UEFA Champions League 2005 (PS2)
UEFA Champions League 2005 (PS2)
Manufacturer: Electronic Arts (Usually dispatched within 24 hours)
What An Improvement!!!!After playing FIFA 2005 and not being particularly impressed with it, I was slightly worried that they were going to take the promising concept of the Champions League and wreck it but after playing 2 games I was extremely surprised, I only bought this game because of my love of the atmosphere in the Champions League, this is replicated perfectly in this game. Also I couldn’t believe my ears when I first started playing, it wasn’t John Motson and Ally McCoist doinf commentary it was ITV’s Clive Tyldsley and Andy Gray, I was worried Motson would be doing commentary, not only because his voice is really annoying but it would also take away the authenticity of the game.
It has also tried something that no other game has tried, it’s season mode known as ‘The Season’ is completely mission based with some objectives like win by 2 goals or get a player rating of 8 or better with Arjen Robben. This is extremely good and it has worked a treat. In some season modes you sometimes have to force yourself to play the game but with a new challenge thrown up every time you just want to keep on going to see what is next. If players play poorly your chairman forces you to sell them and buy replacement players within a certain budget, if your players recover their form they will not need to be sold. It is really annoying at the beginning when you have to sell one Starting XI Defender, Midfielder and Attacker, this is pointless as they are needed and you don’t wan’t to get rid of them, also this would never happen and takes away a bit of realism.
Also in ‘The Season’ there is EA Sports Talk Radio where you hear about what supporters think about recent performances by the team and their hopes for the future, this is very realistic as it has TalkSport’s own Tony Cascarino and Patrick Kinghorn. This can however become tedious as there are not too many pre-recorded messages and they become repetitive.
First Touch remains and it is still easy to use, this is a great game and captures the champions league perfectly.
BRILLIANT!!!
Fifa 2005 - and a half
UEFA CHampions League 2004-2005 feels slightly different to Fifa 2005. The speed is faster, dribbling and general control of the player seems better. These two aspects in my opnion have improved the game for the better. I dont think i would play fifa 2005 again after playing this, as 2005 would seem like a step backwards.
The secanrios are a great addition i.e you can be losing 3 -0 after say 10 mins a man down, 5 of your teams mates on a yellow. And you start of the game at this stage!.
One thing i have always wanted in footi games is a home and away option. (including away goals rule - optional. These are the type of games where you may be winning 1-0 away and last few minutes you decide go defensive trying to hold that vital away goal. These matches bring out the best in tactical play. However one problem with this is after the first leg, it automatically goes to the 2nd leg without giving you a chance to change your team. I.e if you won at home you may want to play some defensive player. Instead you have to sub. This seems a bit silly!!, should have been sorted!
The AI seems to have also improved. Defenders play more higher up the pitch reducing the gap that used to be between midfield and attck in 2005. Also Goalkeepers seem the same i.e clumsy, more animations are used.
Corners seemed to have improved, i didnt like 2005 where you only controlled one person. Now you can loft the ball and any nearest player can head it.
Free kicks. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, not sure about this!. Seems to me more like pot luck. Doesnt require any skill. You press the shoot button, bar fills up when it turns red (half way through) you let go of the button. Thats it! Mind you you have three options to curl it, blast it or take a short pass.
Crosses, EA seem to have a problem in this area. They are far to floaty!!. You should be able to whip them in pro evo style.
To sum up, its a good game, i would recommend it! if you can afford it.
THE BEST FOOTBALL GAME ON THE PS2
At last. I have been waiting for a definitive football game to be released on the PS2 since it was launched, but none of the games that I have played have come close to being completely satisfying.
I have always preferred the FIFA games to the Pro Evolution Soccer series. I will concede that PES4 is a quality game but I still feel that you are not completely in control of where the ball goes when you shoot at goal.
FIFA 2005 was almost perfect but the main problem with it was the defending of corners and indirect free-kicks. You couldn’t choose which player to control and you couldn’t move the players freely around the penalty box. It echoed the nightmare that is Liverpool’s zonal-marking system.
Thankfully this has been fixed in Champions League 2005 and as a consequence it is the most enjoyable football game I have ever played. You now feel that all of your hard work won’t be undone by conceding a corner.
You could accuse EA Sports of releasing this as a cynical way of making more money out of football fans, but it is such an improvement on FIFA 2005 that you can forgive them for it.
It may not have as many options as PES4 but it what it lacks in depth it makes up for in playability. If you are a fan of the FIFA games, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Buy it now!!