10 Greatest NES Video Games Of 1985

Being British, perhaps I'm a little kinder to Soccer than other reviewers have historically been. Its sporting comrades Baseball and 10 Yard Dash haven't even made this list after all (one for being endlessly repetitive and the other for the constantly frustrating stops and starts - though perhaps that's just American Football?).

Soccer is a simple, free-flowing footie game that is pretty good for its time. It's easy to forget when judging it that we were still a couple of years away from getting Microprose Soccer and Emlyn Hughes' International Football over in Europe so it's not a bad effort by any means, especially from a less well developed footballing nation.

There are many enjoyable 'sore thumb moments' for an Englishman, however. One being the Home Nations only having a "GBR" team to choose from (it's like London 2012 all over again), another being the cheerleaders who come on at half time. These are small prices to pay though, and I think this game is generally underrated and deserves better than it usually gets from critics and fans alike.

It's true there's not a lot to it; only five players on each team and only seven sides to choose from but NES games at this time are not to be judged on their depth. This is a fun, playable table football action, especially when using the 2P mode.

An option to turn off the infuriating music would have been nice, but the soothing, rainstick crowd noises more than make up for it.