To start things off I am in no way, shape or form a fan of soccer. While I am well aware that the world outside of the US worships the sport, the American in me just doesn't get it. Keeping this in mind, the name Euro Cup means about as much to me as Wal-Mart does to Paris Hilton. However, being the nerd I tend to be I went and looked up just what the Euro Cup was. For the uninitiated Americans reading, the Euro Cup is one of the biggest soccer tournaments in Europe, second only to the World Cup in scope. Basically, it is a big soccer tournament held every four years in which all of the European teams battle for dominance.

Built on the same engine as FIFA 2004, UEFA Euro 2004 looks remarkable. Both the player models and the stadiums look exceptional and show off more details than you could ever want in a game. To me, the most impressive feat in the game is the animation showcased by the player models. Each reacts realistically to your commands and look almost like life. You won't find any quick jumps between two animations, but instead see a nice flow between them. Stadiums also show off some slick details like waving flags.

I would kill to have crowd noises like this in NCAA or Madden. While they could be compared in quality, for whatever reason the crowd just seems more alive and into the game in EUFA Euro. Crowds react to everything in the game and even have their own chants. Another impressive feat is the inclusion of not one, but two different languages for in-game commentary. Switch to the English track and you've got two English chaps calling all the action. Switch to the Spanish offering and you've got two fired-up Spanish speaking commentators. Regardless of which language you choose, the commentary is spot on (or at least it is on the English track, but it's still fun to hear the Spanish guys yell during goals). While there is some obvious redundancy in lines, there's enough variety present that you won't get tired of hearing it. The only short fall I found is that there is a noticeable delay in some comments -- but this is a rare occurrence. Also featured in the game is a decidedly Euro pop licensed soundtrack featuring bands like Dave Clarke, Stakka Bo, Boxer Rebellion and Nelly Furtado.

UEFA Euro 2004 comes out hot on the heels of FIFA 2004 and is essentially the same game as the latter, only it centers around the Euro Cup. Of course, this makes the game a hard sell for the casual fan who just bought FIFA, but the hardcore soccer fans will eat this one up.

Like other soccer games, or really any sports game, UEFA Euro is split up into several play modes. These include modes like Home and Away, Friendly and Practice. Also included are special modes like Fantasy, in which you get to play what amounts to a Pick-up game with all of the biggest soccer stars, and PK Shootout, which is a fun mini-game that lets you practice shooting goals or goal keeping. Also included is a Situation mode, where you set up certain aspects of a game, like how much time is remaining on the clock or the score, and try to overcome them.

Tournament mode is where you'll spend a bulk of your time (after all, the game is based around it). Here you select one of the game's 51 teams, including Norway, England and Italy, and go through the tournament. To this effect, the game is a little smaller in scope than FIFA since you're not playing through seasons, but at the same time there is enough competition, modes and games to keep you busy for a long, long time. When in Tournament mode you will also have to manage every aspect of your team. You'll have to decide when a player is too injured to play and keep tabs on the team's morale. Morale plays a big part in games. Good performances yield high morale while bad ones do the exact opposite. How much this affects a play is based mostly on how good the player is. One of your all-stars might be able to get over a bad game quickly, while a fresh-faced rookie would have a difficult time.

There's no online play included, but you can play with up to eight players provided you have enough Multi-taps to string together.

Seeing as I'm not well versed in soccer, I had a difficult time with the game. However, in the hands of a skilled player, or at least someone who knows what the hell is going on, the game should provide about the same level of challenge as FIFA. I did notice that the AI seems much smarter than in past games and was able to employ slightly more advanced strategies. As with most sports, some teams are harder to beat than others and, according to some soccer fans I talked to, EUFA Euro 2004 stays true to life.

Even for a soccer n00b like myself, I found the control scheme easy to pick up and play. Sure, I had no clue as to what I was doing and my only instinct was to get the ball into the goal, but I still had a good time trying. The action is very similar to FIFA, so vets of the series will have an easy time jumping into the action.

Button placements make logical sense in the default setting. Everything is where you expect it to be and flows nicely with the game. Pulling off tricks is as easy as pressing the R1 and L1 buttons. The result is a game that feels much less like a simulation and more like an arcade game, which I find preferable in a game as fast paced as this. After some initial awkwardness, I found myself performing some pretty cool fake shots and bicycle kicks. The one aspect that I had the hardest time with was the targeting cursor used in some kicks. I eventually caught on, but it was a rough road to travel. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in Practice mode.

Overall, UEFA Euro 2004 is a solid soccer game. Soccer fans will obviously dig this title more than most casual sports fans due to lack of familiarity with the teams involved, but it is worth a shot if you want to pump a little culture into your gaming repertoire.