[6] Microsoft accidentally sent an older broken version of the game to the disc manufacturer resulting in gamers being unable to connect to the Xbox Live service upon release until a downloadable patch was made available soon thereafter.

[7] Despite an upgrade in visuals, and a fully voiced career-mode, the game was met with a very mixed reception due to its gameplay.

Rather than being an upgrade of a pre-existing game engine, it was virtually built from the ground up,[21] as well as containing numerous glitches that crippled the gameplay experience.

[13] Other problems included a slow and unresponsive AI taking away from the difficulty, or drastically decreasing the length of a match.

[22] IGN gave the game a rating of 6 out of 10, praising the high quality visuals, but like other reviews took issue with the flaws in the gameplay.