FC 24 88 Trailblazers Cristiano Ronaldo Player Review

He’s back! Back in the ascendency of Ultimate Team and back into our player reviews this weekend. If you have been tuning into these reviews then you will know the disappointment that was experienced when testing CR7’s NIF card to start the year… Perhaps a little early in the cycle to already be doubling down on player reviews… But this really isn’t the same card is it.

The Trailblazers promo has once again shifted the needle on the power curve and Ronaldo is certainly leading the way of that movement.  The ridiculous boost to Pace and Dribbling at the center of this massive upgrade… Along with a new PlayStyle Plus, which in the end wasn’t quite as welcome of a change.

The past week and a bit have seen a movement towards the 4-3-2-1 formation and a general improvement in the performance of my squad.  However, the formation has been crying out for a frontman with presence and two footed finishing… And my hope was that CR7 could be that man for my squad this weekend.  The application of the ENGINE Chemistry Style perhaps more a result of PTSD from the NIF review than anything and all was set to dive into some matches.

CR7 was the star on top of the 4-3-2-1 tree all weekend long in the following squad:

Overall 

It didn’t take long for EA to cash in on the CR7 money train and they are not even trying to hide it by dropping a card that is this boosted at this stage in the game.  The difference to the NIF is night and day and feels like Ronaldo is once again at the pinnacle of Ultimate Team… For now anyway.

Main Statistics – Shooting

Dribbling Rating: 9/10

Weak Foot: ★★★★

PlayStyles: Trivella Plus, Power Shot, Power Header

Still reserving the perfect 10/10 for cards with a 5 STAR WEAK FOOT… But with Ronaldo the 4 STAR is closer to a 4.5 anyway… Then you add in the ridiculous aerial ability, boosted by the AERIAL PlayStyle, and it doesn’t take a stretch to prove his dominance in front of goal.

Despite the ENGINE Chemistry Style not contributing to the Shooting quality, it really didn’t seem to matter as Ronaldo amassed 13 goals in the 7 match review. The majority of those goals coming from a general ruthlessness in front of goal.

The 89 FINISHING was a bit of a concern but generally allowed the 94 SHOT POWER & 87 LONG SHOTS to find their target with pinpoint accuracy.  Perhaps these deficiencies were felt the most on the left foot, which could go astray at times.  Again, the absence of the FINESSE Trait was a surface concern that was soon buried with the overall quality CR7 demonstrated in front of goal.  If I could have one minor change it would be back to the POWER SHOT Plus, or even better, the FINESSE SHOT Plus being added to the card.
 

Value/Coins

Value/Coins: 4/5

Bit of a hard sell on this category, literally.  The 1.6 million coin price tag is difficult to justify on most cards given what you can build if you spread those coins around.  In this case Ronaldo performs at the ridiculous level that you would expect from such a crazy price tag, but it wasn’t perfect, and I think you have to be when demanding that level of a fee.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

While 1.6 million didn’t buy perfection, it definitely bought a ton of quality contributions to the overall performance of the squad.

+ The NIF version of CR7 wasn’t just sluggish, it was downright slow.  The new and improved version however boasts 85 ACCELERATION & 92 SPRINT SPEED when aided by the ENGINE Chemistry Style and certainly felt even faster in game.  

+ The increase in Pace is combined with the overall improvement of the Dribbling, which finally makes the 5 STAR SKILLS more into the weapon they should be in the first place.  The left stick responsiveness is back and classic powerful movement in CR7 cards has returned.

+ Lastly, this card is about as powerful as they come when protecting the ball.  Maybe not the Trickster pick-it-up-and-carry-it level of powerful, but overall my opponents struggled to get the ball off of the massive frame and 77 STRENGTH that come stock with this card.

Really only a minor concern this time around and while you can live with that, the price tag does make any issue all the more prominent.

- Feels like just about every week I am beating the drum for better passing but in fairness the cards we have reviewed haven’t been Pirlo-esque in their statistics either. 82 VISION & 82 SHORT PASSING was probably never lighting the world on fire, but the single assist feels like a direct indication of just how poor that final ball could be at times.

Closing Words

I will say that it was nice to see order restored in the force this weekend, and it was honestly like he was never gone.  All of the CR7 benefits are back with this card and the general dominance reappeared throughout.  Yet the price tag still looms large over this card and I will say that despite all of the quality statistics and performances, this version of CR7 still doesn’t feel quite as broken as previous versions.  Given the difficulty for links and the lack of perfection, it just feels like too much to pay in the end, but what a fun review. 
Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading