Top 10 Football Computer Games Of All Time

Goal.com has published these as the top 10, personally EA Total Club Manager 2004 is my personal favourite. Any thoughts?

 

 

10) Microprose Soccer

Play this game today, and it is ridiculously old and slow. But at the time of its release in 1989, Microprose Soccer was very popular. Most importantly it was the precursor to Sensible Soccer.

9) Player Manager

Until Championship Manager came along, Player Manager was the best management game in circulation. What is more, you could also play with your team at the same time as managing them.

8) Striker

If you owned an Amiga during the early 1990s, it is very possible that you worshipped Striker. The game was played at a lightning-paced Premier League-style speed, and Diego Maradona mazy runs were the norm.

7) Virtua Striker

You are at the airport with a two-hour flight delay � what do you do to fill the time? Well, you visit the arcades and play Virtua Striker. Did not translate so well onto computer consoles, but as an arcade game it was a pre-holiday treat.

6) FIFA International Soccer

Speaking from a personal point of view, I was never a huge fan of the series. Having said this, there can be no denying the impact FIFA International Soccer had on the world of video games when it burst onto the scene in 1993. In many ways it was revolutionary as it moved away from 2D with an isometric view of the pitch.

5) International Superstar Soccer

Some will argue that International Superstar Soccer was better than Pro Evolution Soccer. There was no better Playstation game than ISS during the late 1990s, as FIFA was left behind. One-two�s, through-balls, and wonderful dribbles made ISS a huge hit with users. Roberto Larcos� free-kicks were unstoppable too, even from 50 yards out!

4) Football Manager

An offshoot from the legendary Championship Manager series of 1992-2004, for the last five years Football Manager has been the only football management game. Containing a database so deep that it contains virtually every player, manager, coach, director, physio, groundsman, and tea-lady, Football Manager is so comprehensive that it is a must for all armchair fans.

3) Pro Evolution Soccer

Pele vs. Maradona, The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones, Pro Evolution Soccer vs. FIFA. In the third of these rivalries there is no contest. Konami�s Pro Evolution Soccer series that began in 2001 and has since gone from strength to strength has no competitor in terms of quality, gameplay and realism. It really is just like playing or watching the real thing.

2) Sensible Soccer

The most popular computer game among football fans in the early 1990s, Sensible Soccer�s birds-eye view made it extremely enjoyable to play. Forget babycham discos and five-a-side, for young teenagers during the game�s heyday the best birthday party consisted of a round-robin Sensi tournament with friends in which the host always got first pick � AC Milan. Outrageous banana shots, flying diving headers, and pitch-sliding tackles from behind � Sensible Soccer ruled!

1) Championship Manager 97/98

Not only the greatest football game, Championship Manager 97/98 is quite simply the greatest computer game of all time. Part of the Collyer Brothers� genius Championship Manager series that began in 1992 and has since evolved into Football Manager, CM 97/98 is far and away the best edition. Indeed it is so popular that 12 years after its release, many fans still prefer to play this game due to its simplicity rather than today�s more complicated and less user-friendly versions. Who remembers Tommy Svindal Larsen and Ibrahima Bakayoko, the dreaded three-foreigner and work permit rules, and Manchester United�s ever so realistic 90th minute winners? It is no exaggeration to say that CM97/98 is the most addictive thing on this Earth.