Game Card
UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 (PSP)
- Publisher:
- Electronic Arts
- Developer:
- EA Sports
- US Release:
- 20.03.2007
- EU Release:
- n/a
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Sport Type:
- Traditional
- Sport:
- Soccer
Review
We play UEFA Champions League 2006-2007...
It’s amazing what can be accomplished in a few years. Looking back to 2005, life as a digital football fan was so much simpler, yet strangely routine. Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer was the undisputed critics champion of the videogame world, EA’s Fifa series was a bloated and stoic cash cow, and Sony’s ‘This is football’ was… just too awful to comprehend. A couple of years on, only two of the major franchises remain serious contenders, and both suddenly have a valid claim to the wallets of any sports gamer. Good times indeed.
That’s not to say that EA have finally seen the light, as UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 will mark the third iteration of essentially the same title in less than 9 months. In another 5 months time we’ll have the inevitable Fifa 2008 to content with, and with the frequency of the release schedule it’s difficult to know at which point each title deserves its own purchase.
Looking objectively at UEFA in its own right, it’s a solid game of football that scales down impressively to the PSP. Gameplay is largely untouched from Fifa 2007, which means you’ll get a speedy game with a good attacking flow and a decent engine at its core. Passing is swift and animation varied, with a nice range of individual trick modifiers mapped to the left shoulder button to switch up attacking play, and a solid defensive system in place. EA has made great strides to get away from the ‘sticky foot’ syndrome of versions past, and movement as a result is greatly improved. The increasing emphasis on ball independence results in a far more organic experience akin to Pro Evolution Soccer 4 or thereabouts, which some critics would argue as being the finest in the series.
Play modes include the usual gamut of vs, cup and league options, along with a fairly decent use of the titular Champions League format. The ever-present challenge mode is also represented, along with a couple of ball-juggling mini-games and the fairly bizarre inclusion of a Champions League quiz, which turns out far more addictive than it should ever be.
The largest new inclusion is entitled ‘The Treble’. Essentially this mixes a regular season campaign with the challenge mode, offering dynamic milestones to reach as you progress through en route to glory. For example, you may start out the season with a few regular matches, but then a meddling chairman may be introduced into the mix, insisting you play your second-string team in order to boost player value. Following on from this you may be forced to sell a player or bring in somebody that you don’t like, and then be challenged to win a game with only 30 minutes left on the clock and a 2-1 deficit. It’s a unique mode and definitely something that should be considered for expansion in future titles as it adds personality and depth to the largest single-player portion of the game.
The only real disappointment in terms of game structure is the lack of the Xbox 360 version’s card-trading premise, which would seem like a logical fit for being able to trade player cards wirelessly between PSP’s. Online play is largely the same as previous versions, with both ad-hoc and infrastructure modes supported if needed.
It plays a decent game of footie then, but as it’s the same engine as previous versions some similar-sounding criticisms unfortunately come to the fore. Shooting is all too often extremely simple and very easy to score, and some generally dubious player interaction permeates the otherwise decent sense of realism. Player movement has always been something that EA just can’t seem to get right, rearing its head in other stable franchises such as Madden with increasing frequency. There is a work-around in the form of triggering individual runs with the left shoulder button (just like the ‘lead blocker’ controls that serve the same purpose in Madden), but its inclusion here essentially marks an attempt to paper over the cracks. The simple fact is that after all these years of development; the Fifa team still has little understanding of where and when players should make attacking runs, and will leave you cursing the screen yet again.
Graphically the game is generally clean and crisp; however the interface is as bloated and slow to respond as ever. Whilst I appreciate EA like to attempt to port over the majority of the experience from the console versions, simpler text menus would benefit the handheld experience immensely. In-game audio effects and music are generally excellent, with a decent atmosphere generated during the matches. Commentary is always a subjective matter, but in all honestly throughout many years of following football I’ve yet to meet anyone that’ll convince me Andy Townsend deserves a job behind a microphone, and UEFA makes no strides towards improving that situation.
If you’ve played either of the last two Fifa incarnations, you’ll know exactly what to expect from UEFA. That’s either a good or bad thing depending on your perspective and could easily warrant adding or subtracting a 1 to the score below. It’s by no means a bad game, but if you’ve not been won over to the EA brand of football previously, this wont do anything to change that situation.
