Your Favourite Ever Football (Soccer) Games

I recently downloaded PES 2016 during the PSN sale and it's the first PES game I've played since the heyday of the PS2. I also bought Fifa 16 last year and it was my first purchase of a Fifa game since the might king we all know as Fifa 12. With the up coming release of the latest versions and the increase in quality on BOTH sides, it got me thinking about my favourite ever football games. Here's my top 10:

1. Fifa 12

2. Pes 6

3. Football Manager 2014

4. Pes 4

5. Fifa 99

6. Pes 5

7. Championship Manager 2001

8. Fifa Street

9. Fifa 09

10. Pes 2016

Fifa 12 just had to top my list. It took everything EA had learned and put it together in one shiny, slick, well made package and it stole some ideas from Pro Evo which is fine by me. Pes 6 was just the best game until Fifa 12 came along. It was weighted perfectly between simulation and actual, genuine, crazy fun...Gran Turismo should take note.

Fifa 99 is probably the game I have played the most...ever.

How would you guys rank your faves?

I rank PES5/WE9/WE9LE above all the rest because of how good the defense is and how it's actually somewhat realistic in terms of how tough it is to create quality chances. Just played a 25 min game the other day with both teams having under 5 shots on goal. And there's actually a decent amount of fouls in the game too.

Was very disappointed to see them go the arcade route with 6. Seemed very similar at first glance and we played it for a while until we realized it was rare to even have a 20 min game with anyone under double digits in shots. You could take average players and dribble through like 3 defenders in that game. That type of bs was just not happening in 5.

I remember 4 being crap/too offensive, but 3 being pretty good though.

Never liked Fifa

The only one that I ever liked was Super Mario Strikers.

Football Manager 2012/14

Fifa 07

I got bored of Fifa after 13, haven't played them since and don't miss them. I pick up FM every few years and I love it.

ISS Deluxe on the SNES. Who needs realistic player names!?!

My favourites are

1. Pes2013 played this one until last year.

2 pes2016 the terrible goal keepers are only thing keeping it off top spot.

3 FIFA 13

4fifa10

5 pes5

I play FIFA almost every year and I get pes every year.

Fifa was crap until 2010

Only pes I didn't like were 2011 and 2014

I have a real problem with PES 16 and it's more annoying than the keepers. The damn refs! They never give any fouls for the opponents so while my team can end up giving away 3-4 free kicks and a couple yellow cards, I can never seem to get a free kick. I'm surprised more reviewers didn't pick up on it as a lot of other people I've talked to have the same problem.

There is only one football game and that is FIFA.

The rest is not even worth the time.

lol @Jacanuk wana elaborate?

On?

But to be fair there are only 2 football game franchises and for me PES has never held any interest. It has always been way to arcade styled and ugly compared to FIFA, and i'm not even a graphics nerd.

In manger games there are also only 2 , well 1 since FIFA stopped doing their FIFA Manager. Football Manager and that has luckily improved a lot.

I agree, these days there's only Fifa and PES but we used to have This is Football (the 2005 version was actually damn good) and then there was David Beckham Soccer, a Ronaldo version, the early precursors to PES, arcadey versions such as Red Card Football or whatever it was called lol

In modern gaming, the range has become sadly very small. But you should play Pes 16, its actually a very good game when your on the pitch, sadly most things around that aren't as good as Fifa.

two way tie between sensible soccer on the amiga and championship manager 01/02 on the pc. honourable mentions to tecmo world cup 90 the arcade game and kick off 2 (amiga)

Personally for me its Fifa 2006, its the game that really got me into the whole football franchise. Good graphics for the time, good sound, good mechanics and good music. It's a game i still treasure to this day.

PES on psx days

Champ Manager back then used to be great. I don't have a clue about the other games you mentioned lol

TIF was a good series, I'm not sure what happened to it.

Btw, you havent ever played Fifa?

All football games on the PS1 must bow before the glory of Fifa 99

agreed. it had just the right level of complexity. the 01/02 edition is still being updated with the latest team transfers. the 16/17 season database has not long since been released iirc.

sensible soccer was the fifa equivalent of the early 90s - it was what all the kids were playing in school back in the day. besides super mario kart and streetfighter 2 world warrior on the snes it was the most competitive game between kids at my school. it's probably utterly shit now lol but back in the day it was video game gold

Well you are right about the refs but is it any worse than previous years? I haven't dedicated anywhere near as much time to PES this year as I normally would so maybe I've just not noticed.

2016 is the first pes I've played in many years and I dont remember it being this bad in the ps2 gen

Yeah I've heard of SS but sadly it was released well before I got into gaming. I'm a late SNES/SEGA gen kid.

ok, get Fifa 2012 and you can thank me later :p

Also, if ur not much of a footy fan, try Fifa street (thats on ps2 era consoles though, maybe PC). Its more pick up and play

Excluding football manager series because they are top by a clear mile, I'll just include football games were you control players (player) in the match engine.

Since PES 2009 when (may have been earlier) you could lock to a single player rather than playing a whole team, since then football games transformed for me.

So despite my nostalgia for fifa 98/99/2000 and ISS evolution I will never play a football again controlling the whole team.

My favorite is actaully the latest Fifa, it was the most challenging to actaully score and keep your place in the team in the become a pro mode.

Captain Majid

@soul_starter: Fifa 99 and Fifa 16... probably soon Fifa 17 :-)

My top 5 in any particular order;

Fifa 2003

PES 5

Football Manager 2013

LMA Manager 2003 (I think)

Fifa Street

Also maybe chuck Red Card in there.. Just for laughs, that game was hilarious, "Roy Keane simulator 2002"

Cheers

Bail

I cant place Fifa 16 in my top 10 because its a step back when it comes to player movement and fluidity. Fifa 17, so far in the demo, seems as slow as 16 but it makes up for it with such fluid animation and passing.

lol red card! what a game, i still have no idea what sort of mind comes up with an entire game based on that concept.

loved it back in secondary tho!

Super Mario Strikers. It's one of my favorite games of all time, for that matter. The sequel on Wii is also good.

@soul_starter - Im sure i'm not going crazy in one of the matches on Red Card you played a team of dolphins... If that is not the case then I think I need to get myself checked :-)

I also played footlol for my youtube channel which is a quirky game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqFm6CtL9o8

lol that actually looks like some fun

FIFA 06. Great memories :)

I never liked the Fifa games from 03-7/8. Pes was not only at its peak, EA were so lazy with the Fifa brand. They really upped their game from 09 and never looked back.

I remember 06 being too easy to attack (a bit lake later PES games) and just ugly.