Written by: PlayDevil.com Staff

 

 

 

It’s that time of the year again. The football season is under way, and that means that the two major football games (FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer) are about to go head to head once more.

 

After years of under-performing, Fifa has held the crown for the last few years, but with EA announcing that this is a year of polishing rather than major upgrades, will Pro Evo be able to regain the football crown?

 

I started off with Pro Evo, eager to see if Konami have actually delivered after years of promising upgrades and failing to deliver much. Presentation remains basic, with menus familiar to anyone who has ever played Pro Evo before.

 

Loading times are impressively quick, but once on the pitch, the demo is very bare bones.

 

There’s no commentary, which affects the atmosphere. The graphics, whilst improved, still are two steps behind Fifa, and until you see replays there isn’t a huge amount of definition and it’s difficult to pick out famous faces.

 

Gameplay seems improved though, with better passing, and I liked how you now get the power meters under the player. However, animation still seems stilted, and too many times players just do nothing in the card or free kick cut scenes, ruining the realism.

 

I found the AI a bit lacking as well, they would just let me rush up the flanks, and then pump in cross after cross into the box. My own defence were also lacking, not marking the opposition whilst I was up front, leaving me critically exposed to the counter-attack. It’s an improvement, but I wasn’t overly impressed.

 

I immediately booted up the FIFA demo to compare the two. Fifa does seem very familiar. The menu style, and the practice area have been around for a few years now, and make a comeback here. I was impressed at how quickly the demo loaded, however, which was previously a big problem.

 

If anything, it was just as quick as Pro Evo. In game, you are immediately assaulted with a visual feast.

 

There is commentary from the usual team for your country, and some nice entry scenes. The atmosphere within a stadium is electric, and seems better than ever, with well timed chants and cheering.

 

In gameplay terms, not much has been improved, but there are some new additions. You can now play as the goalie, and do ‘be a pro’ as the man between the sticks as well. Passing does seem to have been improved, along with AI, and I was impressed with what seemed like minor changes to shooting and heading.

 

Overall, if you have Fifa 10, and are still happy with it, Fifa 11 is unlikely to offer you much new, but either way, based on the demos, "FIFA 11" is looking more impressive than "Pro Evolution Soccer 2011", although the latter has begun to catch up a little, however.