The game was entering an era where verisimilitude was a big deal, and the graphics had improved to the extent of almost passing for the real thing. FIFA 11 improved on this, and was available in the staff room at work for a while (and there was much rejoicing). Three years later, FIFA 10 went for a different approach by making scoring a header something akin to Luke managing to hit a two metre wide exhaust port, only instead of using the Force you have Kenny Deuchar. Listless toddlers in Doc Martens could outjump Ron Vlaar in FIFA 07, and this made it tremendous fun to play against the computer. Anderson, ex of Man United, was a colossally unfit demigod in this edition, and defensive AI appeared to have been modelled on Jean Alain Boumsong. It maintained a level of realism that didn’t impinge on fast-paced, gleeful attacking gameplay.
It seemed to do the trick, plus my Xbox smelt minty fresh. Loading it was like trying to start an old car in sub-zero temperatures, until I read online that a tiny dab of toothpaste rubbed into the disc helped with scratches. It had more scratches on it than someone who died just before feeding their cat.
Thus, I became a Pro Evo devotee for a while, until I found a copy of FIFA 07 in a charity shop for £1.50. Then FIFA 2001 introduced a power bar into the game, and it became a tedious matter of stretching your fingers like an F Major chord across the keyboard every time you wanted to move the ball forward. This is not an attempt at anything approaching objective journalism, just so we’re clear.
That was a glorious quirk of that game which no edition since has been ever to replicate to my satisfaction. My Dad and I played that game so much, but he never twigged that I was scoring most of my one-on-ones by pressing pass instead of shoot.
He didn’t ask for it back for six months. I borrowed Alex Borland’s N64 for the summer for a grand total of £5, including six games.
I bought the PC version and played that to death until an unfortunate incident involving a virus and a copy of Championship Manager 2 made my PC notably less efficient than usual.įortunately I was just about to complete the greatest business transaction of my life. While Pro Evo(lution Soccer) has been rivalling them since 2001 (and there’s always going to be a debate about which franchise is superior), the FIFA games have been in our lives since 1993’s FIFA International Soccer, with yearly releases ever since, initially rivalled by Konami’s International Superstar Soccer.įIFA 99 remains my favourite version of the game due to its longevity in my life. The reason this habit continues for many of us is, of course, that they’re really fun to play.
This seems as good a time as any to mention FIFA, an organisation many of us have chosen to support by purchasing the game carrying their name. Championship Manager/ Football Manager holds sway over many a geek’s life just as much as Game Of Thrones, a story rife with political intrigue, corruption and greed. When we do mention it is often in connection with thinly veiled despair and/or computer games. Football doesn’t get mentioned on Den of Geek all that often, possibly because Simon is a Birmingham City fan and despite petitions Christophe Dugarry is yet to appear in Doctor Who as the head of louche UNIT.