Reviews

So, before I get into this, there are a few important things to note:

1) I used Hazard in a team worth roughly 1.2-1.5 million coins (as of 05/12/17). - Neuer, Boateng, Alaba, Bailly, Valencia, Vidal, Pogba, Bakayoko, Martial, Aguero & HAZARD. 100 chem, and all on 10 chem except the God, Martial at RF on 7 chem. I played a mix of the 4-3-2-1 and often changed in-game to 4-3-1-2 or - 4-1-2-1-2 (2) - playing Hazard at LF or at CAM.

2) I played 5 games online and 4 games of Squad Battles (Legendary) - YES, it was not the best sample size, however, trust me, you will want rid of Hazard from your team after 2-3 games max!

3) I am a HUGE Chelsea fan, a regular at Stamford Bridge and Hazard is my favourite real-life player - (and has been even since his days at Lille!) I have also met Hazard and the full squad at the Cobham training ground, and have a signed CFC shirt with signatures all over it.

So, it is fair to say this review is from the heart..

Let's begin, shall we?

Character Model / Player Design:

Number 1 problem I have with the card, and this has been a huge problem for many many years of FIFA now is, Hazard deserves and NEEDS his own custom character model, and animations to match! One of Hazard's biggest attributes IRL is his ability to use his body (and HUGE genetic arse & legs) to cleverly block opponents, and win fouls. You will RARELY witness Hazard lose the ball whilst it is at his feet! He also has a confidence and pure swagger when on the pitch, and with the ball - this NEEDS to be captured in FIFA because it is magic in real life. You can genuinely feel the opponents fear when he receives the ball.

Hazard IRL is relatively small in terms of height, however, his bottom half of his frame is completely out of proportion, and allows him to look/act as if he is BOLTED to the ground! On FIFA, he has never felt this way! He always feels light and floaty, with no presence, and CERTAINLY no strength at all! ALL world class players (I.E. above 90 rated) Should have their own custom character models, and animations relative to their real-life counterpart. Like Sterling, and CR7 for example.

Where's Hazard's Acceleration?:

2nd Problem - Hazard in every FIFA I can remember never has any Acceleration!!! It is SOOO frustrating, it's a very odd experience when playing with him, as he feels quick, but for some reason he can't blast away from people! I have to compare him to Dybala as they are very similar players and I have Dybala as a super sub. When using Dybala, his acceleration feels 60-70% faster than Hazard.. why? Dybala's agility / acceleration stats in game do not warrant this clearly noticeable disparity? Just a side note btw, Dybala is the best base-gold CAM on this game, he is utterly fantastic! However, this acceleration problem plagues Hazard's card in game, as he has 0 strength, and no pace at all, so I had BALOTELLI catching me up and tackling me consistently.. fun.

Shooting - Passing - Dribbling - Movement - Presence - Availability - Strength - Desire

3rd Problem - Hazard falls short in every single area above - which pains me but is true! He NEVER has his skates on, and has any desire to make attacking runs, or find space to drive at the opposition (such as IRL) His passing is nothing better than a standard 5K gold card, his movement is awful - he stands still in the middle of the pitch between midfielders and allows himself to be marked. His dribbling is the only thing about his card that is slightly above average, but trust me, you won't get time to use it, as Hazard is never in the right place on the pitch. However, for 92 Dribbling on his card, his step-overs are slow, and he doesn't have quick touches or any flair. You literally have to sit and pray that EA give you an animation, scripted first-touch dribble which will always beat the defenders, as you will not be able to perform dribbling runs with Hazard in game! Strength, oh my word, I used the 'Finisher' chemistry style, bumping his strength to around 70 - which, for perspective, is the same as Vidal!!!!! and he STILLLL FELT LIKE A FRAGILE CHILD! Lastly, Hazards shooting is totally awful for the calibre of player he is... In real life, he has serious shot power! In the game, NO SHOT POWER AT ALL! His finesse shots are okay but not great, and power shots NEVER go in, ever. He is around the same level as Martial on a bad day for shooting.

I have also never lost a Squad Battles match on Legendary, until I put Hazard into my team - this is how much it mentally destroyed me! Lost 3-1 in my final game of the 4. I normally finish in Elite 1.

A final note on Hazards price in game:

I paid: 305,000 (Price up in the hype of his recent good form)

He is worth 50,000 max - I know this sounds crazy, and arbitrary - however, he is no better than Martial, and at least Martial has strength.

I also don't rate Alexis Sanchez highly on F18 either, probably worse than Hazard, by a close margin. Would say he is worth 40,000.

IF you actually read this all the way through, thank you, and do you agree? Or has this been helpful? Leave me a comment.