UEFA Euro 96 England

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UEFA Euro 96 England
Developer(s)Gremlin Interactive
Publisher(s)Sega (Saturn)
Gremlin Interactive (MS-DOS)
Platform(s)Sega Saturn, MS-DOS
ReleaseMay 30, 1996
Genre(s)Association football
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

UEFA Euro 96 England is an association football video game developed by Gremlin Interactive and published by Sega for MS-DOS and the Sega Saturn in 1996.[1] The title is an officially licensed tie in with the football tournament of the same name.

Gameplay[edit]

Players can play the full European Championships or play friendly matches.[2] The game features all sixteen national sides that qualified for Euro 1996 and all eight host stadia.[3] It features commentary from Barry Davies, with the developers stating that Davies' script includes 30,000 words (up from 22,000 words for his Actua Soccer script).[4]

The PC release offered online play for up to 20 players using BT's Wireplay network gaming system. Ultimately, it was the first PC game to utilize the Wireplay system, which eventually supported over 100 different games by the end of the decade.[4]

Development[edit]

The game was developed with the engine used for Gremlin's previous football title Actua Soccer. Gremlin used the motion capture of professional footballers Andy Sinton, Chris Woods and Graham Hyde (of Sheffield Wednesday) for the development of Actua Soccer, but told CVG that for this release they had implemented "nearly twice as many frames of motion capture creating smoother movement", with particular assistance from Chris Woods to improve the goalkeeper AI.[4][5]

Reception[edit]

The title received largely positive reviews. Rob Bright of Sega Saturn Magazine gave the game a score of 94%, arguing that it featured "the tidiest graphics and most dynamic animation of any footy game on the Saturn".[6] Sega Power's Nick Merritt wrote that "the attention to detail makes this a worthy tie-in for top quality European football" and that it "blows FIFA away, no contest", awarding the game a score of 90%.[2]

Commercially the game was a big hit in the UK, becoming a major system seller for the Sega Saturn in the region.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wilson, Ben (10 June 2016). "The best European Championship video games ever made". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  2. ^ a b Merritt, Nick (9 May 1996). "Review: Euro '96". Sega Power (80). Future Publishing: 32–35.
  3. ^ "Work in progress: Euro '96 Soccer". Mean Machines Sega (42). EMAP: 34–36. April 1996.
  4. ^ a b c "Gremlin feature: Euro '96". Computer and Video Games (173). Future Publishing: 24–25. 14 March 1996.
  5. ^ "Coming soon: Euro '96 Soccer". Computer and Video Games (174). Future Publishing: 32. 12 May 1996.
  6. ^ Bright, Rob (24 May 1996). "Review; Euro '96". Sega Saturn Magazine (7). Future Publishing: 66–67.
  7. ^ "Tonight We're Going to Party like it's 1996!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 16. Emap International Limited. February 1997. p. 10.
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