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UEFA Euro 2008 Review for the PlayStation Portable (PSP)

UEFA Euro 2008 Review for the PlayStation Portable (PSP)

Football Fans Rejoice. Casual Gamers Beware!

With a World Cup only every four years, soccer fans that just can’t wait to pit their national heroes against their rivals in a good game of football may be excited about this release. While the need for a new soccer title on the PSP may seem a bit unnecessary for EA (considering the recent releases of their 2006 World Cup and FIFA titles), it could be assumed that EA is trying to battle Konami and their Pro Evolution series for the PSP soccer market. Whether you are a fan of either the EA or Konami take on soccer, you pretty much know what to expect with UEFA Euro 2008. Moreover, with UEFA only offering subtle differences from its more popular FIFA counterpart, there may be little need to run out and purchase this title.

UEFA Euro 2008 screenshot

The game opens with scenes of actual UEFA footage to get you in the spirit and help capture the live soccer broadcast feel. You then jump to the menu screens where, if you want to play a quick game, you have the option of facing off with two of the 53 countries to choose from. From there, you can go to Match Options, where you have the ability to customize your game by changing all the available game balls, stadiums, weather conditions, and other unlockable goodies.

European Campaign mode is where you will unlock most of said objects, as you choose a nation to represent on a full European tour. You will take your team on the road to go head to head with other countries in various mini-games and challenges. It’s a pretty cool twist, offering a variety of match ups that don’t require too much time to continue progressing through the tour. The challenges you’ll face will depend on whether you choose Team Challenge or the more individual Be A Pro.

UEFA Euro 2008 screenshot

Team matches that require you to simply beat your opponent will come with challenges such as playing a two-minute game and starting in the hole by two points. After winning, you are rewarded certain bonuses for things such as not missing penalty shots. Be A Pro assigns you a star player for various mini-games such as shootouts and will give you a list of objectives to gain more reward points. Captain Your Country mode puts one athlete’s career in your hands, as you play as your favorite star or created character in a matches to eventually become team captain. It definitely works well for those who like to create their own likeness and become part of the game, as you begin with low stat points and work your way up the ladder to superstardom. Penalty Shoot-Out is just as its name suggests. The UEFA Euro 2008 mode allows you to recreate the entire tournament, and the game has other basics such as Practice Mode as well.

UEFA Euro 2008 screenshot

Before you begin a match, UEFA offers control options for classic analog trick setup, new analog trick setup, and a few other button setups. The main menu feels slightly dated with cheesy “shooshing” sound effects as you advance to the next screen. In fact, there isn’t a whole lot new about this game at all for those familiar with FIFA tiles from the past several years. The commentating by Clive Tyldesley is as repetitive and dull as usual, though perhaps a tad more in-depth. The game runs on the same FIFA engine, so there isn’t much new in terms of gameplay. The replay setup at the end of a half is exactly the same as always; music plays as the goals and near-goals are shown in slow motion. Animations of the players leaving the field look as though they haven’t been touched either, as it shows an aerial view of the field and then closer shots of the players walking together conversing about the game. That being said, FIFA is arguably the best soccer title on the market, so you can’t exactly fault EA for sticking to the same formula. However, not being able to clearly differentiate this game from FIFA titles offers little reason for a casual soccer gamer to purchase UEFA Euro 2008.

UEFA Euro 2008 screenshot

Some of the animations are nice, such as a little friendly pushing around by opponents between plays and celebrations where teammates run up and shine your shoes when you score. Comically, it’s obvious this is intended for a European audience, as Euro 2008 features about all the European pop and techno anyone born on this side of the pond can handle. Scenery and stadiums look very much as you would expect. EA does a good job of capturing the live atmosphere, and while it hasn’t changed a lot in several years, the large fields and crowded stadiums look nice on the small PSP screen.

There is something about the PSP handheld that just seems to work well with soccer games, which is probably why there are so many being released as of late. But if you already own some sort of EA soccer game for the PSP already, UEFA 08 isn’t going to offer a whole lot of difference from those titles. The more casual soccer fan may actually feel slightly ripped off due to the immense similarities.

In all, this is a fun game. I enjoyed playing it, and it would definitely make a healthy addition to my collection. However, it just doesn’t have enough of its own identity to make it a necessity. FIFA not only offers almost exactly the same gameplay, but more varieties of countries to play either with or against from around the globe. And to a casual soccer fan such as myself, I really don’t see the need to have both titles in my collection.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.6 Graphics
Graphics haven’t changed much since the last FIFA installment, though it does look nice on the PSP. 3.7 Control
Unchanged controls will make it easy to jump in no matter which soccer game you are used to playing. 2.3 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
You will get all the European dance music you can handle, and the commentating is as lame and slow as usual. 3.0 Play Value
While it is definitely a good soccer title, there just isn’t enough substance separating UEFA from its FIFA counterpart. 3.0 Overall Rating – Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Win UEFA EURO 2008: Compete as one of 53 teams from qualification right through to a virtual reproduction of UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
  • Conquer Europe: Navigate the interactive map to overcome objectives and challenges to see if you have the skills to dominate Europe.
  • Critical Moment A.I.: Experience the thrill of the best players elevating their play with the game on the line with all-new Critical Moment A.I.
  • Dynamic Rain: Winter weather from across Europe is authentically re-created to simulate real-world playing conditions. Experience driving rain that creates sloppy pitches and dramatically impacts passing and player performance.
  • Authentic Stadiums: Compete in all eight official stadiums of UEFA EURO 2008 with authentic day, dusk, and night time lighting conditions.

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