TVG writes: "Former Chelsea manager 'Big Phil' greets you with a warm welcome after booting Football Academy up for the very first time. The static, yet slightly menacing, gestures that he pulls while providing advice on the basics behind the game portrays the big man in a suitable Mafioso fashion, but surely if he'd spent less time posing he'd still be in a proper job and Chelsea might actually have won something this season."
Pros
* Fun football trivia.
* Five leagues.
Cons
* Not enough depth to the card game.
* Clunky interface.
* Mix of gameplay not fun.
Football Academy is undoubtedly an addictive game but it requires several more training sessions before it can be considered world class. It presents a very intriguing idea that works as a solid game for the most part and keeps you addicted via the gotta collect 'em all approach but it is let down by the lack of variety and an overly repetitive mini-game structure that needs a fair bit of fine tuning to become the polished article. Football Academy possesses a great deal of potential and in the right hands it can generate hours of simulated joy, but it needs to invest in a pair of new boots and improve its technique if it truly wants to be taken seriously. Hopefully a sequel is in the making because there are a lot of ideas here that could be developed into so much more.
GB: "When I was a child, I always dreamed of playing football professionally. Joining a football academy would have been amazing, especially if I could hone my skills to tap it in like Lineker or hit it like Gazza (the ball that is, not the wife), but unfortunately I discovered video games and gradually got lazy and inactive. Thankfully, EA is giving me a chance of living out my childhood dream through the DS with Football Academy, a game that probably won't hit the top 10 in the sales charts, but could be one of those unknown gems that sometimes occur in the video game industry. Or perhaps not."
Videogamer writes: "EA Sports Football Academy is a wonderful little game. It appeals to the child in me, the argumentative know-it-all down the pub in me, the football management sim obsessive in me, the sticker collector in me and the Top Trumps fan in me. It's unlike anything else on the DS, and it's perhaps the best game EA's released this year."
