8. FIFA 11
Football games are like fine wines - they get better with age. Unfortunately, that is where this short-lived simile ends, because unlike EA, I don't ever remember Jacobs Creek deciding to make it impossible to defend against any level above Professional. Before FIFA 12, we had the perfect simulated football experience: when in attack just get the ball to the wings and improvise some way of scoring from a cross, and when in defence just hold X with your right hand and light up a fag with your left - ah, just like the pros (I'm talking to you Jack Wilshere). But in a desperate (and unneeded) attempt to make the game appear as though it had made a significant step up from the last instalment, EA Sports made defending the goal a multi-button job - thus making two-handed controlling mandatory and condemning me to a life of nicotineless gaming (my healthy lungs and extended life expectancy are on your conscience EA). It all comes down to that old adage - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - a lesson that could also be learnt by every plastic surgery-obsessed celebrity in Hollywood. So that makes FIFA 11 the last generally accepted football game on the PS3. Now if we wanted to start a real debate, we could slip into PES territory, but that way lies madness, uncertainty, and the inability to retain licensing rights. So instead we'll just remember EA's 2010 offering as a well crafted and finely polished football experience. The smoothness of every aspect the gameplay was a joy to behold, a game in which you sincerely felt in control of your team instead of just waiting for some sort of AI induced mishap to occur. That is why, until EA Sports decide to get back to basics in terms of on field action, FIFA 11 is the only title of theirs that will make it onto this list.