Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)

Every year the debate rages on; which is better? Pro Evo or Fifa? This year the question is easier answered as Pro Evo falls below the bar raised by previous installments in the series.
PES 2008 still plays a brilliant game of football. The controls are unchanged and the difficulty level still challenges players but the main drawback this time round is that it is very ugly. The framerate during replays and after-goal celebrations is dire and the player faces look much further from their real-life counterparts than those in PES 6. Oh and the problem of unofficial player names still annoys - get it sorted Konami!
The Master League mode returns and is once again a great way to play, while the amount of customisation right down to who forms your free-kick defensive wall will have fans foaming at the mouths. You could spend hours trawling the game's endless menus if it weren't for the hideous background music spouting such cracking lyrics as 'You gotta believe you can wiiiin' and so on.
This really doesn't feel like a solid PES game because some parts- such as the control method- are once again spot on and others feel slightly unfinished, such as the poorly animated crowds and replays. It's as if it doesn't know whether it wants to be a good football game or an average one. Get Fifa this year, it's actually better for a change. (Dave Cook)