UEFA EURO 2004 - PC Review

UEFA EURO 2004
UEFA EURO 2004 – PC Review

Football is a religion followed by millions complete with its own saints & sinners. The UEFA Euro 2004, Portugal , is a mammoth occasion. All the major football nations of Europe have made it through the qualification rounds and will represent their respective countries in the blazing Portuguese sun next month.

UEFA Euro 2004 gives you the chance to lead your country on the road to Euro 2004 glory. In the deepest championship mode ever released, you will be immersed in the highs and lows of qualification and the challenge of selecting the perfect team to win. This is authentic national team football, where you'll have to pit their wits on and off the pitch to qualify and win for your country in the official game of UEFA Euro 2004.

UEFA 2004 Portugal is unsurprisingly based on EA's well known FIFA engine. I won't go into too much detail here

because I am sure you will have come across this game engine in the past.

Opinions vary widely on the game engine with some people saying it is by far superior to any other around and with other people's allegiances lay with EA's competitor's versions. All I will say is, I have a fondness for EA's football manager title - Total Club Manager – which (these days) uses the FIFA engine for its own match rendering. This engine – like I say – has its supporters and critics but whatever you think the latest versions have delivered some excellent and exciting football moments & I suppose that is all that matters really.

A fresh AI and game-play continue the authentic football experience. Not only will you have all new skill moves, but further enhanced player movement, passing, shooting, heading and dribbling have been introduced making UEFA Euro 2004

MORALE AND ITS IMPACT ON GAMEPLAY
Over the course of the EURO 2004 mode, specific events will cause a player's morale to fluctuate both upwards and downwards.

When a player's morale is high, he will perform at or above his attribute level.

When a player's morale is low, he will perform below his attribute level.

NEW PLAYER TRAITS
Player Traits are special abilities or traits that a player possesses. Traits are in the form of an on/off flags, so the player either does this or he doesn't. As morale will play an important part in the EURO 2004 mode, certain player traits can be turned on or off depending on the player's state of mind for that match.

EURO 2004 MODE
You take the team through qualifying matches and friendlies to the EURO 2004 Finals. During qualifying you have a number of dates where you can choose to arrange a friendly match with a team of your choice. You have to pick your team based on morale and fitness and the performance on the day determines the player's morale. Back to back successes will improve morale.

PLAYER FITNESS
Injuries can play a key role in a football team's fortune, and this will be represented in the EURO 2004 mode. Injuries are part of the game and all teams will experience injuries of some kind. The Fitness section of the Team News screen will detail information regarding player health and injuries.

TEAM NEWS SCREEN
The team news screen is where information about players will be displayed. Each nation will have approximately 40 eligible players that can play in matches. The Team News screen can display information for any of these players (i.e. the player does not have to be in the first eleven to be referenced on the Team News screen). The Team News screen will only display information on teams that are user controlled. Team news will not be viewable for Computer controlled teams – the Scouting Report screen will be used to display select information on a computer opponent. The screen will be broken up into 3 sections – Fitness, Discipline and General. The Player Fitness section will detail player injuries. The Player Discipline section will detail disciplinary issues such as yellow cards, red cards and suspensions. The Player – Miscellaneous section will detail player form, morale.

KEY FEATURES:

New Gameplay Types: Challenge your friends in all-new game modes including Home And Away, Situation, and Fantasy.

Join the Tournament: Live out your dreams of playing in the UEFA EURO 2004™ tournament with TV-style replays, national anthems, penalty shootouts, and trophy celebrations

Electrify the Crowd: Perfect awe-inspiring skill moves including nutmegs, diving headers, and bicycle kicks

The Official Game: The only game that delivers official UEFA EURO 2004™ action

To wrap up this review I would like to say that UEFA Euro 2004, is a brilliant way to start your EURO 2004 build up – the teams, the players, the kits and even the stadiums have all been created beautifully. At the end of the day though, EA tend to release then re-release the same game engine over and over again with very little in the way of worthy updates. If you already have FIFA 2004, you will not find much change to the game basics & the price is high to just have the pleasure of playing with the official EURO 2004 teams. On the other hand if you are in the market for a football title anyway then UEFA 2004, Portugal will light up your summer & give you endless hours of 1-4 player footy action well past the tournaments end. Come on England !!