Why You Can Trust CNET FIFA Soccer 13 (iOS) review: FIFA Soccer 13 (iOS)
If you want a great soccer game for iOS, FIFA 13 hits the mark on almost every level. With tons of teams, new skill moves, and online multiplayer, this is the sports game to beat on iOS.
FIFA Soccer 13 is another in a long line of "football" games from the popular franchise, but not only is it the best of the bunch, it might be the best sports game available on either the iPhone or iPad.
FIFA Soccer 13 (iOS)
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Having played many of the previous versions of the franchise on consoles and all of the various soccer games on mobile, FIFA 13 is the best soccer game on iOS, with 500 fully licensed teams to play with over 15,000 players, across 30 leagues. You can play as your favorite teams, pass to your favorite players with realistic attributes, and use new skill moves to get free and go for the goal.
The gameplay is tight with beautiful graphics as you take to the pitch in one of four game modes. Some modes will be familiar to players of earlier versions like Manager Mode and Quickmatch, with a few differences, but new online multiplayer means you can join up with other players or challenge your friends through EA's Origin, by connecting to Facebook, or through your iPhone or Gmail contacts. One major change is that Tournaments are no longer solely a part of Manager Mode, which means you can create a simple tournament without having to deal with team acquisitions or meet any budgets when you just want to play the game.
The control system on offense is similar to earlier versions of the game, with an onscreen movement joystick on the left and controls for passing, shooting, and sprinting (with the ball) on the right. But now a new button lets you perform skill moves much easier than before. Where in FIFA 2012 you only had a double-tap on the screen to do a skill move, FIFA 13 has a button you can touch and then slide your finger off the button in various directional motions to perform different moves. This simple change in the skill controls means that fancy moves are easier to do and become a much bigger part of the game as you get that special sense of satisfaction when you pull one off and blow by an opponent.
Defensively, the game is quite similar to the previous version, but it feels like the refs give you a little more leeway on slide tackles. You'll still get carded for egregious tackles and a hard regular tackle will still stop play with a free kick, but I like being able to go a little harder at offensive players when they get down near the box.
If you want to really get down and dirty with your strategies, FIFA 13 has the goods. You can play with formations and team behaviors to your heart's content or substitute in players you think will play a position better. As far as the details go, like every FIFA soccer game, this game is incredibly deep.
FIFA 13 also thankfully uses Apple's iCloud for syncing up between devices. If you choose, you can have the game save Tournaments and Manager Mode to iCloud so that you can pick up where you left off when you switch to another device.
One problem I found was specific to the iPhone. Thought there are a few different gameplay cameras to choose from, none move in much closer to the action. While strategically this is an advantage (being able to see more of the field) it forces you to bring your iPhone closer to your face to see the action. While very playable on an iPhone, the game is much better suited for the iPad.
Overall, FIFA 13 is an improvement on the previous versions in several ways and I think players of the previous versions will appreciate the changes. While the difference in skill levels is still pretty steep (as has been the case for all the FIFA games), the new easy-to-use skill moves make up for it with new ways to move around charging defenders.
If you played previous versions of FIFA or just want to check out what a great soccer game plays like on the touch screen, FIFA 13 is the best in its class and is easily the best sports game overall on iOS.