England International Football

Everyone in the mood for this? I thought as much...

I find this review a little unsavoury for two reasons; firstly, after England's depressing exit from Euro 2004 (excuse me momentarily whilst I retreat to the corner to pelt myself with cabbages and sob) this title doesn't exactly evoke pleasant feelings; secondly, I still fail to understand why other companies bother releasing football titles when Pro Evolution Soccer 3 is available. Still, FIFA's dominance of the console football market is enough to prove that quality does not equal profit, so you can't really blame Codemasters for trying their luck.

England International Football uses the same engine seen in the Club Football series currently available, but the similarities do not end there. Like Club Football, EIF is as much a commercial product as a gaming one. Using the license to the full, the whole title is crammed to the hilt with England-ness. The intro movie is a stirringly patriotic montage of the England team in full swing, from Shearer to Owen. I would imagine that before our premature exit from the competition (pain, agony!) I would have found it all very exciting. Photos of players past and present are also unlocked throughout the game as you achieve various goals, such as your first victory or hat trick. EIF's dependence on the license, however, proves to be both a strength and a weakness.

EIF very much tries to sell itself as a user-friendly arcade knockabout, shunning the 'total football' realism of Pro Evolution Soccer in favour of a more accessible approach. The control setup yields no hidden depth and there's no scope for sublime trickery on the ball. Play is limited to basic passing and shooting, though this is not necessarily a weakness. As much as I fail to grasp it, there are some people out there (weird, twisted people) who prefer a simple face-value approach to the unlimited depth offered by Konami's awe-inspiring offering. If you fall into this category, then there's much fun to be had.

Taking EIF for what it is, it's true that it succeeds fairly well. The game engine is far superior to that of Sony's truly shocking This Is Football series. The controls are solid and easy to grasp meaning that in no time at all you'll be fully acquainted with business on the pitch. Although there's none of the cheeky tricks used in PES to take the ball past defenders what is on offer is consistent and well executed. Passes ping about accurately on the whole and in a very basic way you're able to build plays up from midfield in a reasonably pleasing manner, with crossing and volleying far easier than in Sony's poor title. Shooting is quite simple, if painfully dull and players respond just about quick enough to keep things flowing. The only significant flaw is the drawn out tackle animation that renders your player immobile for several seconds after attempting a tackle, meaning that even if you win the ball it's unlikely you'll be up in time to claim it.

Visually things are solid if unspectacular. Player likenesses are good close up, though the generic animations and heavy hair colour means that to my eye it often looked as if I had fielded a team of Ashley Cole's, at least in the most distant view. Whilst some of the players may look the part, however, one player plays pretty much like the next, so whether you're being Wayne Rooney or Emile Hesky there's very little to differentiate Adonis from donkey. The on-field action is accompanied by some authentic terrace chants that help create that big game atmosphere. The same cannot be said of the pitch side graphics; whilst the crowd are acceptable the lame 16bit-esque pitch side officials are an embarrassment to behold in the replays. On the plus side, the menus and team customisation options are pleasantly accessible, doing a great job drawing you in and encouraging you to experiment with formations and line-ups.

Unfortunately, the fun on offer is offset by a number of quirks that whilst not disastrous, do serve to detract from the overall satisfaction. Perhaps the need to rush the game out in time for the tournament prevented the developers from ironing out several tiny annoyances that often blight the experience. Small things like the score and map graphics obscuring play on the very far or nearside of the pitch are not devastating, though still noticeable flaws. The same can be said for the poor goal replay system where the camera swings back and fourth around the ball like a monkey on crack whilst the manual controls are fiddly and imprecise.

Other flaws are less forgivable. The keeper AI is poor at best. Back passing is a hazardous activity with your goalie just as likely to gormlessly stand by and watch the ball creep out of play as he is to come out and collect; just as dangerous is asking your keeper to pass the ball out as you can never be sure where it will end up. Parrying is something you won't be seeing much of either, as even the most monstrous shots from point blank range are more often than not held firmly. The lack of skill controls means that taking on the keeper 1-on-1 is a tough affair. The majority of shots in this situation will be blocked; you're left to hope for an AI anomaly to give you space, or instead to draw the keeper out and run the ball around him.

Corners and free kicks employ a mechanic similar to FIFA where you choose the point of contact with the ball and the power of the strike, and whilst it works well enough it never feels exciting. Throw ins on the other hand are very badly structured; there's no precision when throwing to team mates and when opponents throw you're not granted control of a player until after play has begun. Also, when switching players there is sometimes a momentary freeze where the player you're swapping to grinds to a halt. It's only a split second, but that's easily enough to make sure your man doesn't get to the ball. Defensive headers are a real nightmare, though it could be argued that this is a deliberate design element to facilitate a flowing, arcade-like experience. Likewise, through balls are mostly redundant and offer very little advantage over regular passes.

For a licensed product it's shocking to see that the default setup for the European Championships has pooled the groups incorrectly, with England squaring off against Latvia as opposed to Switzerland being an example. Also, the dreaded Dutch syndrome from PES again rears its ugly head. There's no Oranges43, but van Nisten is still off the mark. It's also instantly noticeable that the team line-ups aren't entirely accurate. Bye bye Ledley King, hello Rio Ferdinand (it's worth remembering though that such logistical challenges are a nightmare in a product such as this, and we shouldn't be too critical). I was expecting some grand and patriotic video sequence upon my first tournament victory, but alas all I was rewarded with was a screen saying "You've won" and, yawn, some more pictures for the Trophy Room.

The main drawback of the title however is simply the lack of depth off the pitch. Aside from the European Championships there really is very little to offer. There is an International Cup option but not only is the format incorrect but there are only 32 teams to choose from, 22 of which are European. Aside from that there is a league option but you have to question the potential lifespan of this selection. There is the option to create your own customised teams, and even place yourself into the England team for that ultimate glory fix, but neither feature significantly extends the scope of the game.

Taken as a lighthearted arcade knockabout, England International Football is quite acceptable. Crank up the difficulty and there are some genuinely tense moments to be found. The main criticism to be levelled is the lack of variation the limited game types offer. At the end of the day EIF is adequate whilst failing to excel at anything in particular. It falls short of Virtua Striker 3 version 2002 in the arcade stakes and isn't even close enough to PES in the realism stakes to be worthy of mention. There's a reasonable foundation here for Codemasters to develop a solid arcade experience in the future, but for now it's very hard to think of a reason to recommend this. It's not bad, just very very ordinary.

53%

By Ben Parfitt