I never really thought that I was that good at games, sure, I enjoy them but I can never seem to get all the way to the top, due to my apparent ineptness at the game. However, something was different here. I set the game to novice, as I thought that I was bound to get absolutely destroyed, even though I was playing as Bayern Munchen (Or Munich, if you prefer – Ed). Around two minutes into the game I found myself 3-0 up, so next match I set the difficulty to intermediate, yet again I found myself ahead within the first few minutes and I won the match fairly easily. But when I set the next match’s difficulty to expert, I found myself crushed by an Uber-Manchester United squad, with a score-line of 7-2. Damn, that’s some leap in difficulty. Things are not as bad as they may seem though, after I once again set the difficulty to intermediate and stuck with it, I saw much tougher later on, giving me much more of a challenge, without obliteration. It would seem that the game has a learning curve within each difficulty setting, allowing even the most terrible of players to progress at least some of the way, plus having the added bonus of that ‘expert’ mode, for all of you who actually excel at these types of things. It’s just a shame that it seems so unbalanced at times. Or maybe that’s just me.

As with any football game (real or simulation), commentary is very important. This game should be onto a winner with Gabby Yorath and Guy Mowbray providing suitable excited screams and criticism towards the on the pitch, however things just don’t seem quite right. Firstly some of the phrases that are used get thrown around far too often, making the commentary sound too stiff and overused, it’s not as if there isn’t plenty to be said, it’s just unfortunate that certain phrases keep popping up three times in thirty seconds, leaving you muttering at them to shut up. The other problem with the commentary is the occasional slight lag involved, it would seem that the commentary hasn’t learned from the improvement made in controls. The commentary will begin to scald your poor shot when, after collecting the deflected ball, you rush in and smack it over the line, leaving the announcer still harping on about ‘missed opportunities’, then half way through your player’s celebration you hear ‘GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!’. It can ruin the realism of the game somewhat. However it’s obvious that these are small niggles, and aside from these, the commentary isn’t too bad. As for the other in-game sounds, they are pretty standard, but then again it’s a football game... you didn’t expect any orchestras on the pitch did you? The crowd sounds a little flat at times, never quite reaching that real-life fever pitch, scream laden symphony of actual Champions League matches. Oh well.