UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 Preview

With the recent announcement of David Beckham moving stateside to play for the LA Galaxy, soccer (or football as it’s known just about everywhere else in the world) is seeing a renewed interest in the US. So, in what can be seen as striking while the iron is hot, EA is gearing up to release UEFA Champions 2006-2007 for the Xbox 360.

The game takes the familiar on-field play mechanics from the FIFA series and adds a deep and complex trading card system for adding members to your soccer club. UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 adds a new complexity to the genre, allowing you to create your own soccer dream team.

The game employs an interesting trading-card system for creating your own team, which is a pretty interesting take on team customization. You begin the process by getting a starter pack that will give you more than enough players to have a full team. As you play matches, you receive credits based on how well you play that will allow you in turn to buy booster packs with more players.

However, you can’t just try to assemble a team of great players all willy-nilly. You need to check their attributes to make sure that they’ll work well together; otherwise you could have a squad that doesn’t perform well since they can’t operate as a team.

Aside from the standard player cards, you’ll be able to collect other cards, like Medic cards that will allow you to heal players injured on the field, fitness trainer cards that help you build your team’s stats, staff cards for managers, and even some unlockable ones that will give you new soccer balls and stuff.

On the field, the game plays almost exactly like FIFA 07, albeit with a few minor improvements here and there. There are some new modes, but those familiar with the FIFA series will not feel out of place here.

Graphically, the game is also a lot like FIFA 07. It might not dazzle you, as the player models aren’t as strong as they are in other titles from EA Sports, but they serve their purpose. There are some pretty decent animations and the fields look good, but the aesthetics are nothing new.

UEFA Champions League is geared mainly towards super-hardcore soccer fans, so anyone with only a passing knowledge of the sport should probably look elsewhere. However, if you fit the bill of the hardcore soccer fan who probably knows who won the World Cup in ’78 (Argentina, those who are wondering), then UEFA Champions League 2007-2006 could be the right game for you. Look for it later this month.