Score: By: Andrew Castenmiller Date: Saturday, 15 May, 2004
England International Football
Game Type: Action
Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Platform: Xbox
There's no doubt about it, England International Football tries to be like Pro Evolution Soccer with licenses. But does it succeed?
England International Football allows you take control of the England international team at tournaments such as the European Championship and other international tournaments. You can also take control of other countries in custom tournaments, despite the name of the game suggesting otherwise. Unfortunately there are no qualifying campaigns which can make the tournaments seem rather short-lived..
The first observation I made when playing England International Football was that the controls were exactly the same as Pro Evolution Soccer's. Unoriginal, but a system that works and is easy to pick up if you've played PES. The short passing is excellent, while the long passing and through balls are good but not quite the standard of PES. Then there's the shooting, which is more like FIFA's system of shooting than PES. A power bar determines shot power and you aim using the 360 analogue stick, shooting with the d-pad just won't do the trick. Unfortunately shooting is where the game falls down. It's too easy to score off long shots because they rarely blaze over the bar and are quite easy to put out of reach of the goalkeeper. Then on the other hand, shots from in close can be very difficult, mainly due to super-human goalkeepers. When one-on-one with a goalkeeper, place the ball a little left or a little right of the goalkeeper and he'll save it most, if not all of the time, somehow seeming to always know which way the shot will go. If you then try other ways to beat the goalkeeper from in close, then think again. Don't bother chipping the goalkeeper as you might as well just hand the ball to him. Trying to step around the goalkeeper? Good luck. Then if you try blasting it as hard as you can and he'll not only save it, but also amazingly will catch it. When you do finally score from in close, it's mainly due to the fact the goalkeeper forgot to dive. Shooting and super human goalkeepers are areas of the game that needs improvement, but looking at the positives at least it keeps scores more realistic.
One of the strengths of England International Football is the player movement and general AI. Computer players always move around the pitch well offering options in all areas. If you're good enough you'll put together some fine free-flowing attacking moves, but so will the opposition. Play is varied all over the pitch, and although I felt a slight bias to attack more down the wings, the general balance in play was impressive.
Unfortunately the AI isn't perfect. Sometimes the computer, particularly the goalkeepers and defenders, dwell on the ball too long as if they are on the training ground. The opposition defenders also have no idea on how to defend from crosses. Put a decent enough cross in and you'll most likely end up with a free header despite being outnumbered 3 to 1.
In general I find the gameplay good, especially for a second effort (with this game being an enhanced version of Club Football). However it definitely can do with improvement. Ball physics can be touched up slightly, shooting needs major improvement as do the goalkeepers, skill moves need to be introduced and defending needs to less sluggish and easier. While just stupid mistakes, like being unable to perform a simple tap-in or taking longer than needed to clear the ball to safety despite hitting the clearance button several times, need to be eliminated from the game. It also needs to be more difficult, as there seems little difference between 'normal' and 'hard' difficulties.
The graphics of England International Football are good, but no more than that. Some close ups of player faces are breathtaking. But while the faces are very impressive, the player models and animations aren't anything special. There just aren't enough animations and variations in player models to compete with the likes of FIFA and PES in this category. Occasionally during cut scenes there is huge blur, which detracts from the otherwise stunning close-up graphics. By no means are the graphics bad, but certainly don't go out and buy this game thinking that it will revolutionise how soccer games should look.
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