With memories of a disappointing exit from Euro 2004 now slept clean under the rug, the new football season is free to get thoroughly under way - and along with it, a wealth of new football games to accompany the fresh campaign. This year the competition is as fierce as it's ever been so choosing the right one could prove to be a difficult decision.
FIFA 2005
Another year brings another update to the popular FIFA franchise. However, as far as updates go, this is perhaps the greatest the series has ever seen. A new "first-touch" feature is the biggest of the new additions, allowing you to decide where you want the ball to go before you even receive it, while a deeper career mode will allow fans to play through an authentic season complete with injuries, staffing decisions and other managerial duties. You'll be hard-pressed to find a game that captures the essence and atmosphere of the beautiful game quite as well as the FIFA series and FIFA 2005 looks right on course to further that notion.
Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Pro Evolution Soccer has always been a favourite amongst the fans and the latest in the critically-acclaimed series looks set to improve on just about every aspect of the game. There's a new dribbling system aimed at improving player control, extra dead ball techniques, enhanced player detail and even the addition of an on-screen referee running alongside your team. Xbox owners will also revel in the recent announcement of Xbox Live support. If Pro Evolution Soccer 4 turns out to be as good as it's certainly promising to be, FIFA 2005 could really have some tough competition this year.
Football Manager 2005
Since joining forces with Sega after parting ways with the Championship Manager franchise last year, Sports Interactive have been piling all of their available resources into Football Manager 2005. A streamlined new engine holds together a myriad of informative statistics and detailed team and player information, while an intuitive interface ensures that those managerial tasks are never more than a few clicks away. It's looking more and more impressive every time we see it, and that can only mean that Sports Interactive have settled into their new home quite comfortably.
Championship Manager 5
You'd be forgiven for being slightly apprehensive about Championship Manager 5 after the news that Sports Interactive - the development team behind the long-running series - detached themselves from the franchise to start afresh with Sega. However, Eidos have garnered a team of 30 talented developers with a collective football game development experience of more than 150 years to ensure Championship Manager 5 retains the kind of high quality expected from its legions of fans. Feedback has been largely favourable, which can only help to ensure Championship Manager retains its vast popularity.
Club Football
Codemasters' Club Football series was an attempt at fusing the intricate control system of Pro Evolution Soccer with the realism and accuracy of the FIFA Football series. Unfortunately, it failed on both accounts. That's why this year Club Football had to change dramatically - and dramatically changed it has. It's certainly helped, with a generally improved look and feel, as well as extra on-the-ball skills, an after touch system and more teams added to the already notable roster making up the bulk of this impressive update.
This is football 2005
An increased range of new animations is being introduced to This is Football 2005 to give the user an even greater choice of moves and game play depth, whilst a larger selection of player heads, stadiums and licensed teams will increase the game's authenticity and graphical appeal. The artificial intelligence has also been refined to highlight the differences in how teams play. Perhaps the most intriguing of the updates though is the integration of EyeToy, which will allow you to map your face onto a player's head in the game. Build a squad of your mates and take on the best teams in the world.
