FC 24 88 Winter Wildcards Ciro Immobile Player Review

The Winter Wildcard SBCs continue to trickle in one by one and have included everything from solid value cards to cards where you might as well be lighting fodder on fire.  Going into this review I was quietly optimistic that Winter Wildcard Immobile would produce the latter and prove to be a solid striker moving forward in the game.

The immediate concern is one that has plagued Immobile cards for as long as I can remember regardless of how high the ratings became… The movement… Or lack there of.  Not only the source of endless puns regarding his name, but also the source of endless frustration when a card that looks so solid and full of potential ends up feeling sluggish and detrimental to the squad.

Nothing has changed with the size and design of Immobile’s card and so the optimism was 100% built on the back of other cards in EAFC that have been much improved by the inclusion of PlayStyles in the game.  Playing Immobile as the striker in my 4-3-2-1 formation certainly suited the Shooting friendly PlayStyles, but the hope was that the FIRST TOUCH Acceleration could also alleviate the biggest problem at the outset of this review.

Immobile bagged the goals in the mid-week Rivals run in the following squad:

Overall 

Rating: 7/10

I think the Zidane SBC has ruined me moving forward in EAFC… Having a card that always had so much potential now performing so well in game has led to a constant hope that every card can reach those heights.  In the end the PlayStyles really didn’t fall that great for Immobile who needed the QUICK STEP and RAPID to really break through into the top tier options, but from a finishing perspective you couldn’t have asked for much more.

Main Statistics – Shooting

Dribbling Rating: 9/10

Weak Foot: ★★★★★

PlayStyles: Power Shot Plus, Finesse Shot

Maybe I should have mentioned this already, but the first 3 matches of this review were with the ENGINE Chemistry Style in the hopes that further help for the Acceleration and Dribbling would lead to a more fluid card on the ball.  In the end it didn’t work at all and in fact I noticed a lot of shots getting tipped by keepers who had no business getting a hand on those efforts.  The application of the MARKSMAN completely changed this and Immobile started firing the goals in for fun with some fantastic strikes.

The 99 FINISHING with the 5 STAR WEAK FOOT is just as good as you can imagine and provided the majority of the 10 goals across the 5 matches.  Far post FINESSE PlayStyle shots flew in like you would expect and the few chips I attempted felt incredibly high and accurate leaving keepers stranded. 

However, it was the POWER SHOT PlayStyle Plus that stole the show with one of my favorite goals of any review in EAFC this year… The 91 LONG SHOTS & 93 SHOT POWER absolutely pile drive the ball and even when saved, created a pile of second chances to capitalize on.

Value/Coins - Fodder

Value/Coins - Fodder: 3/5

Even for 120k I don’t think this card reaches a value that you can be happy with… Mostly because it is a card that will inevitably be replaced after playing a few matches and realizing that it certainly doesn’t reach the current power curve outside of the Shooting.  There are certainly cards that are worse value and the 2.0 goals per game is clear proof of that, but overall the need for a supporting cast to create all of the chances was a big let down. 

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 3/5

Still there were some positives to take away from the review and areas where Immobile shows the potential that I hoped would lead to a fantastic review.

+ The 90 SPRINT SPEED on a 185cm | 6’1 card with CONTROLLED LENGTHY AcceleRATE Pace is one of the areas where the size of Immobile was a fantastic asset and when in space you can certainly benefit from his top end speed.

+ Again, the benefits of a larger card is clear in the 85 STRENGTH which felt “Immovable” on the ball at times, even against some of the bigger defenders in the game.  The 99 JUMPING & 90 HEADING ACCURACY produced some good attempts, but didn’t return during the review.

From there the normal disappointments with this card reared their ugly heads and sent my optimism into the tank in a hurry.

- 4 STAR SKILLS, 91 BALL CONTROL, 88 DRIBBLING & the FIRST TOUCH PlayStyle seem like a fantastic start and capable of overcoming the 78 AGILITY.  But again, even with an ENGINE applied, the size of Immobile simply sucked the life out of the movement and 88 ACCELERATION.

- The size and ability to hold up the ball as the lone striker was a huge benefit during the review… Or at least it could have been.  Unfortunately when it came time to playing on the ball into dangerous areas the 85 SHORT PASSING was a continual let down during the review and again really would have benefitted from a PlayStyle or two in the locker.

Closing Words

The simple summary of this review is that for 120k of fodder/coins you can get a clinical and usable striker to hold up play and generally finish chances put in front of him.  The remaining attributes of a top tier striker are simply missing and require the talents of players you surround Immobile with… In a sad way the passing was almost a detriment to my attacks and working the ball away from Immobile and then finding him at the finish line worked the best.  Too much to pay for too little return in the end.    
Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading