UEFA Euro 2008

Distributor – Electronic Arts
Platform – X360, PS3
Rated – G

This has to be the best soccer (football for traditionalists) simulator on the market today. Euro features all the international teams that are eligible for the European championship (which, like the Olympics, only comes around every 4 years) and has a much smaller line up in comparison to the FIFA tournament games. What it lacks in team selection it makes up for it with smooth, natural realistic game play and great crowd responses that will either boost confidence or deflate it depending on how you play. You get the added bonus in ‘captain your country’ mode of being able to create your own character and let him climb the ranks to eventually captain a team in the finals. As you master in-play moves you can use the more advanced techniques to get past the defense and pretend to be the next Beckham or Maradona - at least in pixels! It even gives you the ability to control your player after scoring, with interactive celebration moves. The weather plays an excellent part in this game, with excellent ball physics in the rain, making things harder than you would expect, but hey, that’s realism for you. In multiplayer mode you can have 16 player tournaments with friends, or complete strangers, over the X-live or PS3 networks. Whether you are a die-hard fan or just a gamer that likes sports sims, this game aims to please, and it succeeds.