The Olympics kick off this Friday with an opening ceremony that’s been put together by feted movie director Danny Boyle and will no doubt prove spectacular. Once that’s out of the way we can look forward to two weeks of top sporting action with the best athletes in the world competing head to head. To get you in the mood we’re running our Appylmpics – roundups of the best apps for making the most of the Olympics. Today we’re awarding medals for the best sports games apps. Who makes the podium? Read on to find out.
Medal: Gold
FiFa 12
Price: £3.99
Platforms iOS, Android
With its FiFa series of games, EA seems to have created a steam roller that crushed everything in its path, including the once mighty Pro Evolution Soccer. This latest version ups the ante further by including much better player AI, a cool new sprint tackle option and yet more emphasis on playing a passing game. Even the commentary from the much maligned Clive Tyldesley turns out to be top notch. All told, it’s difficult to find a better looking, or more fun to play, title on iOS or Android.
Medal: Silver
Chop Chop Tennis
Price: £0.69
Platforms: iOS
Sometimes you don’t need lots of licensed content to make a great sports game, as the cutesy Chop Chop Tennis proves. Forget about virtual representations of Murray and Federer or digital mock-ups of famous courts around the world, because Chop Chop Tennis takes a much more cartoony approach to the sport. Despite this, it offers fun gameplay that also turns out to be surprisingly deep. In fact, its combination of excellent controls, cute graphics and top notch support for online play make it one of the most entertaining sports games around.
Medal: Bronze
International Track & Field
Price: £1.49
Platforms: iOS
There’s a whole generation who, rather than actually going outside to play, took part in sport by bashing buttons in a rhythmic fashion to get a tiny sprite to run a bit faster. These old school sports titles included Konami’s classic Track and Field series as well as its British knock-off Daley Thomson’s Decathlon. Konami has now updated Track and Field for the iPhone and the results are surprisingly good. There are five events for you to button mash (or swipe) your way through — 100m Dash, 110m hurdles, long jump, hammer throw and pole vault – and they turn out to be every bit as addictive as you remember.
Tune in tomorrow for our pick of the best TV streaming apps.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
