UEFA Euro 2004 Preview

The UEFA European Championships havenâ??t exactly enjoyed a good relationship with videogames, with only Gremlinâ??s UEFAâ??96 standing out in recent memory.

Thankfully EA look likely to set the record straight with the release of UEFA Euro 2004, currently in development and scheduled for release prior to the actual championships in June.

Essentially based on the ever improving FIFA series, UEFA 2004 features a number of innovative ideas and enhancements to the gameplay, which should result in a European Championship videogame actually being something more then a quick cash-in.

Whilst the main game takes FIFA 2004 as its main source of inspiration so you can expect such features as special tricks on the right thumbstick, the game includes a number of enhancements to the gameplay and control, which ensures that the series is continuing to move in the correct direction.

Amongst the changes include a wonderful enhancement to the long-range passing system; whereas the lob pass has never been fully realised in a football title with a relatively hit-or-miss approach, UEFA 2004 makes inroads towards that by including a modifier button to grant the player more control over the flight and pace of the long pass. Simply by holding onto a shoulder button and pressing the long pass button, you can have greater control over the pass, which is particularly ideal when feeding in crosses from the wing or when youâ??ve got a long-pass specialist on the ball.

The overall game certainly plays more fluidly then previous FIFA titles which is certainly a big improvement; certainly from our playtest with the game the experience is much more rewarding and less frustrating then previous titles, giving credit to the argument that FIFA now provides more then a match to the Pro Evolution series from Konami.

The main bulk of the game naturally lies in the â??UEFA 2004â?? mode, which allows you to select a team and progress from qualifying for the tournament through to the finals and hopefully glory. Thankfully EA have actually added a degree of substance to this mode, as players will need to take on management duties and select a final squad after qualification from a large pool of players much in real life. Beginning with a squad of 40 itâ??s up to you to guide your team through friendlies and qualifiers in order to get an idea of which players will make it through to the finals and those that get cut. Adding to this aspect is the inclusion of playersâ?? morale; player morale makes a profound impact on the performance of your players and can be affected by a wide range of events such as scoring in a previous match which results in an increase whilst such things as press criticism will decrease your playersâ?? morale.

The whole concept of managing your squad through friendlies and qualifiers and the issue of player morale adds the game a level of depth weâ??ve not seen in previous football titles; you really feel that every match is important and pay close attention to the performance of your players before the big tournament kicks off.

Other notable additions include the ability to scout your opposition, highlighting key areas such as top scorers, formations, injuries, etcâ?¦

As youâ??d expect from an EA title, UEFA 2004 is currently looking stunning with superb character models and stadiums; the Playstation2 version that weâ??re currently playing suffers from some framerate issues when the scene gets cluttered however we expect this to be addressed upon the games release.