A half way house between brain training and boot room Football Academy is a strange beast that could struggle to garner a following. A decent initial concept hasn't quite been fully realised but at times shows signs of the engaging game it should've been.
Nine Over Ten writes: "I always admired the fact that some people can really relate to Premiership clubs. Anfield and the Emirates Stadium are playgrounds they visit with their like-minded friends on perhaps, once a week.
To them, Christiano is their boy, Gerrard is their neighbour, and Ferguson is someone they hang out with at the local pub. Nevermind that it's Christiano Lee Kim Sai (buddy), Muthu "Stevie G" Kariapan (futsal kaki), Ahmad (call me Alex, as in Alex Ferguson…the boss who is always hollering at you) they are hanging out with, but I believe the appropriate term for them would be football fanatics."
Eurogamer writes: "EA has poured serious time and effort into the FIFA brand over recent years, not just on painstakingly recreating the beautiful game, but complementing the package with ambitious online features like Be A Pro mode - where 20 real people each control one outfield player during a match - and Adidas Live Seasons, which each week update player stats to match real-life goings-on.
We've also seen EA recently knuckle down with Need for Speed and focus specifically on platforms and tailor-make games for each audience, and we've also seen EA adopt a much tighter stance on quality control. FIFA 09 online add-on Ultimate Team, and Football Academy for DS, are products of this era. The former bolts on an enormous card-trading strategy feast for the bustling online community to devour, while the latter bravely mixes an unknown Pokémon, FIFA and Brain Training concoction and awaits the result."
EA just revealed the boxart of Football Academy for the Nintendo DS. Luiz Felipe Scolari will be on the box, as well as FIFA-Icon Ronaldinho.
