When we say that the sport of football has witnessed some bitter, ongoing rivalries; we aren’t referring simply to the likes of Man U v Arsenal, Rangers v Celtic, Barcelona v Real Madrid, or Zidane v Materazzi. We’re also are referring to FIFA versus Pro Evolution and the bloody battle for the ‘awesomest futbol’ game ever. FIFA’s strengths revolve around licensed player likenesses and names, whereas Pro Evo has got the technical gameplay well and truly covered. But now that Pro Evo has started acquiring licensed team data, does this mean that FIFA series has a date with a nasty headbutt?

Short answer: ‘Hell yes’ but its not due to the old ‘unlicensed teams’ debate. It’s because Konami have defied the usual Wii game conversion tactics (carbon copying an existing version of the game and tossing in some half-arsed Wii-mote interaction), bending it like Beckham into something far more enjoyable. Instead of the traditional setup of using the Nunchuk analogue stick to move your players around the pitch, Pro Evo 2008 relies upon you pointing your Wii-mote at your desired destination and clicking your guys into that position.

It sounds like a tragedy in theory - we know - but after sampling the basic tutorials and investing half an hour with the game you’ll be amazed at how well this control scheme actually works.

In terms of offence, passing to somebody is simply a matter of highlighting them and tapping the Wii-mote’s ‘B’ button once for a ground pass or twice for a lobbed one, plus you can opt to strategically pass into open space to create sneaky through-ball opportunities. Heading the ball and unleashing a shot towards the goal is now a matter of whipping the Nunchuk and the success of the resulting manoeuvre is contextually dependant on what is occurring around you at that time.