FIFA Manager 12

 PC
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. PC Games
    Jan 12, 2012
    90
    After the very good, but unfortunately bugged FM 11, the developers are showing a little more courage to take risks again with the 12th edition. Last year’s version was limited to detail changes, while this year brings in a lot of new features. And this works out.
  2. GameStar
    Nov 8, 2011
    85
    It's still not the most realistic simulation and all those little improvements can't change that. But it's still a lot of fun due to its sheer size and huge amount of details.
  3. Gamers.at
    Oct 28, 2011
    84
    EA's Fifa Manager 12 is a successful football simulation again. Especially simulation newcomers get an easier access than ever before. But für experienced FM players FIFA Manager 12 provides not enough real new things.
  5. Vandal
    Dec 27, 2011
    75
    A more complete and updated game that the previous installment, that adds interesting features like the transfer market and the expanded financial options. Apart from these additions, the game is still conservative and very similar to the previous one.
  6. CD-Action
    Nov 29, 2011
    75
    I can recommend this game as a good introduction to the genre for those who would like to start their first virtual career as a football club boss, but it's still not much of a competitor for the Football Manager series. [December 2011, p.54]
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  7. Meristation
    Oct 22, 2011
    75
    Excellent database, rich on real licenses of teams, leagues and players and tons of management options for a very solid football management game. But it still lacks something to reach to the next level in this specific field.
  8. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 20, 2012
    70
    Good start for all wannabe football managers with nice visuals and plenty of activities. Main flaws for Czech fans can be found in its incomplete database. [Dec 2011]
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  9. Eurogamer Portugal
    Nov 14, 2011
    70
    FIFA Manager 12 has a strange appeal if you like the ability to simulate everything to the smallest detail, and is a great option if you like simulators and seek a different and more flexible approach.
  10. Absolute Games
    Dec 16, 2011
    69
    FIFA Manager finally made an effort to combat stagnation. Now Bright Future needs to rewrite the game's flawed 3D engine to give Sports Interactive a run for their money.
  11. PC Games (Russia)
    Nov 23, 2011
    60
    A wading pool for those afraid to dive into Football Manager. [December 2011, p.78]
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  12. PC Gamer UK
    Jan 10, 2012
    45
    A big, detailed database wrapped in a friendly UI, then wasted on an unresponsive and inaccurate pitch simulator. [Jan 2012, p.122]
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User Reviews

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User Score
4.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 31
  3. Negative: 15 out of 31
  1. madruhi
    Oct 26, 2011
    4
    I was exciting for this game, but it's just a disappointment for me.I was able to play myself in FIFA Man10 and 11 but I can't play myself inI was exciting for this game, but it's just a disappointment for me.I was able to play myself in FIFA Man10 and 11 but I can't play myself in FIFAMan.12 and I felt like game continues without my control.I think it's the biggest fault in this game.But it doesn't mean FIFA Man.12 is very bad.It's still better than FM12.… Full Review »
  2. Curreri
    Apr 7, 2013
    7
    I like the style and the graphic of FIFA MANAGER, much more better to navigate and interact than other management game. I'm not fullyI like the style and the graphic of FIFA MANAGER, much more better to navigate and interact than other management game. I'm not fully convinced about the AI of the match, even if it looks very good...… Full Review »
  3. macfloam
    Mar 23, 2012
    2
    Another year, another pile of garbage from EA Sports' German development team. I can forgive the poor Englisch (yup, that's how they spellAnother year, another pile of garbage from EA Sports' German development team. I can forgive the poor Englisch (yup, that's how they spell it). I can even forgive the messed up voice overs that constantly refer to Man. Utd, Steven Gerrard, Ibrahimovic, etc. even though I'm playing in the Scottish 2nd Division. However, I cannot forgive how badly implemented the rest of the game is. There's a pre-match speech option before any game, with varying degrees of riskiness. If your team fails to achieve the specified criteria (which is horribly described due to poor translation), they lose morale and trust in you as the manager. Of course, this is backwards...if they fail to deliver, it's me who should be upset with them. The major problem is that the risk is not related to the difficulty of the requirement; the AI makes the speech risky by rigging the outcome! You could be playing a far worse team (i.e. Arsenal vs Ipswich), but if you say something like "This one's in the bag", then every call on the field will suddenly go against you, and you're almost guaranteed to give up a penalty shot, and possibly be reduced to 9 or even 8 men thanks to excessive red cards. The big selling feature of the game is the 3D mode for gameplay, but this is the very feature that ruins it thanks to horrible design. The vast majority of play goes straight up the middle. Even if you do play it to the wings, 95% of the crosses go straight to the keeper. Almost all of your goals come from your striker(s). The referees are card happy buffoons, handing out 2nd yellows as easily as they hand out your first, even though any fan of soccer knows that this is not the case. Your players don't scale back their aggressiveness after getting a yellow - you can choose between 3 levels of aggression for each player, but like so many things you get to decide, it has absolutely no impact. I once received 7 yellow cards in the first half of a game (2 of which were 2nd yellows, so I was down to 9 men). Meanwhile, my star player got tackled so viciously that he went off with an injury and we didn't even get a free kick. All of the players who received cards were set to cautious tackling behavior right from the outset.

    You can select an Offensive, Neutral, or Defensive bias for your team. This makes sense since if you were losing by a goal in the 70th minute, you'd want to push forward for an equalizer, or if leading by a goal, you'd want to focus on defense. However, when you turn on Defensive bias, you don't defend any better, but seem to score more often. When you turn on Offensive bias, you don't attack any better, but will give up 2 goals in 15 minutes just about every time!

    No matter how weak your team is, you always give a top team a run for their money (Celtic FC barely manager a 3-2 win against my 2nd Division Dumbarton), and when you play a far weaker team, you need to get lucky to win by a goal. I consistently achieve a winning record against the top 3 teams in the league, and a losing record against the bottom 3! The game is a gigantic cliche of upsets and ridiculous comebacks. I had a 3-0 lead in the 85th minute of a game once and somehow managed to lose 4-3 in penalties! So while Offensive Bias merely weakens your defense, for the AI it seems to triple their offensive capabilities. I played against a 3rd Division team in a friendly match, and despite gaining a 2-0 lead, my much weaker opponent managed to come storming back in the 2nd half to take a 3-2 lead. When I turned on Offensive Bias to try to equalize, they netted 2 more goals for a crushing 5-2 win..guess who made the mistake of giving a risky speech pre-match?

    I'm not describing situations that happen once a season either - this idiotic nonsense is the norm. Far weaker teams will almost always pull upsets, massive comebacks are almost guaranteed, and you will be reduced to 8 or 9 men 2-3 times a season. Unfortunately, the team that released this pile of crap has done it before. The forums are riddled with the same complaints for FM12 as there were for FM10, and FM9 before that. Rather than listening to customer feedback and improving upon a game with incredible potential, the devs are fully focused on releasing a bug-riddled pile of garbage called FIFA Manager 13. There are even player-made mods (called GPPs) that radically improve the game, so all the development team needs to do is copy one of these into their next patch, but they don't, because they couldn't care less about this year's product.

    Oh, and if you complain about the game on their official forums, instead of thanking you for your feedback, they're likely to ban you!

    Avoid this game and save yourself the frustration. Don't count on future releases being any better either. Until EA Sports learns to listen to their customers and allocate adequate resources to improving games they've already released, they will continue in this cycle of releasing garbage year after year.    … Full Review »
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