ICON (91) Torres Review

Round 2 of our Spanish Showdown came with a much much heavier price tag and with that the added expectation and pressure of some serious production.  At 24 times the price of Morales, I don’t think it is fair nor realistic to expect 24 times the goal contributions… but at the same time, I certainly wanted to see a notable difference that justified the massive coin difference.  It was clear that Torres was always going to outshine Morales and was certainly not the question I wanted to ask … but I was curious if some of these expensive Prime Icons even have a place in the game anymore given how many cheap beasts are currently available in the game.  In truth, I was a bit skeptical going into this review and felt Torres wouldn’t be anywhere near a 1.3 million coin card after my poor experience with the Spaniard last year, but those fears soon evaporated after feeling the movement and watching the level of finishing only two matches into the weekend.  If you read the Morales review then you will know that Torres joined the Levante man to lead the line in my 4-2-2-2 formation… and it was the ENGINE chemistry style pulling the proverbial strings that allowed Torres to dance into action.  El Niño brought the nostalgia all weekend long in the following squad:

Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 9.5/10
Pace Rating: 9.5/10
Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Passing Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: 8.5/10
Defending Rating: N/

Everything about this card is powerful… Powerful running. Powerful possession on the ball.  Powerful finishing … you get the point.  If you take the time to watch the video I am curious though if you can tell what I mean?  For me, I remember what those goals felt like at the moment… the way that Torres drove with the ball compared to other members in my squad and then the way that he hit the ball with venom beyond the keeper's grasp.  While not my normal style in terms of body type and movement, there was definitely something special about this card.   

Main Statistic - Shooting

Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Weak Foot: ★★★★
Traits: Outside Foot, Finesse Shot

Given the 186cm | 6’1 frame, there was really no escaping the need for an ENGINE chemistry style here.  While this card looks absolutely insane with a HAWK applied, it was certainly a good choice to go the ENGINE route and added a shifty feel that you wouldn’t really expect.  Regardless of the lacking shooting boost, this card still has zero issues finding the back of goal and 15 goals in 15 matches is up there with some of my best returns.  The 95 FINISHING was spot on and with the 4 STAR WEAK FOOT Torres performed as would be expected for a card with those qualities.  However, where I was really impressed was the 82 LONG SHOTS.  Maybe it has more to do with the FINESSE SHOT trait, but the way Torres cracks them from distance is extremely satisfying.  Even the 87 SHOT POWER performed above what the numbers suggest and really this category makes this card so special.  The ability to apply the ENGINE chemistry style and not give up anything in the finishing department really allowed this review to stand out overall.  

Main Attribute - 4 STAR SKILLS

Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: 8.5/10
Height: 186cm | 6’1
Skills: ★★★★

93 AGILITY and 93 BALANCE still didn’t seem like it would be enough to get Torres maneuvering around the pitch as I would normally like… but I was just about wrong in my fears.  There were certainly moments where a little more guile would have come in handy, but I can’t complain overall when considering the size of the card adds so much to the 78 STRENGTH (which should be 99 if you have seen the pictures of him lately) as well.  The 95 REACTIONS, 87 BALL CONTROL, 99 DRIBBLING and 4 STAR SKILLS are all working in tandem wonderfully to get the most out of the 99 ACCELERATION & 96 SPRINT SPEED.  All and all what I thought might be the undoing of Torres at the outset of this review, turned into another nice surprise on the way to a successful weekend.     
 

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

Value/Coins Rating: 3/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

1.3 million for this card is still too much.  The review was good, the returns were nice, the card was fun and overall outperformed a lot of the already quality looking statistics.  However, there are simply too many cards that can do the same and produce the same for only a fraction of the price.  While a card like Morales in the 55k range is nowhere close… There are cards that stand in the 500k-800k range that would easily climb to the 9.5/10 overall rating and production numbers that Torres achieved. 

Certainly overpriced… but one of the key areas that goes a small way in justifying the body parts you will have to sell in order to afford Torres is the lack of real weaknesses in the Spaniards' game.  The 9 assists that Torres raked up in the 15 matches are again up there with some of my best reviews and combined with the goals just added to the enjoyment with the review.   

Closing Words

There is simply no way I can justify this card for the 1.3 million coins you have to pay to get him into your squad.  The only case I could make, and it is a stretch, would be for those of you who like a bigger striker leading the line.  I can not remember a card that was this big and powerful, yet felt so smooth when left stick dribbling.  But even then, 1.3 million is just so many coins.  So in the end this multi-review experiment yielded some interesting results.  The massive price difference definitely brought a massive difference in performance but actually left me with two polarizing issues.  Morales proved too lacking in quality to lead the line even for the insanely low price… while Torres had all the ability to lead a squad into solid Weekend League and Division Rivals finishes, but costs the price of some FUT Managers entire squads.  For me, the answer lies somewhere in the middle with the likes of POTM Vinicius Jr. and Signature Signings Ben Yedder who can produce like Torres and not break financial fair play rules.  The obvious ease in which you can link ICONs is certainly worth something… but not 500k.  Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.
 

Game Stats:
 

Game Highlights: