FIFA by EA Sports is one of the most played sports game in the world. Earlier, it faced heavy competition from PES (Pro Evolution Soccer) in terms of game play, but since FIFA 11 was released, it has improved in leaps and bound. FIFA 12 is the best from EA Sports so far. The brilliant individual player control and intelligent CPU game play along with numerous new features in various modes has made it the best football game in the market.

FIFA 12 Arena

Let’s start with the game play; the player control has been massively improved. Unlike earlier versions of FIFA, FIFA 12 has slowed down the game speed which gives the gamer a fraction more time to swiftly control their player by just jogging or jogging while pressing the Pace control button, it also makes skill moves easier to perform during matches.

FIFA 12 Side Selection

FIFA 12 On going Game Screen

You can make the game play more realistic by turning off numerous Auto assist options like pass power, and direction  from settings. Some players have specialties. For example Wayne Rooney has engine, distance shooter and clinical finisher specialties; this makes his distance shooting more effective in scoring goals and also has high scoring percentage inside the box. This brings the skills of individual players in the games closer to what they are in real life. If a player has a clear view of goal then he will score 8 out of 10 times.

FIFA 12 Rooney Scoring

FIFA 12 Real Life Collision Impact

EA Sports has also introduced levels in FIFA 12 which helps to find suitable opponents  during online play and ranking yourself with your friends. Penalties have also changed in FIFA 12, which now has a meter. You have to shoot when the pointer is on the green patch. When shot at either end of the bar, the player usually slips, which is fun to watch. The intelligence of the CPU can be described by the fact that if a player like Peter Crouch is in the penalty box, the winger of his team will cross the ball immediately (note: Peter Crouch is 6 feet 7 inches tall), but if a shorter striker is present it will try to cut in with the ball. Midfielders like Fabregas are quick in picking out passes because of his high vision compared to Michael Carrick or Ji Sung Park.

FIFA 12 Detailed Player Movement

FIFA 12 Scoring by head

EA Sports also added a new style of defending called Tactical defending. Generally, people who have played an earlier version of FIFA used the sprint plus standing tackle button to win the ball. But the Tactical defending takes it to a new level and is extremely challenging for players. In Tactical defending, you have to control the direction and speed of the defender plus jockey and contain the opponent, then tackle only at the right time to win the ball, just as in real life. Tackle early, the player will go past you and tackle late, you will foul them. Tactical defending is very difficult to get used to, and frankly speaking, I couldn’t get used to it and switched back to old style of defending. However, many people will surely like this new style.

The most played mode in FIFA is the manager mode. I love this mode as it gives me a chance to do whatever I want to do with my team. In FIFA 12, the interface has been completely changed with most of the default screen occupied with News from around the football world. The news of your club and your players’ performance are highlighted here.

FIFA 12 Manager Mode Default Screen

Rotating your squad is also a big challenge, as Form and Morale affect the attitude of the players. If you don’t play a certain player for a long time he’ll wish to leave the club. His form and morale will also dip as a consequence. Giving a chance to new players frequently will give their form and morale a boost, and you will be notified when that happens by a pop up message from that player after matches. The scouting network has changed a bit. Now you can simultaneously send three scouts to different locations. Sending and calling back a scout takes a few days, unlike earlier, where they could be called up immediately and sent to another location. As a manager, you can now get involved more deeply in the game because of the newly introduced option to comment on your team or opponent team before certain matches. You can use this opportunity to praise or motivate your team or any individual player which will increase the morale. At the same time, you can comment on the opponent team or players. Some people love to buy and sell players in manager mode, but the club budget can hinder the fun. In FIFA 12 you can choose your budget allocation between transfer budget and wage. You can decrease the wage bank to increase the transfer budget.

FIFA 12 Manager Mode Budget Allocation

Apart from Manager Mode, one other mode which I like is Virtual Pro. You can create your own professional player and then complete the various accomplishments to increase his ratings. This is very addicting because of the fun of the accomplishment. The online playing option has been improved, and now you can play with players of your level, who will be automatically searched for. Various options, like online tournaments, increase the fun. But you need to have a fast and unlimited internet connection to play online. My 512kbps internet connection is slow to react to my controller action, hence it is difficult to play. An internet connection of 1Mbps should be good enough for a smooth experience. There is also a FIFA 12 Store where you can buy various additional features from EA, like Live Season, in which the player form in game is updated every week based on their real life performance. There are many other additional features which you can buy.

FIFA 12 Post Match

Overall the game is the best that EA Sports have produced so far. Excellent and intelligent game play makes it the best football game currently in the market. The real life impact of collision between players brings the experience closer to real life. If you are a football lover then don’t think even once before buying FIFA 12, and if you haven’t played football, FIFA 12 will surely bring your interest to the game. I rate FIFA 12 a solid 9 out of 10. You can’t afford to miss this one.

Sony today at IFA 2011 announced two tablets, the Tablet S and Tablet P. The Tablet S was initially rumored as S1 while Tablet P was rumored as S2. The Tablet S has a unique and attractive folded’ design which has a good grip when held in portrait style, while Tablet P is a dual screen tablet and can be folded to fit in the pocket.

The Tablet S and Tablet P sports Nvidia’s Tegra 2 SoC and has 1GB of RAM. The Tablet P comes with a 9.4LED (tru-black) screen with a resolution of 1200*800 and weighs 1.33 lbs. It has a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front camera. It also has a SD card slot and a USB slot. But there is a catch in the expandable SD card; you won’t be able to play contents on the SD card directly. For playing contents on the SD card you’ll first have to copy it into the internal storage and then play it. The Tablet S will have only Wi-Fi support, if anyone was expecting 3G/4G support will be disappointed.

Both the tablets will sport Android 3.1 at release. There are few services which Sony will be offering with their tablets like Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited. By Video Unlimited you can either buy or rent latest releases. Initially, the content will be limited but more will be added later. Music Unlimited will offer over 10 millions songs from major record labels and will have six months free trail. Moreover, both the tablets are Play Station certified and two PS 1 games will come pre installed.

The Tablet S will be available from mid-September in 16 GB and 32 GB versions and will cost $499 and $599, respectively.

The Tablet P has 5.5″ twin-screens with a resolution of 1024*800. It has a 5MP rear and a VGA front camera, just like in Tablet S. It has a 4GB internal memory and a expandable SD card slot. This tablet is 4G capable exclusively on AT&T. It also has a 3080 mAh battery. The Tablet P will sport Android 3.2 at release.  The price of the device is not disclosed and it is expected to release later this year.

(  UPDATED:  Details of Tablet P.)

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Verizon will not offer the Samsung Galaxy S II in US. This news surprised many because the latest flagship handset of Samsung, the Galaxy S II, has been a hit all over the world. According to reports, Samsung has sold 5 million Galaxy S II in 85 days. But now, things are appearing to make sense after the latest report by BGR.

According to BGR, Verizon has given up the offer of launching the Samsung Galaxy S II in return of getting a bigger and better offer. The report suggests that Verizon will launch the much awaited successor of Google’s Nexus S, the Nexus Prime (reports suggest it will be called DROID Prime) as exclusive, which will be made by Samsung. The device is suggested to be launched by Verizon as soon as October. The Nexus Prime/ DROID Prime will be the first device to sport Android 4.0 a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich. The model number of the device will be SCH-i515.

Verizon probably made this move because the Samsung Galaxy S II may find hard to stand against Apple’s iPhone 5, when it will launch in near future. And having the device, which will be the first device to sport Android 4.0, that too as an exclusive is a huge boost. It seems that Verizon’s subscribers will have the bragging rights in the end.

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The Android 2.1 update for Xperia X10 has been released a few weeks ago and brought some joy to users. However, a very important feature, Wi-Fi tethering, didn’t come with the update. However, since Android 2.1 on X10 can be rooted, Wi-Fi tethering can be enabled using a third party app. Here are the two steps to enable Wi-Fi tethering on your X10 and other Android device.

First thing to do is root your Android device. The easiest way to do it is by installing z4root from Android Market on your phone. This app will root your phone in one click. I rooted my X10 using this app. However, it took three tries to root my phone, so try again if it didn’t work for the first time.

To enable Wi-Fi tethering on the Xperia X10, install Barnacle Wi-Fi Tether from Android market after rooting your phone. After the installation, run Barnacle Wi-Fi Tether and click Start. Now your phone is ready to share its internet connection with other Wi-Fi capable devices. Enjoy!

