The football war has been raging for over a decade now as the FIFA series battles the Pro Evolution series for the title of soccer game king. The latest versions for 2010 are out now, so who wins the latest grudge match? Find out in this article.
The war between FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer goes back a long way. Electronic Arts are the company behind the FIFA games and they have made sports titles one of the cornerstones of their success. They kicked off the FIFA series in 1993 with FIFA International Soccer which represented a leap forward for the visual style of football games with an isometric view on the action. For the next 4 years the FIFA series was virtually unchallenged, but in 1997 a new kid on the block hammered it into submission.
International Superstar Soccer Pro was the best football game to be released on the PlayStation up to that time. It marked a glorious entry into the soccer genre for Konami and it lead to the Pro Evolution Soccer series. This new contender offered realistic football with fluid, natural movement and exciting gameplay. Despite the lack of proper licenses and an awkward ratings and menu system the Pro Evolution Soccer series dominated the next few years.
Throughout the lifetime of the PS2 the Pro Evolution Soccer series consistently delivered a more engaging gameplay experience. For hardcore football fans it was an obvious winner. FIFA had the big licenses and the player likenesses but it was slow, predictable and appealed mainly to casual gamers and kids. In the last couple of years FIFA was completely redesigned and thanks to some well considered new developments it managed to wrestle back the ascendancy in many people’s eyes. Certainly in terms of critical scores, FIFA has been top of the league since the new generation of consoles was released.
Brand loyalty has played a big part in the battle between Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA and many gamers have stuck with their choice regardless of critical opinion about which is best. FIFA has always outperformed Pro Evo in terms of sales but you can put that down to a much bigger marketing spend by EA. It is one of the greatest rivalries in videogames. So finally we come to the current versions.
There is no doubt that the developers play each other’s games and so new modes and mechanics tend to appear in both camps. This year the big development is the addition of true 360 degree movement. You have much greater control of your players and both games have introduced a more fluid and enjoyable dribbling experience. They both offer a wide range of modes but they can be distilled down to multiplayer off and online, a manager mode, and a career mode where you play as an individual player and have to rise to the top of the footballing world. It is tough to choose between the two so let’s break it down further.