Fairly recently EA released the new, 89 rated, Radamel Falcao. Being one of my favourite strikers and using the original 88 rated Falcao as one of leading forces in my main squad, I made a point of buying the new Falcao as soon as he was released. Check out my review below which goes through the player by his base stats.
Review
PACE - 79
One of the upgrades this new Falcao has had is to his pace. Both his acceleration and sprint speed have been increased. Admittedly, however, he is still not massively fast. He can't outrun defenders 1-v-1, however he does have a consistent sprint speed of 79 and this, coupled with the truly superb runs he makes, allows him to get a head start on defenders and get in on goal.
While he won't be outrunning any players, his runs allow him to get ahead first and his overall pace is good enough to keep it that way until he (most likely) scores, or at least gets a shot away.
If you rely on pace in your team or like to have fast players in general, Falcao will probably not be for you. If you're still interested though, and you should be for good reason too, keep on reading.
Falcao's shooting was awesome before, but he has had these stats maxed out even more. His Finishing has had a 5-point increase to 96, longshots have been buffed up to 78 and his volleys and shot power have also been improved.
To put simply, he is one of the best shot-takers I've used (excluding in-forms and TOTY players). Only Christiano Ronaldo has notably better shooting than Falcao, and even then Ronaldo's in the box Finishing isn't as efficient. Messi has outstanding shooting all round, however Falcao is arguably better due to his pretty incredible shot power. He seems to have rockets strapped to his feet as his shots just blast past the keeper without any chance of being saved.
His longshot rating may not be the highest, but his shot power drives them into the top corner from long range. So long as he isn't positioned at a fairly awkward angle, he will probably score, realistically, 7/10 shots he takes.
His close range finishing is also mouthwatering. It doesn't matter if he chips it, finesses it, blasts it, or has his back to goal - Falcao will most likely score it in awesome fashion.
Oh and his bicycle kicks are immense too.
Let's leave it at that, after all I've basically said all I can. Bottom line is, he is an awesome shooter - one of the best.
PASSING - 59
There isn't much difference between the new Falcao and the old Falcao's passing. Bottom line is that in game, his passing performs well - very well, in fact. He won't accurately pick out a player on the other side of the pitch, but his short ground passes/through balls and lob through balls are very smooth and consistent. Indeed, so long as you aren't playing difficult or obscure passes, Falcao does a good job of creating opportunities. That said, when it comes to crosses he is certainly better when he is on the receiving end rather than delivering them.
DRIBBLING - 80
There are a few particular attributes that really decide whether a player is a good dribbler or not. The actual dribbling stat is obviously important, but things like Ball control and agility are necessary too.
Falcao has got fairly improved dribbling base stat, with his dribbling attribute itself increased from 76 to 80. His Ball Control has also had a much-needed boost from 82 to 86. Whereas before he used to struggle to control the ball in tight spaces or when receiving a strong pass, now he takes possession in a far more convincing and efficient way without instantly losing it through a heavy touch.
What's more his agility has gone from 82 to 86 too, although this wasn't as noticeable. Either way he is easy to control on and off the ball, however his agility combined with his dribbling isn't quite good enough to ensure he can just dribble his way past a player. He is incredibly agile in the air though, performing all sorts of impressive volleys and kicks.
His strength is not good enough to hold off most defenders, but he can withstand a fair amount of jostling before giving the ball up and can buy enough time for a pass or quick turn to get away.
He comes bundled with 4 star skills moves too, however while he performs them well enough, he can often lose control of the ball when performing things like a rainbow-flick or heel-flick. Certain tricks such as the roulette and heel chop are worth using though.
DEFENDING - 53
He is a striker so don't expect much here. He also has minimal improvements in this area too. His slide tackles are awful, as is his marking and interceptions, however he is really great at closing down and pressuring defenders and stand tackling the ball off of them.
HEADING - 91
The old Falcao had pretty average heading if I'm honest, which was a massive disappointment. However with upgrades to his jumping and heading accuracy is this new Falcao better? Well yes, but he is still not exactly perfect.
Falcao climbs well in the air, and certainly better than before. He jumps higher and reaches balls better, however he still tends to be overpowered by defenders or bigger and taller players in general. From set pieces like corners he is very good, although even at goalkicks he tends to lose out to whoever is marking him. His efficiency from crosses is far better though. He gets into better positions in the box now and almost always gets a header away when a good cross comes in. That said, he isn't the most prolific scorer in these instances. He can get a header on target from a cross but he doesn't always trouble the keeper with it.
Ultimately his heading is still slightly disappointing, with the likes of Miroslav Klose and Christiano Ronaldo being a bit more consistent in the air (especially in Ronaldo's case). He isn't bad, but don't expect to be able to rely on his head for goals.
The Big Question... Should You Buy Him?
He is a very expensive player. You can pick up the original Falcao for about 20,000-25,000 coins, whereas this new card is somewhere in the region of 85,000-100,000.
That said, after using the new Falcao, I can safely say it isn't worth getting the old one over him. The difference in his ball control, heading and even pace is very noticeable. His high price, though, makes this a hard call to make. If you want a lone striker in your squad, you might want someone with more pace, however if you want to pair him with another forward, one who does have that extra speed, then he may be one to consider.
His price is fairly close to that of Sergio Aguero's though, and you could purchase him instead for only 20k or so more. That said, I personally prefer Falcao's shooting and heading ability to that of Aguero's.
In the end he is a great striker. He may take a little bit of time to get used to using, and not offer the best pace but he is one of the best all round, consistently good players I've used in the game. His hefty price tag may put some players off, and that is fair enough, but remember; you can always sell him back for practically the same as he was bought for if you don't like him.