Few weeks ago, we saw the HTC Desire in a new white color and the Wildfire in a silver color. Those who wanted to have the Desire or Wildfire in their new outfit can cheer up now. The white HTC Desire and silver Wildfire is now up for pre-orders in UK.

Both HTC Desire and HTC Wildfire can be bought for 15GBP per month contract. More plans can be found out here. There are many reasonable prices out there. Unfortunately, the pre-order is only for UK citizens and other countries will have to wait.

The shipping date of the pre-order is not posted, we are assuming that few weeks might be enough. So, how many of you are planning to get anyone of these in UK?

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Remember the Motorola Milestone XT720, the first Android phone to sport a Xenon flash? The Motorola XT720′s processor was supposed to run at 720Mhz but it was underclocked to 550MHz and was running at the same. Motorola rolled out a software update for UK and German customers which will make the processor run at 720MHz.

Along with the overclocking, the update brings DLNA support to the XT720. Motorola via a video, gave some cool tips to take great images with your XT720 (the tips are useful for everyone). Here are the useful tips by Motorola.

All the XT720 owners in UK and Germany update your phone for faster performance and DLNA support.

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Finally, Mac users will get the taste of the Dragon Age Origins Expansion, Awakening. The expansion is released and is available for purchase for Mac.

The expansion Awakening is a 12 hours journey from the Wardens Keep to the boss in the end called Mother. The entire journey will take place in Amaranthine, you will not come in Ferelden. New and powerful enemies will make the fights more exciting, especially the talking Darkspawn. Only one character from Origins will come with you in this journey and rest all will be new.

The Expansion for Mac is available at GamersGate and GameTree Online.

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Bioware announced that they will be releasing the Witch Hunt DLC for Dragon Age Origins. This DLC is supposed to be the conclusion of the Dragon Age Origins storyline.

All the fans of Dragon Age Origins wanted to know what happened to Morrigan (the beautiful mage) in the end of the game. This DLC will reveal all the secrets or more than what you bargained for, as said by Bioware.

According to me, this could be the best DLC of Dragon Age Origins because even after ten months since I started playing this game, I still wonder if the secret of Morrigan could be revealed. The key features in this DLC are:

1) Confront Morrigan in this dramatic conclusion to the Origins storyline

2) Earn powerful rewards that transfer into your Awakening and Origins campaign

3) Import your character from Origins or Awakening or create a new, high-level hero!

The Witch Hunt DLC will be released on 7 September 2010 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. It will cost $7.

I am wondering what will happen in this DLC. If you have played Dragon Age Origins then do comment what you think will happen.

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Bad news for the Droid X owners who installed the custom Android 2.2 ROM on their phone. According to Motorola, if you have installed or you are planning to install the custom Android 2.2 ROM on your Droid X, then you will not get the official update of Android 2.2 on your phone. Motorola said that once custom ROM is installed, you will remain stuck with that leaked version.

Motorola at their support page clearly said, ” WARNING: Do NOT load the leaked 2.2 upgrade that has been floating around on the Internets. There is currently no upgrade path from that load to the official 2.2 load that will be released by early September. Unless you have some plan to flash your phone back to the current official load, you could be stuck on the leaked version.”

I have a inner feeling that even if this happens, developers will find a crack and solve this problem. But if any of you Droid X owners are planning to flash your phone with custom Android 2.2 ROM, then beware of this ‘Warning’ by Motorola.

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We reported earlier that LG’s upcoming phone E900 which will be sporting Windows Phone 7 has been spotted. Android.com.pl came up with good quality pictures of the LG E900 and a video of the WP 7 UI running on it.

The LG E900 is reported to have a 3.7inch TFT capacitive touchscreen. The processor inside is Qualcomm QSD8650. There are some rumors that suggest that the processor is QSD8650A. The difference between QSD8650 and QSD8650A is that the first one will have a clock speed of 1GHz, while the next will have a clockspeed of 1.3GHz. It will also have a microUSB slot and a 3.5mm audio slot.

Other common features like Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth will be present. The price of this phone is reported to be between $300-400 which is very cheap considering the hardware.

Here is the video:

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