Euro 2012 is about to end
0Our friends all over the Old World are enjoying these days one of the most spectacular sport event: the Euro 2012, in which the best soccer (ehem, football) national teams compete till only one is left standing. The final match will be played on Sunday between Spain and Italy, and they all are expectant because this year these two teams that have reached the final are in an outstanding moment of form after their victories against Portugal and Germany, respectively. It’s interesting because American people usually can’t enjoy international competitions of their favorite sports (unless they are basketball or soccer fans, of course). Baseball, football (ehem, American football) and ice hockey lack of international events, or haven’t the same relevance as Euro 2012. Fortunately, London Olympics will be hosted in a couple of weeks.
On the occasion of this great sport event, and warming up for the upcoming Olympics, we have chosen some soccer games to make the wait easier. We won’t dare to guess who will win the final, but at least you will be pretty entertained with this selection of games while we wait for it.
We all know that there are a handful of awesome soccer games on market. Most of them are ports from consoles (namely, FIFA), demand powerful devices and have not free or trial versions. In exchange, player and team licenses are official (not always, though, you know how stingy PES is), graphics and animations are superlative and combine awesome gameplay with complete management options. However, there should be a nice soccer game somewhere nearly as good as the high-end ones without being so demanding. We favor Gameloft‘s Real Football 2012. Although it’s free, it uses a energy system preventing you to play more than three or four matches per day and pushes notifications into your sacred status bar…unless you toe the line of in app purchases. Anyway, if you don’t want to spend your allowance in a paid top notch game, here’s a free top notch game.
Truth is that some of us miss both those old Japanese cartoons in which players used to do fantastic feints, unnaturally high scissor kicks and were able to kick the ball so strong that they went through concrete walls. If that’s your case, or you just want to add an unreal touch to your soccer gameplay, here’s Soccer Superstars by Gamevil, the same guys who developed the awesome Baseball Superstars. In this game you will create your own character, hire superstars and raise your characters’ stats through intense training, everything wrapped up with colorful and anime-like graphics. However, don’t be fooled by the kind scenery, game’s insanely difficult unless you actually focus yourself on it. Rounding it off, teams are mixed, which is the nearest thing we have ever seen to women’s soccer on a videogame (silly flash games apart).
OK. Let’s imagine that the final whistle is blown and there’s a tie in the scoreboard. Then, there will be two additional times of fifteen minutes each. If neither team can break the draw, it’s time for a penalty shootout, the most feared ending. It’s a tie break where the winner takes it all and goalkeepers can be the greatest of heroes and strikers can become the biggest losers. This Sunday final match has a strong incentive to be watched to: Spain goalkeeper (Casillas) and Italian one (Buffon) are considered the best goalkeepers in the world, so if a penalty shootout happens, as it was four years ago, we can expect one of the most heart-stopping moments…in terms of soccer, of course. If you have ever thought that scoring a penalty is easy, don’t forget that it’s shot from a distance of 12 yards which may seem a thousand miles when it’s your turn to kick. If you think that it’s easier to save it instead, well, the goal measures 24 feet long and 8 feet high.
This brief introduction serves well to talk about Penalty Shootout Football Game. Although it’s the app with the most self-explanatory title ever, it’s also a great penalty shootout game. Awesome if you only want to live the intense moments of a shootout instead of, you know, playing a soccer match. Don’t care about stats, the weather, the injuries or anything else. Kick or save as if the championship depended on it (which it indeed does so) and progress through the heat rounds till you can lift the cup. Yes, gentlemen, this game represents the casual gaming among soccer games. No strategy, just thrilling penalty kicks. Box10.com might not be an extremely famous developer (at least, yet) but released an easy and enjoyable game suited for fans and not fans of soccer alike.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts on our Facebook wall or twit us to tell who will win the Euro 2012 or what soccer games you would recommend. Have a nice weekend and…may the best team win.
