visual stakes. Cubed3 has always been of the mind that EA's graphics team are incapable of creating anything other than hideous monsters (the cartoony FIFA 10 being kind of an exception), but the models for many players here look so indistinguishable it makes you wonder if the company has lost the image rights to certain players. However, merely looking at the crowd in all of its pancake-flat, blurry 'glory' shows it is more the lack of effort that has been poured into this obvious cast-off. Commentary is clear enough, as expected, but it was fine all the way back in the early days. What it suffers from most, though, is that age-old bugbear of random comments slipping in that bear no relevance to the current on-pitch happenings. It is a crying shame to see Wii owners subjected to such shoddy workmanship.

Those that skipped FIFA 12 hoping that FIFA 13 would be potentially the last and best Wii version will be disappointed (FIFA 14 will likely come as well, if the continued presence of a PlayStation 2 version this year is anything to go by), but the kicker will be for anyone that picks this up and gets instantly confused by how FIFA 13 is nothing more than FIFA 12 with one digit amended on the title screen and player name updates. Steer clear.