Gaming greats – Sensible Soccer (1992)
In a stadium crammed with frothing Kick Off 2 fans, onto the pitch strode Sensible Soccer.Sensi, as it was affectionately known, took one look at KO2'
In a stadium crammed with frothing Kick Off 2 fans, onto the pitch strode Sensible Soccer.Sensi, as it was affectionately known, took one look at KO2’s straight laces and high shin guards and laughed its Carlos Valderrama-like head off.This was fast-paced footie with a sense of fun, and it was lapped up by those of us with Amigas, Atari STs and PCs.Cartoonish players, ballooning diagonal balls, ridiculous banana swerves and saves where the keeper appeared to jump 15 feet through the air were quirks that you grew to love, while the one-touch passing was a massive gameplay factor to which even Kick Off 2 couldn’t lay claim.But in 1994 we were treated to something even better: Sensible World of Soccer, or SWOS.You wanna play as any national team? Fine. You want to play as a Premiership team? No worries. You want to build a Romanian club side into the champions of Europe over a series of years, buying and selling players until your mighty Dinamo Bucharest juggernaut features enough talent to make Real Madrid’s Galacticos look like a pub team? You got it.It was the same game we all knew and loved, but encompassing nearly the entire footballing world. And it had one of the best theme tunes ever used in a game – Goalscoring Superstar Hero.Sensible World of Soccer is available through Xbox Live Arcade, but if you don’t have an Xbox 360 check out the Sensible Soccer Plug And Play.
OTHER GAMING GREATS
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
