3. FIFA
No I'm not talking about the corrupt organisation that thinks it's a good idea to play football in a desert, I'm talking about the EA Sports annual release. The day FIFA arrives on the doorstep of the modern football fan (pre-ordered, obviously) makes Transfer deadline day fade long into the memory. "Arsenal are back to 5 stars". "Mate, I swear that Zlatan looks like his nose has got even bigger on this game". "Have you noticed that finesse is way too easy now?" Most gamers who play FIFA spend hours honing their skills; working on their bank of stupid skills that can get you past 4 players at once and working out how to get that lofted through ball to really stick. The modern football fan, however, is not a gamer. FIFA is nothing more but an extension of one's self. It is a tool to socialise and, if you're good, show off your manliness. My problem with FIFA comes with its lack of progress. The last time there was any change in the gameplay that was actually noticeable was in 2011. Since then, 2 issues have been released with nothing more than mild tweaks to iron out problems or close gates of exploitation. If you ignore the slight gameplay changes all that loyal fans have got for their money (probably around £120 if they bought '11, '12 and '13) is one game, three playlists of music, stupid little mini games, the updated player list and less loading times. Great. I played Pro Evo 5 recently (yes, the one we all got in 2006) and it's a better football simulator than FIFA 13, hands down. I don't buy games any more since I have better things to spend money on like bread and pencils so the only time I ever get to experience these things is when I'm at a friend's house. I just wish they would break the mould and buy Pro Evo. The blindness of pre-ordering a game months in advance without even looking at anything but a vague trailer frustrates me greatly. That brings me on nicely to...