As we hurry towards Christmas and 2023, we decided to take an in-depth look – A Christmas Carol style – into our favourite video games from the Past, Present and Future. These are the games I have played myself, and the games I have written about from the past hold a special place in my heart.
Gaming from the Past
The below games were all released prior to 2002 and hold a special place in my heart. Enjoy.
FIFA International Soccer
For me, FIFA International Soccer for the Sega Megadrive was where my love of football began. Based on the 1994 World Cup in the USA, my fondest memories are of playing with my Dad and brother as the Spanish national team with their very handy striker Juan Lopez. The game did not have real player licences, so all of the names were made up.
Funnily enough, the whipping boys of the game were Qatar who were rated either half a star or 1 star, they were by far the worst side in the game and played in all black kits. Of course, the latest 2022 World Cup showed us that Qatar play in more of a maroon colour, but unfortunately, the game was proven right as Qatar were still the whipping boys.
FIFA International Soccer was released in 1993 by Electronic Arts, just before the 94 World Cup and it became the best-selling home video game of 1993 in the United Kingdom. I am positive that many UK families, Fathers and Sons will have extremely happy memories of FIFA International Soccer. In regard to the gameplay itself, it was a simple game to learn and play. There were several difficulty levels and two players could also play against one another. One of the funniest parts of the game was that you could run away from the referee to stop him from giving you a yellow/red card. The celebrations were fun too, and it had lots of replayability value.
I actually recently bought this game again from eBay for the Sega Megadrive. I am saving to play it during the Christmas period.
Streets of Rage 2
Bought during a caravan holiday in Scarborough when I was around seven years old, Streets of Rage 2 was forever one of my favourite Sega Megadrive games, despite the fact that I never managed to complete the game. If you are familiar with Streets of Rage 2 you will know that it is a side scrolling beat em’ up game. Players must pick from one of several different playable characters. I always played as Max, I guess I thought the bigger the man the tougher the man. I sometimes played this with my brother too who would usually play as Axel.
I never played the original Streets of Rage Game, I saw the 2nd instalment sitting on a bookshelf in a local video game store and immediately wanted to get it as my holiday gift.
Bosses became gradually harder to beat as you advanced through the game, as did the bosses henchmen. The electro music was also very cool and helped to keep concentration levels up. Streets of Rage 2 was released in 1992 and is widely considered as one of the greatest video games of all time.
In 2020, Streets of Rage 4 was released to positive reviews.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Another classic Sega Megadrive game from my childhood was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. Personally, I hated the television series, but my brother loved it and he bought the game. However, the game I enjoyed playing immensely, especially as a two player co-op.
The game revolved around the movie and forced the players to defeat the evil Ivan Ooze and his Ooze men before facing the Putty Patrol and Lord Zedd himself. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:The Movie was pretty tricky to play through as an eight year old. However, me and my brother played this game again this year and we smashed through it within around 30 minutes!
There were several different Power Rangers games released around this time, but this game was probably the best.
Championship Manager 2001/02
Perhaps the childhood game I spent the most amount of time on, both on my own, with my Dad and with friends, was Championship Manager 2001/02. I was around 10 years old when this game was released, and lots of my school friends also played. It got to the point where I would use the in-game editor to create a team full of my school friends who I used to play football with. Once created, I added us all to play for Leeds United and we played in the same positions as we did at school. In fact, this game made me want to become a football manager. Me and a friend created fake football contracts which we then handed out to the rest of our team, something which our teachers encouraged.
Another game I spent many happy hours playing with my Dad, we usually managed separate teams. My Dad was often at Juventus whilst I took control of Inter Milan. Dad became hooked too, and spent dozens of seasons managing his favourite club Aberdeen to Champions League glory. He signed the Egyptian Mido (who back then was relatively unknown) who became the best player in the world for his Aberdeen team.
It is now possible to play Championship Manager 2001/02 for free by downloading it online. Championship Manager 2001/02 was created by the same team behind the Football Manager series of games which are still released on an annual basis today.
Gaming in the Present
The following games were all released between 2019 and 2022. These are my favourite games of the past few years.
Elden Ring
Quite rightly regarded as one of the best games of the past decade, Elden Ring could yet lay claim to one of the greatest games of all time. Released in early 2022, Elden Ring somehow managed to surpass all expectations. For lovers of fantasy role playing games (RPGs), Elden Ring is a must-play game. FromSoftware games are notoriously difficult to beat and require time and patience to play through which helps to make their games immensely rewarding, and Elden Ring is no different.
