More specifically, though, by playing some incredible football games. This is a feature about ten incredible football games, all easily playable right now, that you should get into to get ready for the big day on July 15th.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in!

FIFA 18

Let’s start with the most obvious choices first. And really, is there any choice more obvious than FIFA 18? EA Sports have refined their series’ gameplay to a ridiculous degree over the last few years, with FIFA 18 featuring even more refinements than its predecessor. With an entertaining career mode, the amazing narrative-driven The Journey, and the dangerously addictive Ultimate Team, FIFA 18 is a love letter to anyone who considers themselves a fan of the sport. On top of that, EA also recently released a World Cup update for the game, which is totally free. The perfect way to gear up for the festivities ahead.

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA

If you’re looking for something that’s even more dedicated to the World Cup than EA’s new update for FIFA 18 though, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa can scratch that itch. This was the last World Cup-specific FIFA game EA made, and it was absolutely brilliant. From its stellar presentation that captured the atmosphere of the massive competition that the World Cup is perfectly, to its moment-to-moment gameplay, which was bang in the middle of the period where EA Sports were making some of the best and biggest changes and improvements to their formula, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is the perfect side activity for football fans during the World Cup.

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2018

But of course, FIFA isn’t the only big name around when it comes to sports simulation video games- this is a two horse race, after all. Pro Evolution Soccer has been its massive and bitter rival for as long as anyone can remember. What the series lacks in shiny presentation and licenses, it makes up for its amazingly polished and fine-tuned mechanics, with many veterans of the genre even claiming that, as far as pure gameplay is concerned, PES has the upper hand over FIFA. Oh, and PES 2018 is also the last game in the series that will have UEFA licenses, so if for nothing else, maybe play it to hear that iconic song in-game once more.

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2018

While FIFA and PES battle it out year over year, every year, on the pitch for the crown of the best football simulation game, Football Manager consistently maintains its monopoly in the management simulation space. This is a game that is tailor-made for hardcore veteran fans of the genre. With a bevy of charts, graphs and stats to pour over, a ridiculous level of detail in systems, and micromanagement over every aspect of your team’s management like you’ve never seen before, Football Manager is easily a game you can pour literally hundreds of hours into.

NEW STAR SOCCER

If you’re looking for a lighter, more accessible football experience, then New Star Soccer, downloadable on iOS and Android devices, is the perfect game for you. New Star Soccer sees you playing as just one player, and it follows you on your journey from the lowest rungs of the football world to the very top. But it’s not just about football- when you’re not on the pitch, you manage your finances, you sign sponsorship deals, you buy stuff with your money, you manage your image with the media (and thus, the general masses), you improve your stats, hell, you can even participate in side activities (like betting on race horses, or playing blackjack). It’s a deceptively deep (yet still very accessible) experience that can pull you, and refuse to let go for dozens upon dozens – if not hundreds – of hours. The best part? It’s completely free.

SCORE! HERO

Score! Hero is yet another mobile football game, but unlike New Star Soccer, the focus here is squarely and solely on the on-pitch action. What sets is apart is how different, simple, fun, and addictive it is. Every time the moment arises to pass, cross, or shoot the ball, the action pauses, and you then have to chart the ball’s trajectory yourself, by drawing it on your touch screen. As we said, it’s very simple – you can basically play the game using just one finger – but it’s so, so good. On top of that, it looks great, and it’s also free.

FIFA STREET

FIFA is a series that has its fingers in many pies. There is, of course, the main series as well, but over the years, it’s also tried its hand at international-only games, management simulators, and street football. 2012’s FIFA Street brought back the fan favourite street football variation of the sport back into the limelight, and it’s fair to say that it wasn’t nearly as successful as its parent franchise. It has its issues, sure, but it’s also undeniably fun. You’re pulling off tricks, panenkas, and over-the-top flair shots in street environments with the likes of Rooney, Messi, and Ronaldo- how can it not be fun?

MARIO STRIKERS CHARGED

Okay, we’re getting into “weird football game” territory now, but Nintendo and weird basically go hand in hand, so it’s more or less unavoidable. The iconic Italian plumber has been a doctor, a kart racer, a tennis ace, and, well, a plumber. Mario and co, however, have also been weird, whacky football stars. Wii and Wii U title Mario Strikers Charged was an incredibly enjoyable game, mixing on-pitch football action with the trademark goofiness and over-the-top abilities and power ups that we all expect to see in any Mario game. Playing this game online against a friend is an absolute blast.

