5 Soccer Games That You Totally Forgot About

Yes, I am fully aware I have committed the cardinal sin of being British and referring to football as “soccer”. I would like to say that this heinous transgression will never happen again, but so many football video games use the word “soccer”. Still, we press on.

In 2017, there are only three real gaming choices for when the discerning football fan wants to enjoy some virtual footy: FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Football Manager. Rocket League doesn’t exactly count, let’s be fair. Of course, it wasn’t always the case. Back when I were a lad, we had the likes of Sensible Soccer and FIFA Street to give us some alternative ways to kick a ball into a net. Those are the memorable ones, but let’s spare a thought for these five football games that you probably don’t remember.

 

1. Pro Evolution Soccer Management

Everyone knows about Pro Evo. Back in the good old days, PES was the byword for quality when it came to football games, whereas FIFA was only good for the licenses. Some would argue that’s still the case, though support for that school of thought has dwindled significantly. Still, what you might have forgotten was their foray into management sims. Konami decided that the annual war with FIFA wasn’t enough for them, and decided to challenge Football Manager for ultimate footy supremacy. It didn’t end well, as PES Management was underdeveloped and underwhelming.

 

2. Let’s Make A Soccer Team

From the average, we now go to the ridiculous. Let’s Make A Soccer Team is the Ronseal of football management sims, tasking the player with making a football team. Shocking, right? The gimmick here is that the player controlled both the manager and the chairman. In theory, this should have given players a full and engrossing experience of the day to day running of a football team. In reality, it was a clusterfuck.

 

3. Pure Football

With the cover adorned by Merseyside’s own hero/anti-Christ Steven Gerrard, depending on your preference for red or blue, Pure Football was Ubisoft Vancouver’s attempt to make football more “cool”. Or at least what a board of execs envisage coolness to be. Playing as an arcade style 5-a-side, the gameplay was monotonous drivel that lacked that certain unpredictability that makes FIFA and Pro Evo much more engaging titles. A woeful display for the full 90 minutes.

 

4. Disney Sports Soccer

Disney Sports Soccer came out in 2002, in an age where if an intellectual property existed, unrelated video game spin-offs ensued. Antz Kart Racing, anyone? Still, DSS stood head and shoulders above other spin-offs by virtue of not being god awful. In fact, Disney Sports Soccer offered players a surprisingly deep and rewarding football simulation with a sprinkling of arcade power-ups and “Disney Magic” on top. Players could even go as far as to edit stats and formations for each of the teams, and yes, you could arrange your 10 outfield players into a knob formation. No, it’s not an effective strategy. You could say the attack lacked penetration.

 

5. Redcard (Redcard 20-03)

Another 2002 release, Red Card followed most of your typical 11-a-side football, with the small additions of bone-crunching tackles and power-ups. Games basically played out like they did in P.E. back in school, with the big kids cropping half the team for the ball. Red Card did try to add some more fun to the game with quirky playable teams to the usual list of national teams. Matadors vs SWAT team? It wasn’t the best depiction of the beautiful game, but it was good for a laugh or two.