Review: UEFA Champions League 2006/2007 (X360)

UEFA Champions League 2006/2007 is a sterling attempt at innovating the football game genre.

Achievements: Impossible

Pros:Ultimate Team, with card trading, is an excellent innovation; best FIFA game so far; soundtrack is good; 4 player XBL and loads of modes

Cons:Useless manual and little help with the complex card trading; still not quite PES; stupid and impossible achievements

The football game genre has changed very little of the past 5 years. Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) has remained king among the discerning fans, whilst FIFA has appealed to the more casual gamer. PES6, released last year, was barely any different from 5, 4, 3, or 2 for that matter. In many ways PES6 was actually a step backward with some previous features removed. The football game genre has been in need of fresh ideas for some time; does UEFA 2007 deliver on its promise? Oh Yes!

The FIFA match engine has been tweaked in a number of ways for the better. Firstly, the ball and player physics have been improved such that each is now individually modeled; giving the impression of weight and momentum to the players. The change certainly benefits the look and realism of matches, but it does mean that the players are a little less responsive on the turn. Player collision is much better too and this aids defending a little, although the defending is still a bit tricky.

The controls have been tweaked too with crossing now much more a matter of skill than just tapping B. Passing and through balls are also much better than previous FIFA releases; in fact it is positively PES like. Delve into the control options and you’ll actually find a setting called “New Default” which actually maps all the same buttons as PES6! If you are familiar with PES then there are a few extra buttons to contend with. I personally like the the offside button as it takes me back to the George Graham days .

The pace of the game is slower than FIFA 07 and PES promoting a more strategic pass and move style - Alan Hanson would approve! This has the positive effect of more realistic matches with plenty of tight 0-0 and 1-0 results; but it also means that UEFA is a game that you need plenty of patience and skill in to get the most out of it. No longer is FIFA a pick-up and play game.

Overall the match engine is a welcome improvement, and despite the slower play and tricky defending, it is actually more rewarding when you eventually score (‘cos it is not easy!). UEFA is still not quite as good as PES, but the FIFA series is definitely getting very close to stealing its crown.
Where UEFA wins hands down is in its plentiful and novel game modes; in particular the card trading Ultimate Team mode. Football games had become quite dull in terms of the competitions and game modes available with multiple rehashes of the same international and national cups. To be honest, once you’ve played one, you’d played them all and there was no compelling reason to carry on unless it was for achievements.

In UEFA, the Ultimate Team mode steals RPG style elements and combines them with a trading card game (that you can trade online) to create a game that is both engaging and strangely addictive (you can fill a scrap book with your cards too). At the start of the game your are given 16 random cards. Further Bronze card packs can be “purchased” with credits you earn playing ultimate team matches (you get more credits for high difficulty levels). Silver and Gold packs can be won by completing certain challenges and levelling up. Various cards are available: including, players, modifiers (in-game), stadia, kits, badges, coaches, back-room staff, and managers.

To create the ultimate team you must balance the attributes of the team by collecting particular players, coaches and managers that work well together. This is achieved by matching nationality, favorite formations and positions to get a “Chemistry” bonus that improves your team’s on-the-pitch attributes.
The card trading system is a Stato’s dream with loads of menus, details, statistics, and endless combination bonuses. Unfortunately, EA make it as difficult as possible for you to learn about this new feature. The manual is useless and the in-game tutorial barely scratches the surface. I suspect that EA want you to visit their website or phone their help-line, which are cynically plastered over the manual, to actually find out how to use the card trading system. EA are releasing a movie tutorial on XBLM, which is at least something.

Graphically UEFA 2007 is a sold effort. The player animations are fluid and life-like while the players feature some nice textures and decent face mapping. The grass and stadia look great too. The in-game presentation and menu navigation is well designed, particularly the card trading screens, and it is a doodle to use once you are used to the many menus-in-menus.

As with previous FIFA games, the sound is top quality with some realistic crowd chants, a reasonable in-game commentary (much better than PES!), and a fantastic soundtrack featuring mixes from a couple of my favorite acts: Bonobo & The Thievery Corporation.

With the ultimate team mode alone, UEFA would represent much better value for money than FIFA 07 or PES6. However, UEFA also features additional Champions League challenge modes (one that is unlocked in UT), and a brilliant 4 player, lag free, XBL that also allows you to enter your Ultimate Team.

Sadly, some of the achievements in UEFA 2007 are a joke. Most of worst ones are inherited from FIFA 07, and represent some of the most ridiculous ever defined: for instance, “Win 60 games in a row”! & “Get an average of 4 goals per game over 50 games on Semi-Professional difficulty”. There are some achievements tied to the Ultimate Team mode, and these are generally more reasonable and balanced.

Overall UEFA 2007 is a really good attempt to move the football game genre forward. Whilst the match engine is still not quite as good as PES, the rest of the package puts UEFA 2007 3-1 up at half time. The new Ultimate Team mode, with the card collection mechanism, is quite brilliant and provides an interesting, compelling & rewarding way to enjoy playing football on your Xbox 360. UEFA 2007 is highly recommended for PES and FIFA fans alike.

8/10