FIFA 07.2?
Released to coincide with the final stages of the UEFA Champions league, EA’s UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 bears more than a passing resemblance to FIFA 2007. You must forgive my numerous references to FIFA 07 in the first few paragraphs of this preview; it would’ve been pretty difficult to write it as a stand-alone game when I can pretty much sum up the main bulk of the game play by saying “read our FIFA 07 review.” If I’m being totally honest, that’s not entirely fair. There are some noticeable differences between the two games, including a new game mode that rewards you for winning matches
I’ve been playing the preview code on and off over the last week or so, but I’ve also been spending some time in between playing FIFA 07. During one of my earlier matches on UEFA 07 I actually ejected the disc just to double check that I was playing the right game. The impressive entrance scene as the camera pans around the stadium and the controls on match-day are identical to FIFA and through balls, finesse shots, driving crosses and tricks are executed in exactly the same way. However, there are a number of small tweaks to the gameplay which became increasingly noticeable as I played more matches. There are a few things that irritate me when playing FIFA 07.
The first is sliding tackles which inevitably end up with a free-kick being awarded and a yellow card. This does seem to have been fixed in UEFA 07 and if you time them well, albeit not with the same pinpoint accuracy needed in FIFA, you will make the tackle and run away successfully with the ball. The second annoyance is corners. In FIFA, when a player chests the ball from a driven cross it often rises too high making it difficult to get a decent shot on goal. In UEFA, players in the box control the ball far better and will chest the ball downwards to control it. The apparent smoother and controlled movements of the players also relates to heading the ball, something which I find difficult to execute in FIFA, most frequently when attempting to score from a cross or corner. UEFA doesn’t seem to rely so much on the precise timing of your button presses, as it does in FIFA, so I’ve been able to score plenty of goals from headers. Opposition players also seem to be more aware of the players around them and attempt to move into space rather than run straight at them. The result of these renewed controls and game mechanics does make for a slightly improved match day to FIFA that runs far more fluently. Ultimately though, it does also mean that it’s far easier to gain control of the ball and score plenty of goals.
