Soccer video games used to cost a dime. Really. in the 16- and 32-bit days when "FIFA" and "Winning Eleven/Pro Evolution Soccer" came out, there was a lot of competing software: "Actua Soccer," "Virtua Striker," "Sensible World of Soccer," "Kick Off 2, And then there were the oddities like "Libero Grande" (where you play a match as one of the players on your team). As technology advanced, EA's "FIFA" and Konami's "PES" became dominant, with soccer game fans choosing one over the other, although there were still left-leaning titles.

EA eventually succeeded in making FIFA a critical and commercial success and, unfortunately for PES enthusiasts like myself, beat Konami to the punch this decade: e-football, the modern version of PES, is in a sad state. In fact, FIFA has become so big that EA has decided it doesn't need FIFA and is rebranding the series as EA Sports FC starting this year; now that FIFA has flopped, EA's path to victory seems clear: it's time to move on.

But wait. Ultimate Football League was announced a few years ago by a studio called Strikerz Inc. In the last few weeks, it has turned out to be much better than I expected: in fact, it won't be able to compete with EA Sports FC in terms of mainstream reach or overwhelming marketing power, but it could be a viable option for soccer fans who are not familiar with EA's series. EA Sports FC may not be able to compete with EA Sports FC in terms of mainstream reach and overwhelming marketing power.

The latest in a series of videos illustrates the core gameplay mechanics. The animations are particularly nice, with the ball flying between players and moving in a realistic manner. Most importantly, it looks and feels like a football game.

"In the UFL, we make everything exactly like real football," says lead designer Ilya Szymanski. The more technical the pass is, the more it tests the player's skill." We make our passes by measuring the degree and height of the pass, every centimeter counts."

This is a fine line. A soccer game needs to simulate enough to feel like real soccer, but in the end, it still has to be a fun video game. eFootball stumbled on this point, I felt: a complex and flexible dribbling system that, in isolated clips It looked great in isolated clips, but when I actually played it, it didn't help me at all.

UFL has yet to officially announce a release date, but its official Twitter account recently stated that "the release date depends on many factors, but our focus is on the end of this year." This will go head-to-head with EA Sports FC, and while no one expects them to seriously compete in terms of sales or player numbers, we are hopeful that maybe the game can: after all, some of the most memorable moments in soccer are when the underdog pulls off the unimaginable When the underdog pulls off the unimaginable.