TecMagik/Master System/£34.99

This is the officially-licensed game for the European Championships. This means that TecMagik are the only ones who can put the crap Walt Disney-designed, headband-clad bunny logo on the game's packaging. I wonder why Americans think that they if they want a character to appear cool it has to have a headband? The only truly cool headgear is actually a fez - wearing a headband just means you're probably a lesbian tennis player. Anyway, crap logo aside, this game's a bit of a title contender - you have the choice of 34 teams (the groupings are randomly-generated each time) and there's a one or two-player option, although unfortunately poor old player two has to play for all the opponents of player one. There are the standard options, such as wind-speed, weather and aftertouch, but also some interesting newies: a Different Referees facility that can make the difference between an unpenalised clogging match and a seven-a-side game; and an acceleration mode, where you can get your players to expend extra effort in short bursts.

Champions Of Europe compares very well to Super Kick Off. The 75-degree viewing angle is good and the sprites are more detailed. If anything, the game is a little faster. It's easier to control the ball and there's a wide variety of teams to choose from. There are a couple of very minor niggles: the collision detection is occasionally a bit generous with the goalies, and the 'change formation while in possession' option, although innovative, is a little impractical - by the time you've selected the new formation, you don't have the ball any more. But Overall, Champs is an excellent game.

Graphics
89
Playability
90
Addictiveness
88
Sound
85

87

Rating
87
Reviewer
Zero magazine
Region
UK
Scans
Zero-Magazine-Issue34?gallerypage=65

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