We've all heard of them, we've all seen them being played but which one, FIFA or PES? That is the question. When you see these two titans of video gaming come head to head on release day, it's hard to pick which one will provide the most sanctification of endless matches, while locked away in bedrooms for weeks and of course, broken controllers. These games allow those to choose their favourite team and players as well as stuffing opponents, friends or if you feeling really cruel, a team that has the lowest rating - come on we've all done it...right? But which of these two can be claimed as the best game? It's one that will cause huge debates among fans from either side of the spectrum, but lets try get some indication of who trumps the football gaming world, first up it's FIFA.
FIFA
The franchise didn't really get going until 2008 when EA decided to really up the ante and upgrade its match engine, menus and players characteristics. It is truly impressive how much the game has come on over the years with each one somehow beating it's predecessor year-in, year-out. A vast amount of time was spent on adding as much detail to clubs, players and stadia alike, with the end product looking incredible and the full use of the FIFA licence pays in dividends, particular with the big clubs such as Barcelona, Manchester City and the inclusion of New York Red Bulls too. Career mode, Ultimate Team and online modes are all still, if not, more popular and they go from strength to strength, adding a certain addiction to either improve yourself as a player at your club, rummaging through gold packs to find an in-form player or trying to beat your friends via the internet, over and over again. Hours, days, weeks and months are spent on this game and it can never get old, like, ever. Most of that time - from my perspective anyway - is spent on Ultimate Team, buying players and trying to win league upon league whilst not throwing a controller off the wall at the same time. It can be infuriating, but that's what makes it so good, that's what makes it so addictive to play. On the downside, the recent rumblings of constant server crashes, dodgy AI and fluidity of the game has shown a few chinks in FIFA's armour, something that may have put people off in the past. In the long term aspect of the game, the feeling is that EA are running out of ideas and with the launch of the new consoles later this year, their attention may wander to focus on the next generation rather than maintaining the current generation, and you can just sense Electronic Arts may tail off their interest. In fairness though, the game is one of the best played around. It's a popular choice and it does have it moments of brilliance - easily a huge favourite for the best out of FIFA vs PES. But hold your horses, let not rule out PES just yet, the gang at Konami do have a case to retaliate with...