Resident Evil Village, Returnal

21 MATCH DAY II

Knowing a good thing when they saw it, Jon Ritman and Ocean teamed up again for a sequel to the Spectrum smash hit of 1984. This time the players looked a lot like bodybuilders, and the mechanics had been suitably beefed up: along with a far superior deflection system there were volleys, flicks and jumps. Shot strength was determined by a slightly awkward ‘kickometer’ and the pace was again slow, but this just made for more strategic play. 1987 / ZX Spectrum

17 KICK OFF

Dino Dini’s 16-bit classic added a new ingredient to football games: speed. The little players darted about the pitch as if dosed up on something decidedly not allowed under FIFA regulations, and the ball was initially impossible to control. But once mastered, Kick Off made every other game seem dull and dated by comparison… even if it was at times the football equivalent of juggling bars of soap while riding a unicycle down a slide. 1989 / Amiga

20 BEHOLD THE KICKMEN

The perfect antidote to ultra-realistic sims like FIFA, this is football as seen through the eyes of someone with absolutely zero interest in the laws of the game – and it’s bloody glorious. Kicking, tackling, passing, shooting, scoring… it’s all here, but dialled up to 11 in the most nonsensical way imaginable. Size Five Games has created one of the most comical and outrageous takes on the sport ever conceived. 2017 / Switch, PC

16 WORLD CUP 98

Back in 1998, EA’S FIFA series was one of several games vying for the hearts of Beckham-fringed teens; but while it always had the official licences, it was far from being the best. Building on the skills of its predecessors and adding in-game tactical changes, World Cup 98 finally had the gameplay to match its slick presentation – as well as unrivalled commentary. Shame we had to put up with Tubthumping every time it loaded. 1997 / PS1

19 ACTUA SOCCER

Its name and tagline may have been a dig at Sega (“There’s nothing virtual about Actua”), but Gremlin’s title was noteworthy for more than just a bit of trolling: it was the very first console football game to offer properly 3D players. These were motion-capped from Sheffield Wednesday stalwarts Chris Woods, Andy Sinton and Graham Hyde (Gremlin was based in Sheffield), providing a level of clogger realism never before witnessed on consoles. 1995 / PS1

18 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2017

Having spent years in FIFA’S shadow, PES 2017 finally offered a real alternative to EA’S annual juggernaut. It was a slower, more considered version of the game, but when everything fell into place and you unlocked a defence the sense of satisfaction was glorious. Its lack of official licences and a flawed online mode still kept most FIFA fans away, but for one short year PES’S glory days were back. 2016 / PS4, XB1

15 FOOTBALL MANAGER

Creator Kevin Toms graced Football Manager’s cover, enticing you to buy the game with his charm and beard – and what a game it was. On your little Spectrum, you could buy and sell players, pick a team, and watch highlights on pitches with comically large goals. Today it all looks a bit primitive (the C64 conversion was at least prettier), yet its simple gameplay remains compelling. See also his Android/ios remakes. 1982 / ZX Spectrum

14 TEHKAN WORLD CUP

This wasn’t the first overhead football game but it was the first to make that viewpoint work. It was a fast player, in part down to the trackball controls, and decent goalies ensured matches were often frantic end-to-end battles. The game heavily influenced Sensible Software, and more or less came to the C64 in the form of Microprose Soccer, but its legacy was really the Sensible Soccer series. 1985 / arcade

13 NEW STAR SOCCER (mobile)

How do you create an in-depth career-long football game for mobile devices? You don’t, said New Star Soccer… and instead served up a selection of mini-games over a framework that wasn’t a million miles from Footballer Of The Year. Although a touch Iap-hungry, it became a mobile classic, having you balance a kind of hyper-real version of a footballer’s life with exciting exploits on the pitch. 2012 / IOS, Android

12 FIFA 10

Like a footballing version of Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed, the FIFA and PES games slugged it out through the ’00s without either landing a final knockout punch. Both introduced 360° control for the first time in their 2010 editions, but FIFA 10 did it better, allowing you to expertly slide a pass through at just the right angle. Coupled with its Ultimate Team mode, FIFA finally edged ahead – and it hasn’t been toppled since. 2009 / PS3, Xbox 360

11 INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR SOCCER

This SNES classic is a bridge between older side-on fare and more lifelike modern titles. A predecessor to PES, it offered a stunning array of moves using button combos. Visually, it was also leagues beyond the likes of Match Day; yet for all its gloss, what made ISS appeal most was its fun and frantic nature, retaining an arcade sensibility before sports titles became obsessed with Tv-style realism. 1994 / SNES

