Football games have pretty much been popular for as long as video games have, whether that be those played on an Atari, a PC or the ultra realistic modern games that are now experienced on the latest Playstation and Xbox consoles. The recent World Cup did wonders for the game and this served to make the sport even more popular. Football games have benefited from this and considering 71% of Brits thought going to the World Cup was too dangerous; games can seem even more appealing. This then begs the question, what are the greatest football games that have ever been released?

 

Sensible Soccer

This was the football game of choice amongst teenagers in the 1990s. The graphics, titles and camera angles obviously weren’t perfect but the gameplay was amazing and instinctive. The game was played with a one button joystick and the game really seemed to respond like the player was totally in control. Sensible soccer had no desire to be realistic, but just fun, simple and efficient and it definitely achieved this, mixed in with some fantastic Faustino Asprilla diving headers and Phil Babb sliding tackles. As the game developed later versions offered a wider depth to computer football and included all the real world players and competitions.

 

Pro Evolution Soccer 6

This release in the extremely popular pro evolution series really felt like a game changer. It completely nailed based aspects of playing the game like shooting and passing, but it also offered the chance to create amazing off the ball runs, made sure players had their own distinctive running styles, like Beckham and Henry and even let players take a quick free kick before the opposition was ready. Many view this as the last great Pro Evo to be released before it was overtaken in popularity by Fifa.

 

Championship Manager 01/02

This release of Championship Manager is widely regarded as the greatest one. It was released before football management games became so complex it feels like you actually need a UEFA License to actually understand how to play them, but had enough about it to make it thoroughly entertaining. This was the golden era of European football and it made it very fun to see what players you could go and steal from the European leagues and who would go on to be a superstar and who would be a flop. The game was a PC sensation that really captured the real life lows and highs of being a boss on a weekly basis. You could spend hours or days scouting a lower league talent, devise tactics that you were sure wouldn’t be beaten or decide whether to risk your star player who has just come back from injury and isn’t yet at full fitness.

 

Fifa 12

With a new FIFA release every year it is hard to pick one from the series; however it can be argued it is one of the best titles. Fifa 12 though is the one that cemented FIFA’s place about Pro Evo in the football gaming world. Tactical defending was introduced which saw options for playing to jockey and tackle whilst off the ball, rather than just hold down one button and hope their player retrieved the ball. This game also saw the introduction of the impact engine which saw the technological advancement that brought Fifa into the new age with collisions and momentum now feeling more realistic than ever. Precision dribbling also gave players a new way to beat defenders that was very popular.