13 Video Game Sequels Better Than Their 'Classic' Originals

My reasons for rating Sensible World of Soccer above its predecessor are completely at odds with what's supposedly the essence of the series: the purity of its on-field footballing fare.

Simply put, I don't enjoy playing the actual game. I find it loose and difficult, like an untied shoelace. I appreciate the fluidity and the frenetic pace, but it's just not the football sim for me. Yet I love SWOS. Why? It seems contradictory.

It's not just that it was released at the same time that Middlesbrough were exciting English football after splurging on Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli as they attempted to rock the Premier League hegemony. (Unsuccessfully.) No, the answer lies in the admittedly simple yet oddly addictive management mode.

It's no Football Manager, but what it lacks in depth it makes up for in considerable breadth. The scope of the game's leagues and players is breathtaking for the pre-internet age—though its accuracy was admittedly impossible to verify.

It was as much as making some signings, setting up your side, and then skipping straight to the result. That's right: I preferred this football game because I didn't have to endure any football. It also inspired a lifelong love for obscure Latvian teams, eventually leading to a faintly-justified yet utterly rewarding sojourn to Riga. Cheers for that, SWOS.