Still the best football game by a country mile, Pro Evolution Soccer 5 goes one step further in blurring the boundaries between console kickabouts and the real sport.
Like its predecessors, the most remarkable thing about PES5 is that it forces you to play a decent game of football and rewards players who put in the effort to master the sublimely simple controls; the ball bounces and pings around the pitch more convincingly than ever making it impossible to knock-in impossible goals from 40 yards and doesnt stick to players feet as in other football sims, meaning you have to fight every step of the way
to maintain control and keep rival defenders at bay.
The option for PS2 players to take the action online for the first time is reason enough to warrant a purchase especially as the matches can be played in dramatic two-on-two face-offs and the inclusion of more licensed European teams, along with Chelsea and Arsenal (but no other Premiership sides, sadly), also help make PES5 the pinnacle of digital football and raising the bar for any developers foolhardy enough to challenge its crown.