Back in September of 2011, EA Sports released the latest entry in their popular FIFA football series. While FIFA 12 went on to break numerous sales records nationwide, the talented team over at EA Canada focused their efforts on adding a unique gameplay experience to the reboot of FIFA Street. The end result was a fresh perspective that not only paid homage to the sport but also encouraged more casual fans to try out the game.
Starting this week, EA Sports decided to add more downloadable content to FIFA 12. UEFA Euro 2012 is an online expansion pack that allows diehard fans to fully immerse themselves in all the excitement and drama of this summer’s tournament.
The pack carries a steep price tag of 1800 Microsoft points ($25.99 on PSN and PC) and a hefty file size of 656.23 MB. Here is a deeper overview of what all is included in this DLC.
After selecting the new UEFA Euro tab on the FIFA 12 main menu screen, you’re brought to a separate mode with new features specific to the event itself. The main options include Kick-Off, Expedition, UEFA Euro 2012, and Challenges.
Kick-Off serves as the main mode to participate in quick exhibition matches, while UEFA Euro 2012 uses the format of the tournament and allows you to switch out teams and matchups to your hearts content. These same contests can also be played online should you decided to compete with others. The entire add-on includes a total of over 50 European teams and 8 licensed stadiums to play in. Rosters are updated frequently to reflect each team accordingly.
Lastly, the challenges mode allows you to replay key tournament moments and matchups as they happen in real-time. The inclusion of this feature is one that all sports games have embraced and I would love to see this happen in more titles moving forward.
The main attraction of this DLC comes in the robust and lengthy Expedition mode. Modeled exclusively after FIFA Street’s World Tour mode, Expedition allows you to build up a team and compete in several knockout matchups spanning across the globe.
You start by picking your favorite athlete to lead the team and receive randomly generated players throughout the tour. There are a couple customization tools that allow you to create team logos and brand your union. You also have the ability to adjust settings whether it be through difficulty or controls.
On the surface, UEFA Euro stands as a subtle presentation change on top of the same core gameplay mechanics of FIFA 12. Chances are if you were annoyed by some of the game’s flaws in the past, then you’ll notice that virtually nothing has changed.
Another aspect about this DLC that remains questionable is the outrageous price tag that’s attached to it. Unless you’re a hardcore FIFA fan, it’s hard to justify buying this pack when you know that FIFA 13 is only a couple months away from release.
My suggestion to EA Sports moving forward would be to try and give buyers of DLC like this an incentive by perhaps giving them either an in game bonus or a discounted price on FIFA 13. Still, if you enjoy FIFA and absolutely want to check out all this DLC has to offer then you owe it to yourself to pick it up now.
This review was based on a retail download copy of the DLC for the Xbox 360 provided by EA Sports.
