Football fever goes virtual

Take control of a virtual David Beckham

By Darren Waters BBC News Online entertainment staff

The football World Cup is less than a month away and if the wall-to-wall screenings are not enough for you, you can always recreate the beautiful game on a games console.

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Fifa World Cup 2002

Animation is impressive

Electronic Arts
Xbox, PS2, GameCube, PC

The official licensed game of the World Cup features all the teams, players, stadia and football paraphanalia one would expect from publisher Electronic Arts

The game looks fantastic and the presentation is top notch, faithfully recreating the look and feel of the actual tournament.

Fifa titles, this is the latest of many, tend to simplify the controls to ensure it is playable by everyone and this is no different.

Simple to play, it lacks real depth, and is unlikely to be a game you will come back to once the tournament itself is over.

The player animations are good, especially on the GameCube and Xbox versions.

The commentary, from John Motson and Andy Gray, sets new standards in football voiceovers.

Inernational rating: Sweden

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ISS 2
Konami

Plenty of goal mouth action

PS2, Xbox, GameCube

Sadly not the sequel to the wonderful Pro Evolution Soccer, ISS 2 is a sequel to publisher Konami's other football franchise.

But the game shares many of its esteemed brother's features with a similar interface, graphics and gameplay feel.

It does, however, lack the complexity of Pro Evolution but makes up for it with slightly quicker and more explosive action.

Your goals will be less crafted and more direct. There is much more goal mouth action, 30-yard screamers and high-scoring duels.

There might not be the satisfaction of an ornate, 30-pass goal, but plenty of glory to be had nonetheless.

International rating: England

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Championship Manager

Pick your own England squad

Eidos
Xbox

A PC game which relies on text and endless reams of statistics may seem like an odd choice for Microsoft's next generation console but "champ manager" is an old favourite.

The game utilises the consoles hard drive to give it access to endless facts and figures and although it may not be the most striking game graphically it is an essential purchase.

No other football management game can boast the same levels of realism and involving gameplay; soccer fans who fancy themselves as a Sven Goran Eriksson or Alex Ferguson will love it.

But beware - the game is so addictive you may find yourself losing a great deal of sleep over why your star striker is looking for a new club and why your back four is not working as a defensive unit.

If you disagree with Sven's 23-strong squad for Japan and South Korea, pick your own and take on the world.

International rating: Argentina

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Red Card

The bad boys of football

Midway
PS2, Xbox, GameCube

Imagine the beautiful game made a little bit ugly - where fouls, nasty tackles and physical assault are part and parcel of the 90 minutes.

This is the premise of Red Card. It is the same game under different rules, where the brutality of ice hockey meets the artistry of Pele's Brazil.

The players resemble WWF wrestlers and you can even play a team of Ninjas.

Graphically, it resembles the arcade football games of old with strong colours and vibrant, crisp animation.

There is something a little bit repugnant about a game in which one can glory in the head-butting of an opponent but, I am almost ashamed to say, it is a lot of fun.

International rating: Nigeria