ROCKET LEAGUE

Is there any football game weirder than Rocket League? A bunch of monster trucks boosting around arenas, pulling off gravity-defying stunts, trying to jet an oversized ball into the opponent’s goal- who thought this was a good idea? Whoever it was deserves a medal, because Rocket League is a brilliant game. Mixing car combat with football? Absolutely genius. In spite of being three years old, Rocket League still remains hugely popular to this day, and that’s because it struck gold with its brand of bombastic gameplay.

DREAM LEAGUE SOCCER

You’d think delivering a proper, FIFA or PES-like experience on mobile devices would be next to impossible, but that is exactly what Dream League Soccer 18 does. In spite of being a free to play title, Dream League Soccer includes proper, full-fledged matches for you to play, as well as a meaty and addictive career mode to sink your teeth into, where you create your own team and pull it through the ranks to the very top. You upgrade your stadium, you buy new players- it’s the perfect blend of management elements and on-pitch action. Basically, as close to FIFA as you can get on iOS and Android.

Compared to April 2011, 33.2% fewer games were sold, seeing just over 2m games sold in April 2012.

This translates as £45.8m in trade for UK retailers, a steep drop of 34.1 % over the same period.

However, April 2012 has seen significantly fewer titles than the previous year. 2011 saw the release of Motorstorm: Apocalypse, Mortal Kombat and Portal 2.

EA was top publisher, with FIFA Street being the top selling game, as well as having an impressive 5 titles in the Top 10.

Microsoft’s Kinect Star Wars came in at no. 2 and Activision’s Prototype 2 managed an impressive no. 5 after having only been on sale for two days.

The Xbox 360 led the pack as top platform whilst every Nintendo console gained ground and grew in market share.

Sources: VGReleases, MCV

Data: UKIE and GfK Chart-Track

We have the top 10 charts for you from UK this week, and FIFA Street is the best selling game this week. It has been topping the charts for quite a few weeks now, so it isn’t that surprising.

It has overthrown Kinect Star Wars and you can check out our review of that over here. Kinect Star Wars was really surprising entry at no. 1 last week, but it didn’t have the legs that Football games have in the UK and is at no. 4 this week.

Mass Effect 3 takes the no. 2 position followed by FIFA 12. Tiger Woods: PGA Tour 13 takes the no. 5 spot and is followed by Modern Warfare 3. You can check out the full list below.

• FIFA Street
• Mass Effect 3
• FIFA 12
• Kinect Star Wars
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13
• Modern Warfare 3
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Battlefield 3
• Mario & Sonic at the London Olympics
• SSX

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

UKIE

Just like we reported last week, FIFA Street has topped the UK Charts for this month again, and Mass Effect 3 takes the no. 2 spot.

Tiger Woods: PGA Tour 13 takes the no. 3 spot, and Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City surprisingly does well at no. 4. The game has sold 500k units in its launch week.

FIFA 12 takes the 5th spot and has been on the top 10 list for a long time. You can check out the complete list below.

• FIFA Street
• Mass Effect 3
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
• FIFA 12
• Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• Battlefield 3
• Mario and Sonic at the London Olympics
• SSX

We reviewed FIFA Street recently and gave it a 7/10 score. You can read the review over here. Our author, Shubhankar called the game “fun and addictive at times, but with several glaring flaws”.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

The biggest problem that stands between FIFA Street and the near perfection that last year’s incredible FIFA 12 achieved is the fact that EA Sports has omitted so many important gameplay mechanics here that they introduced last year. Features like Tactical Defending, Player Impact Engine, Precision Dribbling and so much more that made FIFA 12 so good and enjoyable are missing here. And it’s baffling that EA Sports didn’t include these, because they spent so much time on these features. Including them in FIFA Street would result in a longer development period and more production costs, but it would also make for a much better game.

However, there’s an upside to this- FIFA Street manages to provide the arcade-y fun that the mainstream FIFA franchise has deviated from recerntly. Without all the realism, the game’s much more chaotic and fun. And that’s what street football is supposed to be like, right? Fun?

The best feature in FIFA Street, however, is the career mode, known as World Tour. It’s a typical rising-through-the-ranks mode. You create a team with a Virtual Pro as the captain (you can also import the Virtual Pro from you FIFA 12 save), and then rise through the ranks, going from being a penniless street football team to an internationally renowned team that has the potential to beat even the best of clubs. This feeling of progress adds greatly to the experience, and each new milestone feels like a personal achievement.

This depth and sense of progression makes the World Tour mode addictive and fun, and this is probably what will keep you hooked to the game. Add to that the pure arcade fun the gameplay provides that I mentioned above, and you have one of the most enjoyable sports games out there.

