Hey guys,
Just thought I'd drop my experience with BAL in here also..
Its an interesting mode for sure. They managed to make it really addictive. And still it sometimes makes me want to quit the mode and get back to the master league...
I'm 22 at the moment, started as AMF, started off at Atlethic Club where I was used as CF and SS, and gained those positions.
After the second season I got an offer from Valencia. I played about four seasons there, mostly in AMF position. And had a good time assisting Villa to score some goals..
Which especially started rolling two seasons back, when I became assist leader in the league, cup and master cup. Then Valencia acquired a new forward, Semih, who took over from Villa in most games and I couldnt get along with him well.. the team started to under perform as well. I still stuck with Valencia since there were no bigger clubs coming for me.. untill halfway in the current season Barcalona came for me. I didnt need to think long..
They were top of the league at that moment and I hoped to be able to finally get that league win with a good team. (we came close with Valencia, but Real always managed to lose fewer games...)
So on I went, joining Barca, but lo and behold, Barca started to perform badly right at that moment. Losing four games in a row in the league. I got on the bench and in the squad fairly quickly and was hoping to kick some ass.. we managed to in the cup, where I was able to perform well with some assists and goals. We got kicked out of the European Championship by no other then Valencia...
How ironic..
The point where we lost quite a few games I was really ready to throw this game away, it feels really artificial that a top team starts to underperform right when you join.. Defenders are pulling off stupid tackles every two matches often getting red carded. The coach wasnt playing Messi, even though he was in good shape and not tired.
But then I though I'd give it a last chance last night..
And somehow the team pulled itself together and we managed to get some very nice games going (Messi is playing again
). I kinda found my place too and scored and assisted lots.. So who knows, we might actually end up somewhere..
We won the cup at least, so thats something. We beat Valencia in the semi final and got some revenge.
Beating them away with 3-0 where I scored and assisted.. muhahahah
.
The league is not gonna happen this year, but we might still beat Valencia (again
) to gain the second place..
In the end, as a team Barca plays much smoother then Valencia, the AI is capable of playing amazing football sometimes, and obviously, horrific too.. in a way, this game could just be too realistic in the end..
As for the rating system, I think its pretty consistent actually.. it only awards high numbers when you're active in the game, presenting yourself, pulling off good passes, intercepting balls etc. And playing a part in the important moments in the game helps tremendously as well, setting up decisive attacks, intercepting balls in your own box when under pressure. All those kind of things.
And somehow, the teams performance also seem very related to how you as a player are doing.. not sure if thats true, but it feels like it sometimes. And obviously, the team needs you to perform well. Cause I've been in matches where I was playing poor, losing the ball a lot and not really being a solid part of the team, that will drag the team down which makes sense..
In the end I think they created a brilliant mode with BAL. If you could just hop in and win everything, there would be no challange.. Thus frustration is a part of its succes. You need to perform well and be sharp when you want to get somewhere.. The only really annoying thing is defenders getting themselves booked very often, although this seems to happen in periods. Overall, I really like it so far, despite its frustrating moments..
Edit, man this became a long story..
Ah well, the day before chrismas, bored at work.. what do you expect.