Gamers get to choose their own Elden Ring’s characters and as soon as the story starts, they can customise them as much as they want. Players get to choose which weapons they use from swords and maces to whips and holy hammers. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. No two games of Elden RIng have to be the same, one game you can build a wizard and another a super strong knight. Elden Ring is completely open world and creates a sense of freedom which can be hard to create in video games. Every challenging situation in Elden Ring can be dealt with in multiple ways, which creates opportunities for originality and uniqueness.
Anyone who is on the fence about whether to purchase this game or not should just bite the bullet and buy it. Personally, my favourite aspect of Elden Ring is the enemy characters. They are so diverse from poison plants and ghost troops to evil locust warriors and black dragons!
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Another FromSoftware masterpiece is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Released in 2019, Sekiro is even more challenging than Elden Ring where one misstep will literally result in death. I will admit right now that I never actually completed Sekiro, in all honesty I was not very good and the only way I could beat the majority of the bosses (with the exception of the horseback rider) was by looking at guides online. With that being said, I still spent many hours playing and knew that I was playing a masterpiece. To be honest, even using guides to beat the bosses, it was still tremendously difficult to put what I had learned into practice, and I still felt immense satisfaction when I put the evil villain to the sword. Alas, I never defeated Madame Butterfly.
Despite never finishing the game myself, I took pleasure in watching Let’s Play’s of Sekiro on YouTube. Sekiro was nominated for numerous awards and won the 2019 Game of the Year by both editors of GameSpot and by fans in the 2019 Steam awards.
Monopoly Live
Based on the super successful board game by Parker Brothers, Monopoly Live is an online casino game which is played in front of a live dealer with a Wheel of Fortune type wheel. The objective of Monopoly Live is to try and activate the game’s bonus round where the largest payouts can be won. Monopoly Live can be played at live online casinos in the United Kingdom with each game hosted by a professional live dealer. Multiple players can play at the same time too, and players can also interact with the dealer.
Monopoly Live has been one of the most played live online casino games since it was released in 2019 and we expect its popularity to continue into 2023.
Gaming in the Future
All of the games below are set for release in 2023. I have already pre-ordered them and cannot wait to play!
Hogwarts Legacy
Huge expectations surround Hogwarts Legacy. We are seriously praying that all of them will be fulfilled once its release date of 10th February 2023 arrives. The story of Hogwarts Legacy will be set 100 years before the Harry Potter books and players will experience life as a fifth year Hogwarts student. There will be a whole new cast of brand-new characters, and players will be able to design and customise their own Hogwarts student. As you attend different classes, from Herbology to potions, you will be able to level up your characters. No two games have to be the same as players are able to pick their own battle stances. You will also be able to choose which Hogwarts house you will be in, will you choose Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?
Hogwarts Legacy will be a must buy for all fans of Harry Potter. For many, this is the game they have been waiting for. The game to end all games, if you will. It remains to be seen if Hogwarts Legacy will be a standalone game or not. Personally, I would have preferred if players started in their first year, and the developers released a new ‘episode’ every year in a similar fashion to the Hitman series. It has also been reported that players will not be able to play Quidditch, although it will be possible to fly a broom.
Overall, I am excited to play Hogwarts Legacy, but something tells me that it will not quite live up to expectations. I hope I am wrong.
Starfield
Described by some as Skyrim in Space, Starfield looks to have all of the potential in the world as it is set to be the first new universe created by Bethesda Games in 25 years. Bethesda are the awards winning studios behind the Skyrim and Fallout 4 games. Set during the year 2310 in a solar system called The Settled Systems, the game takes place 20 years after a major war called the Colony War. The player takes the role of a customisable explorer character.
It has been reported that the quests in Starfield will play more like Skyrim than Fallout 4 and the quests themselves will allow players to pick from multiple options to complete them. The quests will feature Skyrim style independent factions system which allows players to truly create their own unique quest and narrative. Starfield will be able to be played in both first and third person. The developers behind the game have already stated that there will be over 1,000 explorable worlds, lets just hope that there is enough depth in them – we do not want another No Man’s Sky, thank you very much.
Which Games are you Looking Forward to Playing in 2023?
I truly hope that you enjoyed reading this article. Taking a look back at games from my childhood always fills me with great nostalgia, and I certainly think that we are sitting in a golden generation of video gaming. Let’s just hope that 2023 doesn’t disappoint, as it truly could be a cracking year for gaming. In the meantime, if you need any help picking new games to play, please check out our guide to picking games to play, from online offering to mobile games.
Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year!