The online mode also is a great deal of fun, if not as much as the career. It’s not as complex and intricate as what you saw in FIFA 12, quite unsurprisingly, but it’s still pretty enjoyable, and head to head battles are a pure blast.

FIFA Street relies heavily on style- everything you do earns you style points, and these style points earn you experience or help your team progress in a league. Everything you do in matches earns you these style points, but some actions earn more of those than others. Performing neat tricks or complex actions or scoring impossible goals will get you more points than scoring a normal goal or dodging a tackle. It’s a pretty simple system that doesn’t require much thought and depth, and works fairly well in its own rights.

The controls, however, don’t work so well. They’re basically the same as those in any other FIFA games, other than a few simplifications. However, the players’ movement feels much stiffer than it should. Tackling feels disastrous, and sprinting is more harmful to you than advantageous. Oftentimes, the game simply didn’t respond to my commands. There were so many times when a player simply failed to pass the ball, even after i literally smashed the X Button repeatedly. This constantly gets in the way of the action, and unfortunately, I cannot say it’s a small hindrance.

I also want to mention the presentation of FIFA Street. In typical FIFA fashion, it’s absolutely fantastic. The menus are slick and stylish, the stadiums (or arenas) look great, the visuals are amazing, character models are wonderful and camera angles and mini-cutscenes will blow you away. Considering this is a FIFA game, good presentation is kind of a given.

Ultimately, FIFA Street reboots the sub-franchise fairly successfully. It hits a few roadbumps, and it definitely has plenty of flaws that are absolutely not negligible. But a great career mode and enjoyable gameplay make it a great game, one that football fans definitely should try out.

This game was reviewed on the PS3.

FIFA Street tops the UK Charts twice in a row, and this isn’t really a surprise as football games sell gangbusters in Europe. Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City is at no. 2 but something tells me this is a one off and it will fall soon.

Mass Effect 3 takes the no. 3 spot and FIFA 12 is at no. 4, and has been in top 5 for ages now since its release last year. SSX is at no. 5 and this is the top 5 for this week, not bad. Modern Warfare 3 has climbed up from no. 10 last week to no. 6 and Battlefield 3 makes the list as well.

Check out the complete top 10 chart below.

• FIFA Street
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
• Mass Effect 3
• FIFA 12
• SSX
• Modern Warfare 3
• Kid Icarus: Uprising
• Battlefield 3
• F1 2011
• Mario and Sonic at the London Olympics

We have this week’s UK Charts for you and FIFA Street has taken the top spot from Mass Effect 3. FIFA 12 still manages to stay in the top 10, like expected. SSX takes the no. 3 spot and Mass Effect 3 is at no. 2.

The most surprising is RAGE, and I have no idea why that is in the list. Modern Warfare 3 barely makes the top 10 this week, which is surprising because the previous CoD games always featured in the top 5.

Check out the top 10 list below.

• FIFA Street
• Mass Effect 3
• SSX
• FIFA 12
• Mario Party 9
• Mario & Sonic at the London Olympics
• RAGE
• Zumba Fitness
• Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

There’s also a nice ccissor kick from Wayne Rooney near the end of the video. The demo for the game has also been released by EA.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Powered by the revolutionary FIFA gameplay engine, and introducing Street Ball Control, FIFA Street will deliver an arsenal of groundbreaking street dribbling styles and trick moves that ignite the one-on-one battles within matches. Whether performing one panna after another without breaking a sweat the way street football is played in Amsterdam, or a physical, fight-for-possession style the way footballers compete in London, fans will enjoy a superior fidelity of ball control and responsiveness than anything ever experienced in a football videogame. Plus, for the first time ever, utilize aerial skills to maneuver past opponents, an all-new sophisticated one-touch passing system for quick, precision passes, and over 50 never-before-experienced skill moves.

EA  announced today that a demo of FIFA Street is available now on Xbox 360 and will be tomorrow for the PlayStation 3.

In the demo, the journey to street football glory begins in the World Tour story mode where players create themselves and their squad in-game, upgrade attributes, and unlock some of the 50 new skill moves and authentic street dribbling styles available. Players can then pull their progression from the demo into the full game version of FIFA Street that will be in stores March 16th in the UK. In addition, gamers who download their friends’ created players onto their own squad will unlock the Freestyle Challenge tournament on the Shanghai Rooftop. Plus, the in-game social network in FIFA Street kicks off as players view friends’ stats and accomplishments, share videos, and connect in the FIFA Street Network.

Stay tuned to GB for more news and updates.