This player looks like he's on a magnificent run, but it's actually more like a magnificent lumber

Does the latest big licence football effort on the PlayStation bear comparison with the great games of the past? Or is it a shoddy effort which manages only to feather a few nests at the expense of the long-suffering fans?
Gideon Kibblewhite

There's always a thrill of anticipation when you slot a new football sim into your PlayStation for the first time. Could this be the one to take the beautiful game to new, giddy heights, you wonder? It's always possible: so many champions have come and gone over the years. And anyway, you're bound to have high expectations of a game boasting the Champions' League licence.

Indeed, European Cup glory beckoning, you feel an almost palpable tingle when you hit the power button and find yourself treated to the now familiar UEFA Champions League graphics sequence (as seen on ITV), complete with that stirring operatic theme tune. It's all very European, very voetballesque, and puts you nicely in the mood for some monumental continental encounters.

The sense of anticipation builds further when, after you hit X for a Quick Game, you find yourself in the safe hands Bob Wilson. Joy turns to ecstasy when Bob says, over the roar of an impressive-sounding crowd, that he's turning you over to Brian Moore and - yes - Ron Atkinson. And when you see before you a magnificent looking stadium and some larger-than-life players lining up, you begin to think that nothing can possibly go wrong.

Unfortunately, despite a smart, quick front end with all the usual options (formation, tactics, etc) and group matches galore on offer, it's the actual football bit where this sim falls down. It's far too sluggish and slow; and any sense of feel is completely lacking. You don't so much run as lumber up field; and trying to get any sort of passing game together is extremely difficult when it feels like you're wearing clogs.

But it's the shooting end of things where UEFA is most unsatisfactory. When you cross a ball into the area you can get in a decent, often acrobatic and occasionally fierce volley attempt; but when you try a normal crack on goal it's hard to get any kind of power behind it at all. The shots with the Shoot button merely succeed in mowing a few daisies, and, unless you get the angle just right, you'll never score with them.