Genre: Sports
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts

The previous game in the series this reviewer played was a couple of years ago-- the expectation this time around was a razor sharp, PS5 Pro-enhanced extravaganza. Instead? The same borderline dreary visuals as that last entry. The game does seem to stay pegged to sixty frames per second, but the title has a mild blur to it. Occasionally the player and coach faces look downright stupid during the replays. The cut-scenes during career mode have been copy and pasted for a few years now, and the menu system lacks personality and charm.

Modern music is ghastly, and the soundtrack in this title reflects that: all of the songs sound mostly the same, with weird instrumentation, forgettable vocals, and throwaway song composition. The crowd noises are ho-hum for the most part, although the title does occasionally catch the majesty of Italian songs and chanting-- just not often enough. The announcing is passable, other than the female commentators who tend to have annoying voices.

What in the heck did EA do to the AI in this year's rendition? Every game plays out exactly the same: the AI passes the ball around endlessly and pointlessly, then eventually turns it over-- the player then plays a through ball out wide to totally unmarked wingers, who then cross the ball to also totally unmarked central players, who then score one-on-one against the goalkeeper. Even on the higher difficulties the AI is hilariously incompetent.

As a long-time "Master League" fan from the "Pro Evolution Soccer" series, this reviewer exclusively plays the "Manager Career Mode", and ninety-five percent of it is copy and pasted from the edition of a couple of seasons ago. It's still fun wheeling and dealing with the computer on the transfer market, and it's fun to see young scrubs level up and become strong. But let's face it, this is the same formula sports gamers have been playing for practically the past quarter century. Combined with the broken AI and lackluster aesthetics, the need for a football video game revolution is well past due.