UEFA Champions League: 2004-2005

EA released the 2004/2005 Champions League game after Eidos/Silicon Dreams developed and owned it for years. FIFA 2003 saw the engine’s final update. It draws most of its gameplay from the 2005 edition, but with some changes, such as a slightly more aggressive AI on the attack (reducing the need to constantly push players forward using the Off The Ball controls, which are still present), new refereeing aspects like deliberate errors (as in occasional bad offside calls or throw-ins, not cheating the player through mistakes), advantage rule, and handballs. Each corner and indirect free kick is unique due to a directional arrow, power bars, and four-player movement setups. Direct free kicks can be driven, curled, or passed to a teammate to exploit a defensive gap. All options are available regardless of distance. The new FIFA 06 engine, used for Bright Future’s FIFA Manager, included many of these innovations.