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FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THEIR PREVIOUS MAN UNITED GAME, KRISALIS NOW TAKE THE TEAM TO EUROPE FOR A SUPER CHALLENGE. 'OH, I'LL JUST PACK MY BAGS AND SEE IT IN ITALY, THEN,' SAYS A DELUDED MARK CASWELL. OH NO YOU DON'T, MATEY (COME BACK 'ERE!)...

I knew they had to appear soon. Tons of footy games have finally descended upon us. The only problem is how to review this one - we've seen so many football games now I'm tempted to say 'Look, its just like the other games: kick the ball up and down the pitch and score goals.'

But I don't want to be sacked and so here's a rundown of the game's features (ie, the twiddly bits you mess around with before you kick the ball).

EUROPE, 1992 AND ALL THAT As 1992 is almost upon us, it's very cosmopolitan; it first asks you to pick a language, English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. Having shown off to your mates by picking a foreign language, choose a league from UEFA Cup, European Cup and Cup Winners' Cup.

Up pops the neat options screens! It's ten icons allow you to tweak certain aspects of the game or view the league tables. You can change the formation and position of your players, set the match length, change the manager or team name, view the stats for your or your next opponents' team and, most importantly, choose whether you want to play the match or Just watch a printout of the final score.

CLASHING MATCH So, the match. Is it any cop? Not really. Whereas the option screens are very well planned and executed, the matchplay is poor. Viewed from above, the sprites are poorly defined and lack speed. Add to that the horrible player colours (red and yellow), which clash with the green of the pitch, and it's a strain on the eyes.

Control is sluggish - many times I swore at a player because he was crippling along like a snail. But we've one thing to be thankful for: a league system has been included so you can challenge a mate to see who can battle through the most matches and hold the coveted cup at the end of the game.

Sadly, the well executed option screens don't make up for the lack of a decent arcade football section.

MARK … 50%

'This footy sim looks great, with plenty of options and smart presentation graphics. Everything goes well until the managing bit is over and you play a match. This is where the game not only trips up but falls flat on its face and gets run over by a juggernaut. The players appear as blobs of colour, the control method's awkward... it's all very strange that the match is so poor when the rest of the features are well presented. The difficulty of matches is a bit weird: Man United, supposedly one of the best British teams, is often beaten by an unknown team from Luxembourg. Manchester United Europe could have been great but sadly it bites the dust due to the awful match.'