As inpired as Greece's attempt to keep their crown - Read into that what you will (UEFA Euro 2008 (Xbox 360))

Member Name: Wolfzilla

Product:	UEFA Euro 2008 (Xbox 360)
Date:	23/06/08 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Solid, good laugh on multiplayer

Disadvantages: Lack of real single player mode, speed, Clive Tyldesley

There are several things that go hand in hand with a major International football tournament - massive upswings in sales of replica football shirts, people developing incredible pride in their continental 'roots' and women actually being interested in football. Another more recent addition to this list of obligatory developments is a tournament tie-in videogame, with the honours going to EA, makers of the FIFA games series since the 1998 World Cup. Due to a lack of interest in the tournament from the media thanks to the lack of Engl...Home Nations involvemen, Euro 2008 was snuck out fairly quietly a month or so back. No fancy front cover, no special edition, bog standard release for Xbox 360 and PS3. I actually hadn't planned on buying it to be honest, I was fairly happy with FIFA 08, yet its release happened to coincide with my birthday, and a new football game is a fairly safe bet as a present for a football fan, so receive it I did.

Expectations going into the game were basically a tweaked version of FIFA 08, with some hope for some innovative game modes to make up for the fact it would only include teams who set out on the path to qualify for the European Championships currently being held in Austria and Switzerland. Euro 2004 on the Xbox had improved over its year's FIFA with a number of neat modes including the ability to play a friendly over 2 legs, and best of all a 'Dream Team' mode that allowed 2 players to take turns building a team out of the players included in the game and pit them against one another. These added some real multiplayer life to a game that was otherwise FIFA's shorter brother.

Sadly Euro 2008 doesn't offer any such extra incentives to those who already own the current FIFA. Along with the expected Euro 2008 Tournament mode, which allows you to choose if you want to play just the finals or through the entire Qualification phase (meaning you can attempt to take Scotland, England or Northern Ireland over that final hurdle they all fell at) the only other single player options are 'Story of Qualifying' and 'Captain Your Country'. The former is basically a Scenario/Challenge mode with a fancy name, where you enter a game, sometimes already begun, with the intention not just of winning, but imitating or drastically changing real life events. The latter is a bit more interesting. It can be played with up to 4 players, but that would require 4 players to spend a lot of time together playing through it. It's basically a slant on the 'Be A Pro' mode from FIFA 08, where you only control one member of the team and are rated on your performance, with your goal being playing well to attain the captaincy for your country and gaining them qualification and glory at the Euros. You can either create a player or play as one of the real team, and go up against 3 rivals you get to select if there are no other human players. There is also the obligatory 'Kick Off' mode for a single match, an Online play mode and the novel 'Battle of the Nations', which isn't a gameplay mode, but EA's online test of which country is best at the game, playing it earning points for your selected country.

Captain Your Country is arguably the main single player mode, and sadly it doesn't live up to much. Having you only control a single player does add a bit of challenge to proceedings, but only because your AI controlled players are usually a bit thick. It's manner of rating players also leaves a lot to be desired, and getting a man of the match award is actually harder than winning the damn tournament (seriously, I once scored 4 goals and set up 2 in a 6-0 rout of the Faroe Islands...yet still got overlooked for MotM) It's incredibly harsh when punishing you for misplaced passes or getting tackled, especially seeing as the misplaced passes are often down to your clown teammates more than you. The AI is also less than realistic. Kenny Miller actually finishes once in a while, Cristiano Ronaldo actually takes part in big games, Luca Toni tracks back. There's also the problem that while there is no denying the mode is playable, and fairly enjoyable, it doesn't feel like your properly playing a football game, constantly relying on the AI as opposed to making great passes and moves yourself. The Tournament mode is too threadbare, not even offering the management aspect that the 2004 game did to try and give it some life.

What I wasn't expecting was much change with regards to gameplay in comparison to FIFA 08. While the game will feel familiar to those already experienced with EA's annual football title, the controls are identical, and are equally as easy to pick up and responsive, but there have been a few notable changes, some for the worse, some the better. For the worse is the speed of play. The game runs at what can only be described as a hilarious pace, and is totally unrealistic. Coupled with the lack of a single player mode with depth, makes me wonder if this was designed to be a more arcade-like experience for those drawn into the fever these type of tournaments generate, but the changes for the better actually add an almost pedantic air of realism that shatters that. The most noticeable is how much the weather actually influences play. I've always felt that the 'weather' option in football games was mainly an aesthetic difference, but Euro 2008 actually has it play an influential role in how things play. Playing in rainy weather will actually see puddles on the park, which slow the ball down and ruin its bounce if it comes within it. It's a neat touch that I hope carries into FIFA 2009. A less noticeable, but still enjoyable alteration is that the keepers seem to have improved , and aren't as keen on sprinting off their line as they were in FIFA 08.

The aspect of the game we all knew would be in for an overhaul, the presentation, doesn't disappoint. The squads were as up to date as possible before release, obviously not taking into account the injuries that happened last minute like Cannavaro or Viera. As per usual the Netherlands are unlicensed, which is more than a little annoying seeing as the game doesn't allow you to edit player names, but everyone else is there, sporting their flashy new kits and licensed boots. A minor gripe I have is that not all of the shirt numbers actually the same as their real life counterparts, which you would think wouldn't be too hard given only 16 teams made the finals. The players also work in the same fashion as the latest FIFA titles, major players look like their real life counterparts, but everyone else is a bit generic. On a personal note, I was pleased to see members of the Scotland squad finally getting unique models.

The graphics in general are pretty good. It won't blow your mind with realism, but the players all look and move naturally, the pitch offers a convincing depiction of grass and so on. It doesn't push the 360 to its limits, and it isn't noticeably better than FIFA 08, but it still looks decent.

The sound on the other hand...well the crowd sound ok, and input from Andy Townsend is ok, but the main play-by-play commentary comes from my personal nemesis Clive Tyldsley. He can't never be quite as infuriating and biased as he is on TV, but the mere sound of his voice is enough to make my blood boil these days, so the mute button has come into use the majority of times Euro 2008 has graced my 360.

At the end of the day, Euro 2008 is an ok game. It's probably not worth buying if you already own FIFA 08, or are looking for a football game with some real single player life, but if you are the kind of person simply sucked in by the experience of major International tournaments, and just want a game to play with likeminded friends, it does cover all the basic needs for a football game, and does have the most up to date rosters of any game on the market at the moment.

Summary: Ok for casual football fans, but not enough depth for big fans of the sport