UEFA Champions League 2001

Review - It's coming home, it's coming, football's coming home... to the PS2, that is.

It’s approaching that time again. You know what I mean, the mad dash for the finish, the ultimate footballing glory. Yes, the end of the football season is almost in sight, granted, it’s still a little way off; but the excitement is building slowly to that final crescendo. Who will triumph in the Premiership? The FA Cup? But, perhaps most importantly who will triumph in the Champion’s League? Who will be the champion of Europe? Well, frankly, I don’t give a toss, because I have here a game that is capable of making all of your Champions League dreams come true, Ladies and Gentlemen and hooligans everywhere, I bring you: UEFA Champions League 2001.

Firstly I would like to point out how great this game looks (well, for a football game anyway!). The players are very detailed and look just like their real life counterparts, with the exception of David Beckham, who looks like he has been on the receiving end of a baseball bat (a dream come true for some) and a few others. The players move with a great fluidity and style, making that sliding tackle look ultra realistic, its obvious that a great deal of work has gone into making this title a serious contender to the ISS series. As for the Stadiums, they are all present and correct for the 2001 season and are also very detailed, with all the stands and an animated crowd, you can almost smell the rancid pies at Old Trafford. Yum. Oh and the grass is very….. ermmm…. Green. The menu system is worthy of comment here as it is so crisp and clear, it makes the pre match set up a joy to behold (making the set up of formations etc. very easy), plus with all of the official sponsorship and television music you get a terrific sense of atmosphere, even before you start. All in all this could be the best looking football game out there, but that doesn’t make it any good, does it? How it plays is the real question…

The control system of Champions League is something special. Sure, we have all of the usual controls (all of which are crisp and responsive) such as pass, long pass, tackle, shoot, skill, etc. but this time there is a difference. Whereas before, if you decided to go for a tackle but changed your mind half way through the manoeuvre, you would have to wait for the player’s animation cycle to finish before continuing with the new move, now the player will simply blend into the new move. Because there is no more waiting for animation cycles to finish, you are presented with a game that flows more realistically than before, adding a new sense of pace to the beautiful game, it may seem like a minor improvement, but it’s very important to the overall feel of the game. Whilst on the subject of the controls it is worth noting that the players tire during the matches if you overuse them. Sprinting wears them down considerably, leaving you with a sluggish player who can’t perform as well as a fresh one, it adds a more tactical feel to the gameplay and is a worthy addition.