Ever since Konami announced that its famed Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series was coming to Xbox, soccer fans have waited with bated breath. Usually the yearly PES games ship around October/November, meaning there is still going to be a wait before the beautiful marriage between PES and Xbox is finalised. Coincidently for EA the European Championships are occurring over winter this year and there groaning money coffers won’t reject yet another injection of funds out of FIFA players. Yes EURO 2004 is yet another game that takes advantage of EA Sports monetary strength and ability to secure licences for players, teams and in this case major tournaments. Unfortunately once again, despite all EA’s might and power, UEFA 2004 can’t touch Konami’s soccer masterpiece.

EA’s latest effort is sure to irritate some loyal FIFA gamers, particularly those who purchased FIFA 2004. Simply put EURO 2004 is like FIFA 2004 light, you could think of it as being a Diet Coke version of a Coke, a watered down version of the real thing. Gone are club football leagues, gone are teams like Brazil, Argentina and good old Australia and in comes a very authentic look at the EURO 2004 major tournament and associated qualifying rounds. The thing that could really annoy gamers is the fact that FIFA 2004 omitted any European Championship mode. Is it a coincidence that EA now releases a specialised Euro Championship game just after the FIFA 2004 release?, I’ll let you be the judge.

As with all EA games, glitz and glamour is never lacking. Despite the lack of a Holland licence, EURO 2004 is still a grand portrait of authenticity. Included are 51 teams that participated in the qualifying section of the tournament. So now avid gamers can now act out there fantasy of leading the Faroe Islands to glory……mmm….maybe not. Also included are all the EURO stadiums from Portugal as well as a few other well known stadiums such as Anfield and the San Siro. EA Sports have obviously sought to wrap up the gamer in the feeling of EURO 2004, and their goal is particularly well executed.

Graphically speaking the game is very similar to that of FIFA 2004. Improvement has been made in the area of player models, now the Beckhams and Zidanes of this world look less like wax museum figures and more like real people. All the big names have extremely accurate face representations and with the addition of authentic kits the game at a glance looks quiet impressive. Added to that fact are some very striking lighting effects, such as sun beaming through the glass roof at Old Trafford.

Animation as a whole is brilliantly implemented. Transitions between moves such as dribbling and shooting are usually done fluidly and seamlessly. Things fall down however with the existence of a slightly jerky frame rate at times. This is particularly evident after goal kicks when the camera zooms out and the game has to process a large amount of players. Other than that the graphics as a whole cannot be faulted. EA certainly knows how to make a pretty game.

Graphics however can only take you so far. What every soccer game needs is some meat in the sandwich, a really intricate and functional control system and some depth that keeps you coming back for more. Unfortunately EA Sports meats consist more of spam than a nice cut of PES steak. What may strike you initially is that things have been slowed down considerably from previous versions. Now you have to really advance play through long passing moves, rather than glory solo runs. Typically games now commonly finish 0-0, EA have really gone all out to make more of a sim game. Regrettably they’ve failed because of many things, but one thing stands out above all – Off the Ball Control.

Off The Ball Control this, Off the Ball control that, no doubt any potential soccer game purchaser has been divulged with EA spiel on how this feature will change the universe. To be perfectly honest the feature sucked then, and it still sucks now. To be fair it would be brilliant if all EURO 2004 players had both double jointed wrists and fingers. Basically what it requires you to do is use the small black and white buttons to start Off The Ball, next you have to find out which player is highlighted and consequently is able to be controlled, then you have to guide his movements with the analogue stick and nextly pass it too him with the X and Y buttons. Easy eh….. Luckily for us EA took out at the last minute a requirement to be standing on your head and juggling oranges to perform the move (-:

The underlying fault in the end is the lack of simplicity and ease of use, Off the Ball Control is so overly complicated it really serves no real purpose in a game. There simply is not enough time to perform all the steps required in the time frame you have if you are being closed down by a defender. What ever happened to a simple 1-2 move EA? Overall the gameplay is so overtly focused on flashy things that it fails to really capture soccer in its purest form. Time and time again you’ll be frustrated that you couldn’t do something because the control system wouldn’t allow it. Time and time again the control system allows you to do things that you don’t wish to do.

On a brighter side the commentary is some of the best I’ve ever heard in a sports game. John Motson and Andy Gray provide the main comments, while Ally McCoist chimes in with expert comments delivered in a thick Scottish accent. What makes the commentary great is how it dynamically tracks and remembers events on the field. For example if Henry has just duffed another shot Gray might come up with “He really can’t afford to be missing so many chances”. Crowd chants are also done extremely well, as is the implementation of a sound track that starts up during replays and paused games.

The non-existence of Xbox LIVE is a little disappointing. Especially so considering that Codemasters will soon have an online enabled soccer game based on the English National Team. Perhaps an on-line trial of EURO2004 would have been the perfect yardstick of how Xbox LIVE would have worked with future EA Soccer games.