Club Football 2005 – Review

First off, your probably not going to be all that interested in this, unless you support one of the clubs featured. These range from the mighty Manchester United, to Tottenham, Celtic & Rangers to name but a few. Eight in total from the premiership, and two from the SPL. There is also eleven teams from Europe. So if your a Manchester City fan, and playing as Manchester United or Arsenal, just won’t do, then maybe one of the Europe editions will be easier to put up with.

But don’t think that’s all the playable teams available…Oh no! There are 250 playable clubs in each and every edition of Club Football. These are available in exhibition mode, so you can pit Real Madrid against Brighton, for instance. I did this, playing as Real, and got beaten 6-1!! Now this is not because i’m rubbish…I’M NOT But because your AI teammates are. When you pass to them they stand and wait for the ball to arrive at their feet. If it’s a little under hit, do they run to the ball?? Do they hell!! This will leave a nice chance for the CPU team to wander in and steal the ball (they are VERY good at this). Also the comp team have an amazing ability of running past you and getting the ball from you. But getting the ball from them!!?? Even with a successful sliding tackle, your player will flap about on the floor, the comp player does a ‘oops nearly ‘tripped’, turns and picks the ball up before your player is up…. If your sliding tackle is not successful, then you WILL be booked, fair enough. But when you, and the rest of your team, and only your team, get booked for the slightest challenge, such as a push, it get’s a bit annoying.

Is the comp cheating?? Never!! Also, your defence are useless. When the opposition get the ball, they retreat to stand about three feet in front of the goalkeeper, so offsides are a rare thing. And even with all your defenders in the penalty area, they seem to mill about, not bothered about closing down the ball. This leads to some rubbish goals, that should & would never happen.

But there is some good points though. The precision trigger helps with some quite deft moves, dummies, fakes & the like. But the best part of the game is the when you create a player, and enter season or super cup mode. When your playing in the team with your created player (mine was six foot tall, had a pink afro, bright green sideburns, and yellow stubble), you only control your player, unless you don’t put him in the team. And i found playing it this way MUCH more fun. The players play like you would expect them too. And by pressing the left trigger, you call for the ball. So if your in a good position they’ll knock the ball to you, if your nowhere to be seen they won’t. But it’s fun to keep pressing the call button, just to hear your guy shout ” OI OI” “OI” “HEY” “HEEEY”. But you only start with a small amount of skills but by scoring, and just playing, you’ll get more points to build your ’star’ up with.

I’d say that if you do support one of the teams in the range, then it’d be worth thinking about this game. There is a heck of a lot of club specific content in the game, double the amount from last years. Individual openings filmed at the clubs. Sticker books, club & player history, behind the scenes videos. These are all unlocked by a credit system, giving you a reason to keep playing and winning. There’s also scenario mode. Putting you in a classic match which needs turning around…will you be able to change history??

Graphics wise the game is pretty decent. Likeness to the players is o.k. Although when they score, and do there celebration bit to the camera, they look a bit ‘insane clown posse like’. But during the match they look fine. The crowd however look a bit..flat..actually they look a LOT flat!! Paper Mario flat infact.. The stadiums are nice though, and look like the real life ones. So that’s nice.

Sound is good. With Gary (crisp boy) Lineker introducing the teams, and Barry Davies commentating. And the crowds chant along in a fine style.

Female Aspect.
There’s not a great deal of female influence in the game. It is football after all, so it’s to be expected really.

If this game was in the premiership, it’d be third. Behind Fifa, and the mighty Pro Evo. And to take the first place next season, it’s going to need great bouncebackability.

Review by Roy

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