FIFA '12 Release Day GameThread: First Impressions

When I woke up this morning I was in a state of immediate excitement. I felt a lot like how a kid feels on Christmas eve (or a Hanukkah night for Jews like myself) - giddy, wide eyed and energetic. 

Unfortunately, Rutgers' mail office is evil incarnate and kept me from playing FIFA '12 until my friend came back from Target with his own copy. My next hour was consumed by FIFA and it was well worth it, despite my shortcomings for all but the last game of that playing time.

Disappointing to me was the fact that many MLS teams were two and a half stars, not the three stars that preview videos had shown. Still, the Union and other MLS teams are clearly better than they were in FIFA '11.

I've yet to tinker with using the Legacy Defending options that allows a user to go back to FIFA '11 defending, mostly because I think the new 'advanced' controls for defending are great, though tough to get a hang of. Offense is also tougher, with defenders making last ditch tackles or blocks more often. Dribbling with players with great ball control is a lot of fun, however.

All-in-all I think it's a great game so far, worthy of a $60 purchase. What's your take?