A game with a lot of potential but that ultimately disappoints. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Rent before you buy.
Controls not tight and responsive enough – often you’ll perform a move you didn’t intend to or you’ll have to perform a move multiple times because it didn’t recognize it the first time. I invited some guys over that have 360s and it was embarrassing at times because you’re trying to explain the game and the controls just aren’t responding. It almost seems like this is year 1.5 instead of 2 on the Wii. Is it just me or did last year’s version seem better in this area? Either that or maybe I was just excited about the new controls that I didn’t notice it as much.
Text is way too small to read and windows are way too small – examples with text issues are emails in the superstar mode or in the study opponent screens in dynasty mode but these issues seem to be the theme overall with the design. With the windows why do they only take up a small area in the center of the screen why not blow them up and take up most of the screen? You end up straining to read something for no reason.
Graphics are disappointing – this is the 2nd year on the system and it feels like we are going backwards.
Kicking with the remote needs to be more sensitive. Half the time I think I’m going to jack myself in the jaw trying to get full power on kickoffs and stuff.
Blocking is a disappointment – control seems poor. Much better in the 360 version.
Total Control Simulation is a great idea and works well. It would be nice once you stop the simulation and enter the game if you could do the reverse and exit the game and keep simming. Maybe next year.
Party mode is a good idea but suffers from the same lack of precision with the controls as I mentioned above. Some of the modes are a lot of fun, others not so much.
Things that are just silly – mapping the 1 button to strip the ball, who can realistically reach that during game play? Also, create some new post-game celebrations already would you? I’ve seen the same thing for like 4 years now. Seems to be a lot of offsides penalties called on you for no particular reason.
Overall, the game is pretty good, but not good or great and definitely not worth $50. There are a lot of fun moments and times when the game is really enjoyable but there are other times when it’s frustrating. Definitely a long way to go before the innovative controls of the Wii catch up with the classic overall look and feel of the other systems. Companies like EA need to realize that something as different as the Wii doesn’t lend itself well to their every year we’re coming out with a new version of the same game no matter what approach and change their strategy. The game has a lot of good ideas but the implementation is poor and the game is not polished.