EA Sports. The company responsible for more updates than a 24 hour news channel are usually capable of changing their franchises just enough every year to make us part with the green backs, but it usually splits the gaming public into two groups. Those that are happy with the improvements and will go online for content, and those who, like a college student, need a gap year to feel the benefits.

Being a game based on the upcoming European Championships, it comes as no surprise to see a lack of Club and other national teams, so don’t look to this as a chance to play as Manchester United or LA Galaxy; you’ll need to stick with FIFA 08 for those pangs.

Graphically there’s improvements here and there, with managers on view and player close-ups looking really decent (albeit with a slight Resident Evil zombie look on a high definition TV), but when the actual footy is taken from a further viewpoint, you’re not going to really notice it so much. What you do notice is the amount of extra animation. It makes the game more fluid and feel like a real match instead of the console game it is.

Next up, as always with EA Sports games, is the obligatory and slightly dodgy music. I really do wish they’d stop assuming exactly what genre you’ll want to listen to when playing a sporting title. Personally, I didn’t really want to get down with many of the tracks on offer here, but then it could just be a sign of me getting old and grumpy (what do you mean “could”? - Ed. On the other hand, I completely agree ever since Burnout Paradise made me want to cut my ears off and encase them in cement – Ed. (again)).

The FX and commentary is of a substantially high standard, with Clive Tyldsley and Andy Townsend providing the descriptive mumblings. A decent selection of crowd chants also keep any home fans content whilst trying to battle against their closest rivals on the way to the finals, so no complaints there.

So we now have the customary parts of Euro 2008 out of the way, but what of the new things which EA have put in to persuade us to pay for this soccer souvenir? Well, there are a number of modes and options to help relieve the burden of feeling short-changed. There’s the full Euro 2008 tournament, including qualifiers. This gives people the chance of taking their preferred team, in my case Scotland (you know - the team that know how to gallantly and consistently lose), and getting them through to the actual event.

Next up is the Captain Your Country mode. This takes the recently innovated Be-A-Pro mode and gives it more of a purpose than just being an afterthought in FIFA ‘08. To the uninitiated, Be-A-Pro is EA’s equivalent of Libero Grande where you pick a player on the pitch and take control of him and only him. This time, though, the footballer is you (or as close a likeness of your ugly mug as you can get with the editing tools) and you’re running through small friendly internationals alongside other members of the squad to win captaincy of your team for the big qualifiers. It works surprisingly well, it has to be said, but it’s not the best addition to this game. Oh no.

That accolade belongs to Battle of the Nations. This acts as a huge online leaderboard, consisting of gamers from across Europe playing for their country; with performances rewarding the victor with points to add to their compatriot’s scores, resulting in a really competitive battle to top the league and show who’s boss of the beautiful game. Battle of the Nations provides another reason for people to play online and also manages to create a healthy fighting spirit, not to mention raises the excitement levels for the actual event itself.

We also have the Story of Qualifying mode, being a whole collection of scenarios from not only the run up to this year’s championships, but the ones from four and even eight years ago. This gives people the chance to either overturn results they didn’t want or inflict more pain over and over again. Either way it’s a nice touch.

Then there’s an online knockout cup to allow countrymen to stack up their skills in a mini tournament. You don’t necessarily have to pick your own place of origin, but it’s always a possibility. The lower your team’s rank, the more points you can win if you beat a team much higher up.

I do have to vent my anger upon one major gripe, however, and it’s one that’s spilled over from FIFA to EURO ’08. Why is it that internet play only ever allows one game before cutting gamers off? Whatever happened to letting us have multiple games in a row? This may not seem like much of a complaint to some, but it is a major irritant to online gamers. This needs to be rectified not just for this franchise, but all of EA Sports’ games, as its bloody annoying.

Well, is it worth going for if you paid for last year’s full on incarnation? It depends on just how much of a lover of the beautiful game you are. Its predecessor does still offer a solid and rewarding game of football with International and Club teams, but Euro 2008 does enough to make you choose this one over the older game. It’s faster, more fluid and has enough internet options to keep the cyber players content. The full on price tag is a touch off-putting, but if you know somewhere you can trade in, it suddenly becomes a viable opportunity to see what’s coming later in the year in the form of FIFA ‘09.

So there we have it. Another decent upgrade of a six month old game, but one with an impressive selection of new toys to tantalise fans. Whether you want to part with the money and/or its bigger brother is your own choice, but the new signing does play a mean game of football.