UEFA Euro 2008 review (X360)

Something much more than an opportunist cash-in?

Well here we go with the second version of this review – the first being eaten by new relatively new, but now most definitely dead, PC. Thankfully UEFA Euro 2008 is a much more reliable source of entertainment albeit a slightly flawed one.

I'm not going to explore the whys and wherefores of EA choosing to release another football game midway between yearly FIFA updates. You have the choice to buy or not to buy this game, it's as simple as that.

Modus Operandi

Obviously the game is focussed on this summer's European Championship – so there are no club teams. However Euro 2008 isn't limited to the tournament and its venues itself, you can play through the full qualification campaign too.

Online modes feature and on the whole the feature set will be familiar to regular players of EA Sports' football offerings. One new feature is particularly entertaining. Captain Your Country mode takes the Be A Pro mode – where you control one player on the pitch – to the next level.

Here you'll be competing with three AI controlled (or up to 3 friends) to become the captain of your chosen country. You performance is tracked in the game against these other players and it really becomes a tense affair at times.

Adding to the fun of this mode it the ability to not only customize your player and even add a commentary name. My surname is too rare to be included in the options, but "Harry" was in there and it's a real buzz to be name-checked in commentary.

There is one mode lacking from the game and that is FIFA's 5-vs-5 online option. I can understand that the development of this is down to a different EA Sports team, but it's still a shame it isn't included here.

On the Pitch

What really matters is how the game plays and it seems that EA really is on a role with football games now. Think FIFA 08 with even more refined control and playability. The AI is even better this time around and you'll notice plenty of great movement off the ball and AI teammates making intelligent runs.

Weather plays a big part in Euro 2008 and this is no mere cosmetic change. Pitch surfaces change over time during a game and the ball can become stuck on muddy surfaces. I've seen this catch out a goalkeeper more than once.

While the tactical options aren't very detailed, the ability to choose how deep your defenders hold the line, how much your team chase the ball or counterattack are all welcome.

Presentation

You can't really fault the game's graphics while playing. The on-pitch action is always smooth and the animation is spot on. Player models are as good as I've seen for a football game and the stadiums are packed with atmosphere.

The same can be said for the sound. While I'm not the biggest fan of Clive Tyldesely or Andy Townsend, the commentary has been exceptionally well programmed and is very natural. The crowd is perfect and it's very funny to find yourself booed every time you kick the ball in Be A Pro mode.

I'd have expected a little more razzmatazz away from the matches though. The menus are pretty dry and some kind of TV style presentation between matches wouldn't have gone amiss – in fact EA Sports has done this for similar games in years past.

Teleporting Players

My major beef with Euro 2008 is the really shoddy presentation in replays and cutscenes. It's really quite dreadful – a constant problem with EA Sports' football output. Often replays are shown with a really shoddy framerate – either because the players have been designed to look good in screenshots or because the development team wasn't given enough time to optimise.

Just as bad is the way that players and managers often don't appear at the same time as the rest of the graphics in cutscenes – such as during national anthems. The pitch will appear then suddenly the player teleport in. EA it's really shoddy stuff and if you ever really want to be taken seriously you have to cut out this kind of crap. Yes the game looks and plays beautifully during matches, but these replay issues really take the shine off.

Final Whistle

Make no mistake, UEFA Euro 2008 is a really terrific game of football. The pace of play, the ball physics and the AI combine to make a top notch simulation of the sport. On the higher difficultly levels there's a very strong challenge ahead of you.

In terms of capturing the summer tournament EA Sports has done a great job, the extra modes such as Captain Your Country really do engage you on an emotional level and draw you into the action.

Some presentation issues aside UEFA Euro 2008 is a very strong release and it bodes very well for the quality of the next FIFA iteration.