Burton's Bytes: In a league of its own

ELECTRONIC Arts - the world's biggest and most powerful video games publisher - must wonder what it has to do to beat Pro Evolution Soccer.

It already has all the players, all the stadiums, all the leagues and the best music. So why do gamers in this country prefer Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer games to EA's FIFA series?

Perhaps it's the way both games play. For while the soccer in Pro Evo flows smoothly from end to end, FIFA tends to be more of a kickabout, even with its much improved on-the-ball reaction system that is new for this season.

Fans of the Pro Evo series can relax in the knowledge that Konami has adopted a pragmatic attitude towards this fourth instalment. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," seems to have been the philosophy among the programmers.

This time around you get to play more leagues. Konami has done a deal to add the Dutch, Italian and Spanish leagues to its already impressive roster. Some of the other leagues still have patently absurd names but at least the in-game editor allows anyone fanatically obsessed with accuracy to change them all around. The rest of us will have to wait for a Datel data disk that does all the hard work for you by downloading the right names to a file on your memory card.

The Champions League is called the Master League due to the vagaries of licensing deals. This time it is split across two divisions, allowing for UEFA Cup-style competition as well.

Pro Evo even has a management element to it. In the Master League, you are responsible for team finances so if you pack your first 11 with superstars, you'll have to find the back of the net on a regular basis if you want to avoid bankruptcy.

Incredibly, this is the first Pro Evo to feature a referee on screen during games. Can't say I've missed the man in black up to now but it's nice to have him anyway.

Konami doesn't seem to have fiddled with the gameplay to any meaningful degree. Just as well, because the dynamics of Pro Evo 3 were so finely balanced that they were nigh on perfect anyway.

You won't be giving away hand balls when your player inadvertently touches the ball this time and the new ref will allow play to continue after a foul if you have an advantage. If you don't, he'll award a free kick.

The shoot button is also easier to time, so your power shots don't always balloon over the bar now. Ironically, this is a problem that now seems to afflict the newest FIFA title. Even better, if you happen to own an Xbox, is the opportunity this version gives you to go online and challenge a mate to a game. Sadly PS2 owners don't share the same feature. They have to make do with the usual multi-player options that require everyone to be in the same room.

So it's back to the training ground for Electronic Arts once again as Konami makes off with the silverware for another year. It's a funny old game, as they say.

CLUB FOOTBALL 2005. Publisher: Codemasters. Price: £39.99. Format: PS2. Family friendly? Yes.

SOMETHING of a football feast this week, with our second game also dedicated to recreating the passion of the Premiership. Very much the also-ran in the football simulation stakes, Club Football 2005 offers something different to FIFA and Pro Evo.

For a start, it's not just one game but several. Each one is based around a big club and the idea is that supporters will buy the game that features their club.

The game play is fast and furious. It's more action-packed than either of its two big name competitors but curiously uninvolving.

If you're an avid supporter then the bonus items - videos, pictures and even a virtual sticker album - will give you a reason to keep on playing.

And the chance to insert a virtual likeness of yourself into the side is a nifty touch, albeit one that makes it even harder for the willing suspension of disbelief while you play.

If you are looking for a loving recreation of the Premiership, then this probably isn't your game. If you want a unique souvenir of your favourite team, however, then this could be the next best thing.