Is it really that time of year again? Once more X360 towers is plunged into the type of theological debate usually reserved for teasing out the miracle of creation, all in the name of finding out whether this set of 22 men kicking leather around is better than the other one. Only this is 2007/08, and EA has continued its impressive recent roll by dragging the FIFA franchise out of its oh-so comfortable cesspit into a realm of general decency. Clearly, this means that a title such as PES 2008, which applies careful dollops of Polyfilla over one or two of its previous cracks, deserves to inherit sports gaming’s ‘cynical giant’ award. Does it heck. Like it or lump it, this is a very similar outing to last October’s, and therefore should be scored accordingly.

Once again, though, Konami’s series has taken a turn for the slow and considered, taking away players’ abilities to swivel on a sixpence and sprint like Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. Apart from Cristiano Ronaldo of course – he is on the box, after all. For everyone else, matches rely more heavily on the ability to retain possession than they have perhaps ever done, a fact AI players will exploit (for the first time in our memory) by running the ball into the corner with minutes on the clock and a slender lead. There are plenty of areas in which Konami continues to trump its revamped rival, regardless of debates about how much control gamers are given. For starters, the difference between shooting directly from crosses or bringing the ball down is far more clearly defined, offering a range of headers and scissor kicks that not only look the part, but feel totally and utterly under control. Also (and an improvement from other entries in the PES series), defensive errors from your opposition won’t be corrected by a devious CPU, unwilling to allow even the lightest of shots to not end up in row Z. Chasing down lazy and careless defenders can therefore result in some sort of real punishment. The usual touch-ups have also taken place – quick free kicks not demanding the obviously double-shoulder button tap but simply to play on, conservative challenges still bringing yellow cards if used from behind and shorter sliding challenges – without affecting overall balance in any particularly fundamental way.

As elsewhere in life (there’s the theology again), there are negatives, some quite striking. For a start, there’s a distinctly ‘shovelled out of the door’ feeling going on, thanks to replays more stuttering than Djibril Cisse’s career and graphics that, let’s face it, don’t herald the dawn of a new football age now that this title also graces the PS3. While we realise Rome wasn’t built in a day, improvement on neither of these fronts is very disappointing indeed. On the field, dismissal offences can be somewhat cold and lacking in objectivity. For example, players in a crossing position near the corner flag can bring an early bath if fouled, being technically closer to the goal line than anyone else. On the attacking front, lofted through balls have lost a great deal of their former power, seeming to deny gamers the chance to break quickly when plenty of options are available, for no apparent reason other than Konami’s ideal prescripted pacing. It’s something fans will barely notice, but it’d be deliberately obtuse for us not to notice it.

Simultaneously the best and worst thing ever, Pro Evo 2008’s rejigged Edit mode provides an ideal opportunity for fans of the 18 English teams not officially licensed to rectify matters. As ever, there’s one key oversight on show that we still can’t classify as accidental or an effect of some contract Konami has signed. When editing kits this time around, it’s possible to use your Live Vision camera to snap an image of whatever team’s shirt, cleverly sidestepping hours of mindless tinkering. Though it’s only possible to capture its front, tinkering around with emblems is, at a stroke, made pointless. Or is it? Trouble is, there’s no way to alter them, so while your favourite team may look sweet on the turf, they’ll still be advertised by the badge of ‘West Midlands Village FC’, or whatever legal alternative Konami came up with. Unbelievably, that’s not the best part. Also featuring is the ability to import your own (or someone else’s) face, slapping it as a texture onto a preexisting model. Though this can be stretched into something passable, you’ll be in stitches at the features it’ll initially carve straight into your host.

Overall, the obvious conclusion to draw is that while this year’s FIFA is a game we’ll quite happily entertain in our less patient moments, Pro Evo just bests it through the usual set of minor tweaks. To say anything else would be playing the corporate hate game.

Dave Shaw