Top game moment: Rattling the crossbar from 40 yards with John Terry, only in an EA game!
 |
 |
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| Not bad looking for a PSP title | Only Kanu could miss from there |
That’s not to say that EA have finally seen the light, as UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 will mark the third iteration of essentially the same title in less than 9 months. In another 5 months time we’ll have the inevitable Fifa 2008 to content with, and with the frequency of the release schedule it’s difficult to know at which point each title deserves its own purchase.
Looking objectively at UEFA in its own right, it’s a solid game of football that scales down impressively to the PSP. Gameplay is largely untouched from Fifa 2007, which means you’ll get a speedy game with a good attacking flow and a decent engine at its core. Passing is swift and animation varied, with a nice range of individual trick modifiers mapped to the left shoulder button to switch up attacking play, and a solid defensive system in place. EA has made great strides to get away from the ‘sticky foot’ syndrome of versions past, and movement as a result is greatly improved. The increasing emphasis on ball independence results in a far more organic experience akin to Pro Evolution Soccer 4 or thereabouts, which some critics would argue as being the finest in the series.
Play modes include the usual gamut of vs, cup and league options, along with a fairly decent use of the titular Champions League format. The ever-present challenge mode is also represented, along with a couple of ball-juggling mini-games and the fairly bizarre inclusion of a Champions League quiz, which turns out far more addictive than it should ever be.
 |
 |
|
| Tackling is fairly simple and satisfying | ‘Keepers generally react well |
The largest new inclusion is entitled ‘The Treble’. Essentially this mixes a regular season campaign with the challenge mode, offering dynamic milestones to reach as you progress through en route to glory. For example, you may start out the season with a few regular matches, but then a meddling chairman may be introduced into the mix, insisting you play your second-string team in order to boost player value. Following on from this you may be forced to sell a player or bring in somebody that you don’t like, and then be challenged to win a game with only 30 minutes left on the clock and a 2-1 deficit. It’s a unique mode and definitely something that should be considered for expansion in future titles as it adds personality and depth to the largest single-player portion of the game.
The only real disappointment in terms of game structure is the lack of the Xbox 360 version’s card-trading premise, which would seem like a logical fit for being able to trade player cards wirelessly between PSP’s. Online play is largely the same as previous versions, with both ad-hoc and infrastructure modes supported if needed.
It plays a decent game of footie then, but as it’s the same engine as previous versions some similar-sounding criticisms unfortunately come to the fore. Shooting is all too often extremely simple and very easy to score, and some generally dubious player interaction permeates the otherwise decent sense of realism. Player movement has always been something that EA just can’t seem to get right, rearing its head in other stable franchises such as Madden with increasing frequency. There is a work-around in the form of triggering individual runs with the left shoulder button (just like the ‘lead blocker’ controls that serve the same purpose in Madden), but its inclusion here essentially marks an attempt to paper over the cracks. The simple fact is that after all these years of development; the Fifa team still has little understanding of where and when players should make attacking runs, and will leave you cursing the screen yet again.
Graphically the game is generally clean and crisp; however the interface is as bloated and slow to respond as ever. Whilst I appreciate EA like to attempt to port over the majority of the experience from the console versions, simpler text menus would benefit the handheld experience immensely. In-game audio effects and music are generally excellent, with a decent atmosphere generated during the matches. Commentary is always a subjective matter, but in all honestly throughout many years of following football I’ve yet to meet anyone that’ll convince me Andy Townsend deserves a job behind a microphone, and UEFA makes no strides towards improving that situation.
 |
 |
|
| The Portugese wonderkid will be as annoyingly good as in real life | My money is on the striker, this being EA and all |
If you’ve played either of the last two Fifa incarnations, you’ll know exactly what to expect from UEFA. That’s either a good or bad thing depending on your perspective and could easily warrant adding or subtracting a 1 to the score below. It’s by no means a bad game, but if you’ve not been won over to the EA brand of football previously, this wont do anything to change that situation.
Top game moment: Rattling the crossbar from 40 yards with John Terry, only in an EA game!
