Game modes
The tournament itself is the primary game mode in Euro 2008. You have an option to either play just the tournament, starting from the group stages, or you could play through the qualifiers and international friendlies before you head to Austria and Switzerland. The fixtures and qualifying groups, even the international friendlies, are the same as the real teams played in the lead-up to the tournament. However, you also have the option to randomise the qualification groups if you're looking for a change.
Then there's the Captain Your Country mode, which takes the stellar 'Be A Pro' mode, first introduced in FIFA 08, a step further by allowing you to play 'Be A Pro' in a tournament situation. 'Be A Pro' allows you to control only one player, not the entire team, and scores you based on your passing, shooting and positional play. But rather than just implementing 'Be A Pro' in the Euro 2008 tournament, they've added a new dimension to it.
Not only will you have to try and play your part in helping your team win, but you will compete with three of your teammates, either AI or human, to become your team's captain.
You get points for each performance, and the best performer gets to captain the team. You can either use a player from the expansive squad list or create your own player, who will earn experience points with each game, which can be used to improve his skill attributes.
The great thing here is that even if you fail to win the tournament in CYC the first time, you can try again and carry forward all of your created player's skills to the new tournament.
The third game mode -- Story of Qualifying -- puts the player in the midst of various real match situations lifted from the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Most of these are match-turning situations such as saving your team from losing by equalising with 10 minutes left in the game. While it is worth taking a crack at them every once in a while, it won't hold your attention for long and seems like it was just thrown in just for the sake of it.
Also see: Get your (video) game on! 5 hot picks
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