Euro 2004 (PlayStation 2/Xbox)

By JON MINIFIE

(Herald rating: * * * *)

The UEFA European Soccer Championships kicked off this week and EA Sports have a new footy title to celebrate.

The main game clearly has Fifa 2004 as its main source of inspiration, but also includes a number of enhancements to the gameplay and control we will likely see in Fifa 2005.

Among the changes is an improvement to the long-range passing. The lob pass has always used a fairly slapdash system in the past. Euro 2004 moves towards fixing this by granting the player more control over the flight and pace of the long pass while the ball is in the air.

On the field, the game certainly feels more fluid than previous titles, which lends weight to a growing argument that the Fifa franchise now provides more than a match to Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 3, particularly in the realism stakes.

The bulk of the game naturally lies in the Euro 2004 mode, which allows you to select one of Europe's top teams and progress through the tough qualifying rounds to the finals.

Players will also take on management duties and be responsible for selecting a final squad. The concept of managing your squad through friendlies and qualifiers provides an added level of depth not seen in previous football Fifa titles. The idea is to make players feel as if every match (even that midweek friendly against Luxembourg) is important.

Coaches need to pay close attention to the performance of the players. Player morale makes a profound impact on the performance of your team who can be affected by a range of events, such as scoring in a previous match, which will naturally lift one's spirits, while such things as press criticism, poor form and injuries will decrease morale.

As you would expect from an EA Sports title, Euro 2004 is top-quality with superb character models, fully licensed teams, players and stadiums — thankfully the football side keeps on getting better too, keeping the much-loved Fifa series evolving in the right direction.

* $99.95

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