UEFA Euro 2008 - 8.0/10
UEFA Euro 2008
A Review - By Gaetano Prestia
The soccer (or football, please don’t hate me if you’re from the UK) video-game “contest” (if you will) has been an aggressive and long-lasting one between two heavyweight gaming companies. The FIFA franchise from EA Sports and the Pro Evolution Soccer (AKA. Winning Eleven) franchise from KONAMI have been at each others throats since the start of the decade and, apart from PE slightly beating out FIFA over that period in gameplay, the contest has been fairly even.
That was until FIFA 08 came around, which blew away Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 completely off the map. EA Sports was able to completely reinvent the FIFA franchise with extensive new gameplay and features as well as improved graphics, while the PE series pretty much provided the exact same experience from the previous years. For the first time, EA Sports had comfortably beaten out the competition in the soccer video-game stakes.
It’s been a few months now since FIFA 08 was released and now, just in time for the Euro 2008 competition in Europe, EA Sports has brought us UEFA Euro 2008 for the Playstation 3 and XBOX 360. While there are no where near as many teams in Euro 2008 as there are in FIFA 08, you still have many of the best European nations at your disposable to lead all the way to the second most prestigious trophy in the soccer world after the World Cup.
The gameplay modes are pretty basic and typical, with a quick, one-off game available as well as a full Euro 2008 tournament. The Story of Qualifying mode is an interesting one that places you in a specific scenario from the official Euro 2008 qualifying matches. The real highlight, however, is the Battle of the Nations, which is an intriguing and innovative new feature that will hopefully be integrated into all of EA Sports future sporting titles.
Ensuring you are connected to the EA Sports servers, every game you play with your selected favourite team will result in points being added to an overall online leaderboard. Each player and team in the lead at the end of each day is rewarded bonus points and this in turn is reflected onto the leaderboards to determine the best players and best nations.
Captain Your Country mode is almost identical to the Be A Pro mode, with the only difference being that you aim to eventually captain your country and lead them to success. Your created players consistency is also vital to their possibility of being the next captain.
The gameplay seems to have been upgraded from FIFA 08 and if you’re looking for an overall deeper gameplay experience, albeit with less mode depth, Euro 2008 is the way to go. The AI is a lot smarter and reflective of your own actions and even things like the weather affect the way players and the ball move. Both your opponents and teammates are far more realistic in their tactical approach and this is particularly more noticeably on the more challenging difficulties and the further you get into tournament mode.
On a graphical front, Euro 2008 looks just as good if not better than FIFA 08. Playing in 1080p shows off the games beautiful textures and player animations, and the stadiums and crowds all look great. There are barely any graphical or presentation hiccups and this may very well be the best looking soccer title ever developed. The fantastic addition of being able to control your player’s goal celebrations only adds to the graphical depth of the title that looks great on both the PS3 and XBOX 360.
UEFA Euro 2008 is, gameplay wise, probably the best soccer game ever made. It expands on what FIFA 08 did for soccer video-games and leaves PE even further behind. It looks, plays and sounds great and has some great gameplay modes like Battle of the Nations to give it a little more depth. At its core it’s a very short title that will become obsolete in the near future, but it’s worth checking out, if not to get a glimpse of EA Sports future soccer titles, then to lead your favourite European nation to ultimate glory!
Gameplay
9.0/10
It’s the most realistic and deep soccer game ever made. While it doesn’t have as many teams and options as FIFA 08 or PE, the gameplay itself should make up for its lack of depth, especially for those needing a new soccer game fix.
Graphics
8.0/10
Euro 2008 looks great, especially in Full HD. The textures, player animations, crowds and stadiums all look great and weather effects round out a very impressive looking title.
Sound
7.0/10
Not overly impressive, but it gets the job done. The commentary is basic and it’s what we’ve all heard before.
Value
7.0/10
Considering that it will probably become obsolete once FIFA 09 comes out, it doesn’t have the biggest lifespan. Still, the Battle of the Nations is a lot of fun and will keep you occupied well after you’ve completed the tournament and Captain Your Country modes.
Overall
8.0/10
UEFA Euro 2008 is a great soccer title that is a look at things to come for soccer games from EA Sports.
Submitted by Gaetano
28/05/2008
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