It's dead in the water at the moment, barely even bothering to stay afloat as its clunky interface and feel drags it into the depths. You're just holding onto a rose-tinted nostalgic view of the series. That was true five years ago, but not any more.

Never, Ever Trust anyone who says Pro Evo Soccer delivers the most 'realistic' representation of football on a PC. With immaculate physics, the players connect with the ball with what commentators refer to as purchase', making for some net-bulging goals and compelling matches, with marathon sessions commonplace, particularly if you get stuck into the life-sapping Master League. That said, it's testament to the game's underlying quality that you'll be prepared to overlook these non-corporate foibles in favour of what is often thrilling action. Off the pitch, while the licensing situation has improved to include the Champions League and, finally, the Dutch national team, it's still embarrassing to see the likes of North London taking on Yorkshire Orange. With practice, some intelligent possession football can be played however, and it's not simply a case of tearing down the wings and whipping a hopeful ball into the mixer - although that of course is still effective.

The player animations have also been improved, and their little legs pump away at a frantic pace, with a largely high-tempo approach.

This new system offers far greater control over player movement, providing of course you have a decent analogue pad.Įlsewhere, for the brave (or stupid), manual goalkeepers are available, enabling you to take complete control of the hapless berk between the sticks. Like this year's console FIFA, the arcane eight-way control system has been replaced by a more realistic affair, and once you've tried it there really is no going back. Which brings us clumsily to the game's major improvement, that of 360 dribbling. Never is this more in evidence than in 2010, with the PC version coming replete with Xbox 360 instructions -press A etc - and even a great big picture of a 360 pad in the configuration section. However, Konami have at least had the decency to allow PC gamers in on the party, with the same PES being released on the three main platforms (unlike FIFA - see the next page). This generation has not been great for the once-imperious Pro Evolution Soccer, with some ropy instalments seeing it finally fall behind the FIFA behemoth.

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