The official game for Euro 2000 has turned out to be something of a mirror of the tournament itself - entertaining, brilliantly produced and very addictive.
The game is based on the successful and long running Fifa series of football games. But the fact that the game is centred around Fifa doesn't mean it only has something to offer for the person who doesn't own the most recent Fifa release - Fifa 2000.
The movement of players and distribution of the ball in Euro 2000 is much smoother. The players are bigger on screen and it is much easier to sweep the ball around, whereas in Fifa 2000 there was a tendency to lose sight of the ball in fast flowing moves.
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Euro 2000 gives the player the chance to start in the qualification stage as any nation. You may want to stick with your own nation at first before trying to succeed as a smaller nation - maybe the mighty Andorra!
Many games just allow you to play the matches and progress through without any attention being paid to injuries, suspensions or training. Euro 2000 takes into account players' disciplinary records, meaning players get banned for both qualifying and championship games.
Players who pick up injuries during games are also unlikely to make it for the next match - and could even be ruled out for the Championship.
You are also not restricted to pick from one pool of players. You can also call players up from a second pool of national players if injuries and suspensions hit you too hard during the qualifying process.
The gameplay itself gives you the chance to try a plethora of moves to try and outwit the opposition. You can shimmy, hurdle tackles, outpace the defender or, if you really want to showboat, you can turn, flick the ball over your head and leave the defender flummoxed as you go on to smash the ball home.
Goals also come in a variety of ways. The diving header, the overhead kick, the lob, the power drive from the edge of the box or the simple slide underneath the 'keeper's body.
The defending in the game is the hardest thing to master. With corners it seems very hard to pick up the attacker. I know I found that I always seemed to leave a man unmarked to head home! At least my keeper managed to stop a few.
Outside the game itself there is the chance to hone your skills within the skill drill area. I found this limited in its usefulness as most of the skills I could do already, I just needed to know how to put them into match practise!
But there is a better area when you are inside the tournament. You can have training sessions with your chosen nation, in which the other side will play in the style of your next opponents - a great chance to try and get that elusive defensive strategy bang on (fat chance)!
There are three different skill levels, and very quickly you can master the amateur level. There is perhaps too big a gap between amateur and the next level up, professional. I have only managed to avoid a defeat once - drawing 0-0 with Liechenstein when I was playing as England!
I daren't even try playing on world class level!
But if the game is made too easy and you conquer it straight away, it loses its attraction and stickability. Back to the drawing board and those training sessions then!
Apart from the Euro 2000 challenge you can also play a quick friendly encounter and European Championship classics from the very first Finals back in 1960 up to Euro 96 (and yes, England did thrash Germany this time!).
Commentary in the game comes from Des Lynam, John Motson and Mark Lawrenson (who gives some great comments during training) and the music within the game has been composed exclusively by Paul Oakenfold, the world's number one DJ (and it ain't half bad!)
On the whole the game is very good. I would say that those who already own Fifa 2000 may not want to splash out on what is essentially the same game, but if you've got the cash to splash it is well worth it.
