UEFA Euro 2008 review

Electronic Arts love it when there’s a major football tournament on. It means they can knock out a stripped-down version of their yearly Fifa game and make more money out of footy fans. This year’s no different with Uefa Euro 2008 and the good news is it’s a solid game in its own right with some nice, if subtle improvements over Fifa 08.

As you’d expect you can play as any of the teams actually in the finals, as well as qualifying games. You can play the game as a favourite team not in the finals by replacing teams in there with your own national team - even England.

They’ve also included the popular Be A Pro mode where you play as just one player on the pitch and now you can aspire to become captain through all your hard work and leadership skills.

When playing solo, I actually had the most fun playing through scenarios through the qualifying campaigns where you can change history. For example, you can try to get a draw against Croatia if you’re England - something they couldn’t do in real life. This not only gives a bit of urgency but also has some narrative which makes it feel like the game’s got a bit of a story - an interesting concept in a football game.

They’ve also tweaked their club v club mode for Battle of the Nations, where you pick your country and earn points for your country which upload to the EA servers. Come June, one nation will win depending on how well their gamers actually do in the coming six weeks.

Controls are fluid and it’s a joy to play and watch - the only downside being unforgivable framerate issues during opening scenes, replays and close-ups.

As always presentation and commentary is fantastic. If you’re yet to try EA’s latest Fifa offering, this one may be worth a look. UEFA Euro 2008 gets a very good 7 out of 10.