10 VIRTUA STRIKER

Sega’s legendary AM2 team developed this groundbreaking title in the mid-’90s: the first football game to use 3D player models. Being available in arcades, Virtua Striker was designed for fast action over serious simulation, with set formations and basic three-button controls; but for those of us who crammed countless coins into the cabinet, at the time it was the most realistic digital take on football ever. 1994 / arcade

9 EMLYN HUGHES INTERNATIONAL SOCCER

This was the last great side-on football game of the ’80s. Advanced players could use techniques such as ‘five-direction’ passing, sliding tackles and backheels, all from a joystick with only a single fire button. The result was the first truly fluid football game, where you could string together some breathtaking moves. It was also one of the first to let you play through a season. 1988 / C64

8 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2011

Following its divorce from Eidos, Sports Interactive lost the Championship Manager name but kept on creating the only management games worth playing – and this is one of the greatest, adding a full 3D engine that let you watch every pass, shot, tackle and goalkeeping blunder. Among the other features were press conferences, adding colour to an already frighteningly real football universe. 2010 / PC

7 KICK OFF 2

Kick Off 2 looked a lot like its predecessor… and it was really just a mix of Kick Off and a couple of expansion disks, all carefully refined to transform an enjoyably chaotic knockabout title into one that demanded a lot more skill. With added tournaments and fewer bugs, this sequel dropped the pace and boosted the controls, with copious use of ‘aftertouch’ enabling you to fashion the kind of audacious shots that Matt Le Tissier would have been proud of. 1990 / Amiga

3 FIFA 21

Recent FIFA editions have been about tweaking a winning formula rather than major overhauls… but considering the series has been out in front since FIFA 10, that’s no bad thing. While FIFA 21 isn’t without its faults – defending is very much a secondary concern, there’s far too much showboating online and keepers punch so often they must all be wearing buttered gloves – it’s still the best virtual approximation of the game. 2020 / PS4, XB1

6 SENSIBLE SOCCER

Sensible Software were fans of Kick Off 2 and football, but were irritated by the former’s failure to do justice to the latter. So Sensible Soccer zoomed the viewpoint out, showing more of the pitch and enabling it to dispense with the radar; players were given the correct hair and skin colours; and passing and shooting were simplified and streamlined, making the game much more responsive. 1992 / Amiga

2 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 5

We could have picked any of the four-game run that started with Pro Evo 2; but with an expanded Master League, proper player names and nicely balanced gameplay, this was the high point. With a skilful enough player you could waltz through five tackles, but you couldn’t just run the ball into the net: goals came in the form of everything from 40-yard screamers to scrambled tap-ins. 2005 / PS2

ISS PRO EVOLUTION

Ah, the Master League: how many hours have we spent in your comforting embrace, steadily building up a team of honest pros and turning them into champs? Well, it’ll be in the thousands. That challenge would have meant nothing if the gameplay hadn’t matched it, but ISS Pro Evolution was creeping ahead of FIFA by this time – it was more realistic yet also more playable, and that’s a winning combo in any game. 1999 / PS1

4 CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER: SEASON 97/98

Despite being derided by some as a glorified spreadsheet, Championship Manager’s tactical engine, accurate data (this was the first version allowing you to run more than one league at once) and giant player database created a rich football universe. Grown men would be so proud of taking a lower-league team to the FA Cup final that they’d don a suit for the occasion. 1997 / PC

1 SENSIBLE WORLD OF SOCCER

Most players peak in their late 20s… and at 27, SWOS is top of the league. Why? Because it took everything that was great about Sensible Soccer and improved it. You got the same arcade gameplay but now as part of a much more engaging experience, with management features and player trading boosted by the inclusion of 1500 teams.

It should have been the start of something great – but SWOS was somehow allowed to fall behind FIFA and PES. Still, dedicated fans keep the flame alive with leagues, events, and patched versions that incorporate modern data – the wonderful freaks.

Can it compete with FIFA for realistic gameplay or Football Manager for exhaustive stattery? No, obviously not. And for many people, the classic mid-’00s era Pro Evo beats it as an all-round football game. But for sheer “THAT WAS LIQUID FOOTBALL!” joy, it will never be bettered. 1994 / Amiga