

Nevertheless, if PvP is your preference, you’re probably going to be better off with FIFA’s wider pool of talent. Yet when I did finally find an opponent, I found them surprisingly well matched to my meagre skill level, experiencing close 2-1 thrillers instead of the 5-0 drubbings one would expect in a game with a small, dedicated group of online players. Often I was kept waiting so long I would have quit out and played against the computer if I wasn’t writing a review. Every time I tried to get an online match I was kept waiting for several minutes as the game desperately searched for someone to play with. Online, unfortunately, is another weak spot. Already saddled with an odd control scheme (double tap right bumper to call for the ball, really?) it now seems woefully dated next to the surprise success of FIFA’s story-driven equivalent.

On the other end of the scale there’s PES’s Become a Legend mode, in which you play as a single footballer and attempt to grow their career.
