GOTY 2012 Best Multiplayer Runner-Up: FIFA 13

I am not of a social gamer, which means that I tend to focus on the single-player elements of the games I enjoy, but in 2012, as well as last year, I have played one multiplayer experience almost every day: FIFA 13 from EA Sports.

There are plenty of options for those who want to compete against another human being using the football simulation, but I tend to focus on the head-to-head matches that involve two players, because they provide a lot of variety and strong competition.

I always use Liverpool, my favorite team, while my opponent tends to choose Fulham or Everton and we mostly use the same players, even if we change the tactics quite a bit.

Despite the relative static setup, the actual matches are never similar and always introduce an element of unpredictability.

We’ve had games where Everton won by three goals despite being one man down. There were also nail biting affairs during which we failed to score goals despite the fact that we had almost 20 shots on goal each.

The uncertain features of FIFA 13 naturally become even more impressive in multiplayer, because pressure from a human player is much stronger than that coming from the PC.

The irrational nature of a real player also expands the range attacking and defensive scenarios and generates some great replays.

FIFA 13 also offers Ultimate Team as a multiplayer option, allowing plans to use a trading card like system in order to select players and tactics and then pit their creations against those of others.

I’ve spent less time with this type of game because I feel it relies a little too much on obsessive tweaking and offers the personality of the player little space to express itself.

We have a full Softpedia review for FIFA 13 available on the site.