4. The Visuals
Again, both FIFA 13 and PES 2013 have enjoyed their annual visual revamps, with player likenesses improving in both cases, and indeed both games look better than they ever have. But it's FIFA 13 which emerges as the better of the two by some distance, thanks to EA Sports' strong foundation and their attention to detail in the finer points of the aesthetics. PES 2013 still has a tendency to look less realistic when compared side by sides with FIFA 13, and when it comes to animations the gap opens up even more as PES players lack that necessary life-likeness that seems to come a lot easier to EA Sports. In the animations, PES players have no spark to their eyes, and their mouths hang open with an oddly cold, lifeless effect, which is an unfortunate sign that Konami's focus was elsewhere (and I have to admit to the overall benefit of the game). The only slight reservation is the lighting, which is a little over contrasted in the interest of realism, but which comes at a cost. But it's by no means a fatal flaw, and overall, FIFA 13 looks incredible again, right down to the ball. Crowd animations are still limited, but they look better than PES, and in the vital areas of the game, its hard to fault the game in relation to the current generation of consoles.