1. The Gameplay
FIFA 13's gameplay experience is exceptional. EA Sports have clearly spent a lot of time under the bonnet of the game, developing new features with gameplay in mind, as well as balancing the realism of the game with an entertainment factor that could match PES 2013's toned-down arcade-like feel that is a major step forward from the over-boosted pace of PES 2012. And their work has paid off in this year's game. My own comparison of the two demos summed up the gameplay as follows:
The new features, brought in with an obvious eye on the games overall authentic feel, work wonderfully to add that realism as well as making the game feel fun again. Both the defensive AI and attacking AI have been given a revamp after some of the problems of last year, and attacking play in particular feels a lot less one-dimensional than it has at times in the past. Thanks to the increased intelligence of team-mates, there are always a number of options available to the attacking player, and if the player should decide to take it on themself, the change in the dribbling system, and control system mean that trying to take a man on is not the furstrating experience it was in FIFA 12, when the containment system meant evasive one-twos were a lot more successful (though less entertaining).
At the final summation, EA Sports have created a gameplay experience that equally balances both realism and entertainment: this is not only the most authentic football gaming experience ever released, it is also one of the most purely entertaining, and though PES 2013 is also the most entertaining that franchise has been for some time, FIFA 13 edges it here. The slickness, and the bias towards scoring goals - which I will come to explore - both lend themselves to the overall gameplay feel, and it is no exaggeration to say this is the best on-pitch experience any football game has ever offered.