UEFA Champions League 2006–2007

Midweek, midwinter: the familiar strains of the Champions League theme tune give you a reason to keep breathing for another two hours. Taking its cue from the terrestrial coverage of the tournament, the resemblance here is uncanny, with the titles matching those of its televised counterpart.

The similarities continue behind the mic, with the knockabout commentary team of Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend going through the motions in typically slick fashion. It certainly doesn't look as good as on the telly though, with the graphics relayed via a strangely faded palette. That said, there are some nice touches, such as being able to see the players' breath.

As for the all-important action, it is of course relayed via some bastardisation of the recent FIFA engine, albeit one that seems to have been speeded to almost comical levels, with players' legs pumping away ten to the dozen. Those players naturally appear with the correct names, shirts and occasional facial likenesses. As ever, if there's a licence to be had, it's in the game.

Three's Up

Being the official game of the Champions League, you can obviously play out that tournament in its entirety, which will take you all of a couple of hours. As such, other modes have been shoe-horned in, including a comprehensive 'scenarios' challenge in which you recreate a series of real-life historical situations, albeit with the present-day squads.

That's still stretching a full release, so enter The Treble, a typically obtuse management mode that sees you at the whim of a despotic chairman who demands that you bring home all three trophies in your first season. Taking a hands-on approach from the outset, the unseen oligarch demands that you sell players, play certain individuals and even adhere to his tactics. While it may be an accurate reflection of the modern game, it's frankly a pain in the arse.

Even worse is the fact that you often don't even get to play an entire match, joining the action 2-0 down with 75 minutes gone, for instance. For all that though, it is weirdly compelling, if only to see what injustice it throws at you next. Or indeed when you'll get sacked, which comes as a blessed relief.