Battle of the Titans

SO CHELSEA may well be top of the Premiership having beaten Liverpool at the weekend.
But there’s only one match that gamers are gearing up for next – Fifa 10 versus Pro Evolution Soccer 2010.
They say there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.
And with our (once again) abismal summer the only thing to look forward to is the annual play off between Electronic Arts and Konami.
It’s worth pointing out right now that I sit firmly in the Pro camp.
Always have.
But that may well be about to change.I got my hands on a copy of Fifa 10 last week and it’s safe to say it rocked my world.
It has been given a very serious makeover with life-like actions, awesome gameplay and great sound effects.
Manager Mode has returned and the developers have made dozens of improvements.
The one aspect I REALLY like is that teams are updated weekly (via the web) to update players’ injuries and team form.
On the other hand I’ve just downloaded the free playable download of PES 2010.
The free demo showcases the full game’s exhibition mode and users can select from Liverpool, or Barcelona, or the Spanish, Italian, French and German national sides.
The selected sides can then be played against the CPU or a friend in a five-minute match.On first impression the graphics rival Fifa’s.
The individual menu screens look awesome with a new makeover and the pre-match in-tunnel scenes look incredibly realistic.
The music (if you could call it that on the previous releases) has been vastly upgraded with the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs lending their tunes to the title.
But, and this is a temporary but before I experience the full game (released on October 23rd), the gameplay seems slower.
I don’t know why but it just doesn’t seem to flow with pace.Sure there was a vast difference when you played third-rate teams compared to say top national sides, but even with Liverpool versus Barcelona it seemed... tired.
I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. My own brother thinks I am but we’ll see.
I’m still holding out to see whether the online glitches have disappeared to make my official rating.
But it’s safe to say that Fifa has raised the bar a fair way.

Here’s the Fifa review and that of several others released this week:

Title: FIFA 10
Platform: PS3
Genre: Football
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 5/5

WELL, put it this way, the boys at Konami are going to have to pull off a comeback of Man Utd vs Bayern Munich in 1999 proportions to have any chance of winning this season's battle of the heavyweight football sims.
FIFA has been improving significantly in recent years, while the Pro Evolution stable has stalled, and this latest EA offering has got the lot.
From improvements in on-the-pitch action such as better ball control, passing, dribbling and player positioning to the triumphant return of the Manager Mode, boasting over 50 major improvements on a list too detailed to go through here.
Rest assured, the realism is there like never before, and everything is polished to a high standard.
This is a shining example of a developer listening to player feedback and giving them a finely-tuned, superb football simulation that they somehow have to top next year.
Over to you, Pro Evo.


Title: Family Trainer: Extreme Challenge (with mat controller)
Platform: Wii
Genre: Sports
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5

After the extremely enjoyable Outdoor Challenge comes this year's 'Extreme' offering, giving parents the opportunity to let their children experience the adrenalin rush of base-jumping and street-luge without the broken bones and ludicrous life insurance premiums.
The 12 or so activities available all stick tightly to the 'extreme' niche-sports theme, with wakeboarding, rock climbing, kite surfing, BMX biking and skateboarding thrown into the mix.
A good variety in gameplay on each activity will have you interacting with the Wii Remote and 8-buttoned custom mat in many different ways, and there's no doubt that this will keep your calorie count down if you or the kids are watching your waistlines.
And, of course, you can play it together, banishing any lingering preconceptions of gaming as just a lonesome life in a darkened room - this is extreme gaming, so get stuck in!


Title: The King of Fighters XII
Platform: PS3
Genre: Arcade
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5

Remember the legendary arcade beat-em-up Street Fighter? Well, this is on a par.
KOF XII serves up 22 characters each with their own unique moves and styles in a stunning 2D production incorporating all-new, high-resolution fighters.
With every production house seemingly trying to out do each other with graphics and gameplay – almost trying to reinvent the wheel – it’s actually a breath of fresh air to play something which is new, but has a retro feel.
KOF XII is fast and furious fun for any game fan.
The only real snag is that it seems to be very easy to complete - even on normal mode despite the fact I've never played it before. Still, I don't mind going back and replaying.


Title: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action / RPG
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5

Hailed as ‘the greatest superhero action/RPG of all time’, Marvel Ultimate Alliance is back with the biggest and best army of heroes and villains to date.
The choice on offer is really impressive, as you can create and customize your dream team from the Marvel Universe, selecting from more than 24 playable characters, each with specialized powers which gradually level-up in traditional RPG style as you progress through the game.
The 250-plus fusion attacks are a blast as, for example, you team up Human Torch and Thor to create a spectacular fiery tornado.
This all sucks you in even further to the incredible Marvel world, plus brings a real tactical element to co-operative multiplayer, which you can experience online with three friends.
Compared with the first Ultimate Alliance release, there's probably not a whole lot that's new here.
The overall polishing up and tweaking, however, make this a Marvel adventure well worth revisiting.


Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up
Platform: Wii
Genre: Action
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5

Here's another comic-book crew which has been around for more than 20 years, and stood the test of time pretty well.
This fighter seems to go back to the roots of the TMNT franchise, with good-old scrapping at its heart.
The overall game mechanics seem to lean heavily on the influence from Super Smash Bros Brawl: arguably the daddy of all fighting titles.
This is a good thing forturtles fans, who can select their favourite characters, pick a stage and then beat their opponent to a pulp - safe in the knowledge that the fighting gameplay is going to mirror that which it's copying.
But where this game falls down slightly is in depth - the collection of characters is paltry, bearing in mind there are 20 years or more of stories to draw upon.
Also, 12 trophies or figurines to collect compared to Smash Bros 500 or so doesn't cut it.
Overall, a great game for TMNT fighter fans, but it could have been so much more.


Title: Space Invaders Extreme 2
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Arcade
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 4/5

It's fantastic to see some of the early gaming franchises still going strong, none more than Space Invaders, which for many was the first and only experience they needed to have before becoming hooked on videogames.
Shrunk down from that first huge arcade cabinet to the more petite proportions of the DS, SpaceInvaders Extreme 2 is an arcade-like assault on your gaming senses.
In the game you shoot, attack and stave off the onslaught by defeating all the invaders onscreen.
After annihilating a battalion of enemies and defeating the boss, it's onto the next stage.
This may sound basic and repetitive, but the variety invisual backdrops, and also the tactical formations that the invaders will throw at you, ensure that this is as intense a retro-gaming experience as you can get right now.
And for under £20, snap it up now and get zapping!


GAMES CHART: ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE

1. Halo 3: ODST
2. Professor Layton and Pandora's Box
3. Need For Speed: Shift
4. Guitar Hero 5
5. Wii Sports Resort
6. Batman: Arkham Asylum
7. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
8. Colin McRae: Dirt 2
9. Wet
10. Wii Fit

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd