Fifa 2005

Any male in possession of a games console must own a football game - it's the law! I have played several versions of this obligatory franchise over the years, as it has evolved from a barely playable novelty to the cutting edge of sports simulation. There are always problems with football sims - no one can ever agree on the best gameplay controls, and there have been many gimmicks adopted to try and spice things up. In this version it is the off the ball control and first touch moves that are the selling point. Both work fine, the latter being something that should be kept for future evolutions (including Fifa 2006 just released). I don't know how many hours it took me to complete the main challenge of this game, which is a 15 season role as manager and player (about 750 games!), but it has been over 2 months of regular play. A lot of those games were simulated, with the option to intervene at any point (another good addition to gameplay). Of course I had the best team the world has ever seen from about season 7, culminating in an unbeaten 14th season where a reincarnated Thierry Henry scored 56 goals! There are 2 more difficulty levels above "professional", which I played for the majority, but to be honest it's more fun to master the moves and then really kick ass - there is nothing more satisfying than a 7-0 win over AC Milan... Oh, and the best feature of this game: create your own player - #73 in the red of the Boro was a faithfully reproduced model of myself, but with the silky skills of a soccer god - fantasy and vanity all fulfilled. Goooooaaall. 8/10 Kx