Where do you stand on the great footy debate? Saints or Pompey. No argument there clearly, but what about the videogame equivalent. FIFA or Pro Evo? For me it's always been Pro Evo. Yes, it lacks FIFA's licensed glamour and yes the team responsible for the menus and music should clearly never work again, but Pro Evo has always triumphed where it matters most - the pitch. A session on the 360 versions of FIFA 07 and Pro Evo 6 has done little to change my mind - Pro Evo still plays better. But, you know what? The gap was a lot closer than I expected.
FIFA07 felt a load better than FIFA 06 - not hard, admittedly - and has finally become a viable option for hardcore gamers. For a start the ball feels more like a ball now and less like the extended body part of older FIFA games. Ricochets and dodgy bounces are now far more common. It also plays a lot more like Pro Evo, with patient build-ups and a more natural ebb and flow.
Sadly the tendency to over dramatise is still present. For example most crosses seemed to be met by attempted over head kicks rather than the more straightforward and realistic headers - and yes I know Crouch scored a scissor kick the other day, but you know what I mean. Also the players still don't respond as quickly as Pro Evo's do - you still don't feel as in total control. But still, I actually enjoyed my games of FIFA which is something I haven't done since Matt Le Tissier was in his prime. It'll be hard to avoid EA's FIFA 07 marketing juggernaut over the coming weeks but for once they may actually have a point - FIFA 07 is the best one yet.
