50 Games in 2012 – #12 UEFA Euro 2012 [PSN] (Completed April 24th)
FIFA is a series I've run hot and cold on most of my life. World Cup 98 on the N64 very well could of fried from the amount of use it got. Nothing beat controlling two controllers at once and re-living the world cup again and again.. and again… and again. In more recent times though I've stayed away except for the odd FIFA or World Cup game and FIFA 12 was the first one in the series I sunk my teeth into for hours on end. Much like World Cup 98 I could of wore the disc out with how much I played this game. Naturally I was excited for the UEFA Euro 2012 so in anticipation of the upcoming Summer event I picked up the add-on DLC.
I'll preface right away that UEFA Euro 2012 game play wise runs pretty much exactly the same but still works great. Character models seem more prevalent with the stars of each country suiting up and walking out into glistening representations of real life stadiums. What all this does is make a really good atmosphere for a game of football that still plays as good as FIFA 12. That's pretty much where my praise for this game ends though. Besides from these few facts I would've preferred to just download the team kits and make my own tournament mode with updated rosters.
Why the cold shoulder you might ask? Well sadly UEFA Euro 2012 doesn't offer much quality. Teams look great in there national colours but the experience is broken when nearly half of the available nations don't have licensing rights. This leads to a large amount of the teams having generic kits and players having made up names and no likeness to their real life counterparts. Secondly in the main mode playing to win Euro 2012 you can only choose 1 team. It would have been nice to play with friend or my brother or even relive my childhood and play as every team but all of those options are not available. Lastly you have expedition mode which is a tacked on bore fest of a game mode where you try and beat nations and take there players to make your own team. The mode has no relevance to the actual event and playing it is not at all fun.
The core mechanics of FIFA 12 make Euro 2012 work great but everything else about the game leaves a sour taste in your mouth. There is enjoyment in playing games in the authentic stadiums with licensed teams but the lack of licensing for half the of the teams including Ukraine was disappointing. The game is fun but it's offers nothing worth paying $15 that you don't already have in FIFA 12.
Game Summary:
Date Finished: 4/24 | UEFA Euro 2012 (PS3)
Pros: Stadiums are beautiful and game mechanics are still solid.
Cons: Nearly half of the teams are unlicensed, Cup mode only allows one player and expedition mode is stupid.
Conclusion: A regretful purchase as this expansion doesn't offer much to your Fifa 12 experience.
[5.5/10]
{Previous Entry: #11 http://bitmob.com/articles/50-games-in-2012-11-journey-psn}