It's fair to say I wasn't exactly counting down the seconds until the launch of the Uefa Euro 2008 game. And I'm guessing you were probably expecting what I was. Namely a lazy cash-in based around a now largely irrelevant - for England fans anyway - tournament. But in a shock bigger than Pompey and Cardiff getting to the Cup Final EA have produced an innovative soccer game that might well point towards the future of console football.
There are two main reasons for this. The first is the Battle of the Nations mode, which kicks in as soon as you switch on the game. Simply choose your country, start playing and see your on and offline performances aggregated onto a daily leaderboard. More points are gained by beating the stronger teams, especially if you play as a weaker one. Come the end of the tournament (the end of June) the country with the most points gets virtual bragging rights. France and Spain were leading the way over the weekend with England, perhaps understandably, lagging lower down. Yes, it feels slightly gimmicky and obviously there is a time limit but it certainly gives more incentive to play.
But the Captain Your Country mode is the most innovative pointer towards future footy game development. Here you play as one player rather than whole teams, with the aim of, you've guessed it, eventually captaining your country. Think FIFA 08's Be a Pro mode but over a full season and with RPG-style character development to add more depth. The on pitch action feels sharper too. Controlling one player is immensely satisfying as you time your runs and work the channels. Assists are easily as satisfying as scoring, and there is even some kind of gritty satisfaction from playing as a centre back. A particularly satisfying 2-1 England win against Germany did the impossible on Saturday afternoon - it momentarily took my mind off Southampton's disastrous home defeat to Burnley.
So far so good then, but sadly there is a downer. And an important one too - namely the actual on-pitch action itself. It still isn't as fluid, intuitive and rewarding as Pro Evolution Soccer. There is still an ever-so-slight delay between button press and on-screen action. And the pace, while speedier than the glacial FIFA 08, still feels out. Ironically this slower pace makes controlling one player in the Captain Your Country mode feel easier and more realistic. And frankly the on-field gap between FIFA and PES has narrowed so much that the innovative - and lag free, if this weekend is anything to go by - online options might well swing it in FIFA's favour come '09.
Forget Chelsea, Man Utd and the predictable and uncompetitive Premier League. This year's most interesting match-up will be between FIFA 09 and PES 2009. And at this stage it would be a brave punter who could pick a winner.
