So it’s a relief, then, to find that there is a new football game we oldie gamers can play without embarrassing ourselves. It’s called Sensible World of Soccer and, yes, it’s the same as the original. The new edition is available on the Xbox 360 through the increasingly good Live Arcade download service. You can play it in full retro mode, with the original graphics and sounds, although if you have a new big television it’s probably better to go for the new version, with graphics (slightly) spruced up for the 360.

Otherwise, it’s pretty much business as usual: push the left analogue stick in the direction you want your player to go, and press the button (only the green button is in use) to tackle or shoot. The top-down zoomed-out view remains, as does aftertouch: the ability to bend the ball after you’ve kicked it, which can make for some spectacularly unlikely shots.

The simplicity of the game is what made it special on first release over 10 years ago, and it’s the same now. It’s faster in play than modern football games, which means more exciting matches.

The career structure of the original remains: pick a team and keep playing them until they reach the heady heights of the top flight, changing your tactics and watching players’ values change along the way. What also remains are the strange names given to the teams (Chelsea are London Blues, for instance, and Arsenal are London Reds) – this being a holdover from the days before licensed football games. The updated version is rounded off with the online mode, allowing you to compete over Xbox live, which can be tricky to set up but proves to be just as entertaining as the single player version.

It costs 800 Microsoft Points (around £8) and is available on Xbox Live Arcade through your console.