PlayStation 2

UEFA Champions League 2004-2005

UEFA Champions League is a game that does try to develop the structure of football in videogames, and whilst some ideas like the sports talk show work very well, the objective based gameplay is just a tad too structured and rigid to make it a classic. In all honesty, the game seems to be a test bed for EA; it’s a franchise that allows the company to test and tweak ideas that could perhaps make it in the next incarnation of FIFA without risking damage to one of the jewels in EA’s increasingly encrusted crown of franchises.

UEFA Champions League 2004-2005 is a great footballing title, with lots of features standing right out from the crowd, waving a genius flag. The sound, the objective-based gameplay and the situation maker all strike me as new and exciting. With an online mode, UEFA Champions will appeal to a lot of people but I can't help thinking that this is just another attempt to net some more revenue. I'd have rather seen a FIFA 2006 with all this and more - which would have made a title worthy to rival the next Pro Evolution. I definitely would recommend this over FIFA 2005, despite the higher score I gave FIFA in the heat of the moment when competing directly with Pro Evolution 4. If EA starve us of the next FIFA and merge these two titles together then we're going to have a true champion on our hands!

Pourquoi ? Oui pourquoi les pontes de chez EA n'ont pas inclus la Ligue des Champions dans leur série phare des FIFA ? Pour en faire un soft dédié pardi ! Du coup, ce UEFA Champions League 2004-2005 ressemble plus à un add-on vite développé qu'à un nouveau jeu. Moins d'équipes, moins de contenu que dans FIFA Football 2005, gameplay appauvri, ce soft n'est là que pour remplir les caisses de l'éditeur. Un jour, il faudra vraiment arrêter de prendre les joueurs pour des vaches à lait.

Porém, para um jogo que propõe muito, "UEFA Champions League" entrega pouco. De fato, fica a opção: adquire-se "FIFA 2005" ou este lançamento. Mas isso parece pouco inteligente, já que a concorrência acaba por ficar entre dois títulos do mesmo fabricante, em vez de concorrer com o rival "Winning Eleven 8". Não é porque se tem um álibi para lançar um jogo que não se é culpado do crime cometido.