UEFA Euro 2008 narrows the FIFA ranks to just 52 teams in competition for the confederation's crown, but it still delivers realistic control, convincing independent ball physics, and smooth online play-making. Europe's weather more convincingly impacts pitch conditions, and Captain Your Country Mode turns the already rewarding experience of playing as a pro into a competition for team leadership.
Take your second-rate club to the top against all odds, and you'll boost your true favorite's position in the online standings. It's odd to see the addition of a library of user-controlled goal celebrations, given that A.I. teammates can still be painfully slow to react. But the game's satisfying highlights keep even persistent series flaws from taking control of the field.
EA Sports UEFA Euro 2012 first trailer
UEFA Euro 2008 does a great job of bringing together the technical preciseness and fun of a real soccer game like no soccer game before it. Being able to control almost all the action, and feeling like scoring a goal is a true accomplishment, comes across immediately. If you're a fan of the beautiful game, or even if you're not, you'll be in for real treat with this game.
Games Asylum writes: "The first thing to ask of any football game is: is it better than Pro Evolution Soccer? The answer in this case, is yes. Euro 2008 plays a slower, more realistic and more cultured version of the game. It relies far more on crossing, sensible defending and picking out the perfect pass, in contrast to Pro Evo's festival of dribbling.
It also plays a far better game online. I experienced hardly any lag, and when I did I found that the entire game slowed down to accommodate it. I never lost a goal or game due to lag, a huge difference to Pro Evo's nasty habit of making the ball disappear and then reappear in your own goal. There's also a wealth of online modes, including playing a Euro 2008 tournament online, playing in a league or just picking a single game. There's also an interesting feature called 'Play for your Country' where you choose your country and your scores both offline and online go into a ranking table to find out which country has the most obsessive citizens."
