Game Review: UEFA Euro 2004

Assignment 1 :

Game Review

 

 

Emotional faces before the start of the match

 

Goal Kick in a match, Notice the beauty of this stadium

 

Realistic Looking Characters in the Match
Referee Collina booking Pavel Nedved of Czech Republic

 

Online Multiplayer Login/ Welcome screen

 

A TV-styled replay of a near miss

 

Match Statistics

 

Graphics and Animations

The stadiums in the game are modelled after the real stadiums used in the tournament. The grandeur of the stadiums is often emphasized on each start of a match. The match will start with an overview of the fans in the full-capacity stadium and then zoom into the emotionally charged players in the centre of the field.

In this game, every footballer and referee not only move and play like their real-life counterparts, they even look like their real-life counterparts! This emphasis on details has brought the game into a different league on its own as compared to other soccer titles. Like the past titles of the FIFA games series, there are also TV-style replays for the key moments in the game. Usually, they are the replays for goals, offsides, goal mount scrambles, near misses and fouls from many camera angles. Of these, the goal replays are the most fantastic. If you have just scored and are watching the replay then the "commentators" will draw lines on the screen from where the attack began and praise your tactical understanding.

 

User Interface

The game comes with a beautifully designed user interface with many hotkeys and comprehensive options. The configuration and settings screen is easily located and the screens for saving and loading the screen are user friendly. However, one might take some time to get accustomed to manoeuvre around the screens. This is because the keys allocated to different actions are not consistent.

 

Sound Effects & Background Music

In this game, you have the commentaries from the likes of the famous British commentator, John Motson and the well-known pundit Ally McCoist. Their praises like "this is how you play football" and "absolutely superb finishing" for brilliant moves and the occasional sacarsm and wit for a player who has missed shots made the gameplay an all-round experience. And did I mention its stadium sound effects? There are cheers and chants for each individual team and even boos for bad refereeing decisions!

On top of all these, there is also a soundtrack with the tournament's official song Forca and lots of catchy pop and grunge music from bands of many nations. On each visit to a menu selection screen, you will be greeted with a random song from this list. The usage of these songs pumps up the excitement level and the enjoyment gained from the game.

When you win the tournament, there will be a majestic music accompanied with emotional shouts of joy from the players hugging that rightly moves the gamer into that great feeling of victory.

 

Online Multiplayer Game

For gamers who seek more variety of opponents, they may choose to play in the Online tournaments and matches hosted by EA Sports through the user-friendly online multiplayer interface. In this mode, there are even high scores to increase the competition. For those who wish to chat with other players, there is also a chatroom for them.

 

Implications & Social Issues

This game will make people new to the sport more interested in soccer, and will further deepen the love of the game amongst the fans. This is especially good for the society, as it is in tandem with the aim of FIFA, the world's soccer governing body, to promote football amongst young people so as to keep them off the streets and drugs and get them on track with a healthy sport. In my opinion, through the team management screens, this game also trains gamers in decision making skills and tactical knowledge of the game. Hence, football youth academies may use this game as a form of recreational activity to promote tactical awareness and the importance of teamwork.

However, due to its high replayability, gamers (e.g. school children) playing the game may become addicted to the game and get distracted from higher priorities.