It is the virtual match every fan is talking about: Pro-Evo vs. Fifa. Jamal Guthrie takes a look at which team he thinks you should support.

Arsenal or Tottenham? City or United? Madrid or Barca? Fifa or Pro? Fans flock to JD Sports knowing exactly which team’s shirt they are going to buy at the beginning of the season and in the console market many will be buying the latest version of the game they have been supporting for years.

When Konami, creators of the Pro Evolution Soccer series, offered an alternative to Fifa in 2001, it took with it a legion of fans that have since enjoyed the most realistic football game on any platform. From then on the choice was simple, the more realistic experience of Pro Evo, or the fully licensed Fifa. Until last year no fan would defect from their ‘team’. 

This year the makers of Fifa have spent long hours after training honing their game, to make 2009 the most evenly balanced match yet.

From the kick off Fifa starts well. Fully customisable tactics offer around 140 different ways to attack the opposition and there is the ability to change tactics to suit different stages of the game.

Pro Evo may have conceded an early goal to its rival here were it not for the hugely improved graphics.

Fifa’s players on the other hand are a mixed bag. John Carew looks like he is auditioning for a part in Evil Dead 4 and Van Der Sar looks as if he has been a attacked by Rooney’s amateur boxing family. So, 1-0 to Pro, a good goal considering Fifa’s defence has always been its graphics.

Fifa hits back immediately with a goal from their trusty striker, the sleek, stylish menu interface. In comparison Pro’s menu looks basic, a few bright colours do not distract from what is the same boring options of last year. 1-1

Both games have new signings. Pro Evo’s  ‘Become a Legend’ mode borrows heavily from from Fifa’s ‘Be a Pro’, allowing players to control a 17-year-old trainee working his way from the subs bench to England captain. It is a welcome update that adds freshness to a series that has undergone few changes since its inception. Fifa takes the same idea and allows users to go online against 19 other players but both are gimmicks that will not divert too much attention from the traditional one-on-one battles you enjoy with mates.

The pace of the matches in Fifa is more life-like. Pro Evo is played at breakneck speed and while fun, loses some of its realism. 

The commentary on Pro is poor, keepers are described as “brave” when collecting an unchallenged cross and crowd chants give the eerie impression that you are being brainwashed. So 2-1 to Fifa, surely a stoppage time winner?

Not quite. Pro Evo’s editing facility has improved from last year’s feeble attempt. Next year it will be Fifa players who will have to shell out another £40 for a game with the latest kits, making the score 2-2.

At full-time both played well and there will not be many deserters from either camp but unless Konami go back to their history of creating realistic football games, with the strides Fifa has been making, the EA funded team may take the title next season.