Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 is returning to its roots, with emphasis on the individual skills of the world's best players, giving the player total freedom to play any style of ball, to any teammate, anywhere on the pitch, including full control over shots, for the first time ever.

Ultimately, it's the manual passing system that has elevated PES 2013 to the next level, but across the board the improvements are clear to see, from the improvement in graphics to what really matters, the gameplay.

On the fly manual passing adds an unprecedented amount of freedom; Slicker animations and smoother player movements makes for a more realistic game of footy; Improved A.I.

Doesn't offer the same wealth of game modes and online features as its rival FIFA

Evolution is a wonderful thing.

+ Organic feel to the action + Visually impressive + Loads of options + Genuine improvement

- Uninspiring audio - Unpredictable referees - Disappointing manager mode

Even though PES 2012 did make good strides towards correcting a lot of the bad memories I have of every PES game since PES 6 on the PS2, it still wasn't anywhere close to being the game it once was.

Individual player differences; Team mate AI; Rewarding and deep controls.

Physics; Goalkeeper AI; Aerial challenges.

In the battle between dueling sports franchises, soccer games have been rather one-sided throughout this console generation. Pro Evolution Soccer, once the dominant sim of the PlayStation 2 era, faltered with some huge missteps, while EA's FIFA franchise has nearly widened the gap into a chasm with...

Great balance between arcade and sim play; Improved AI and tactical moves; Deep; nuanced play

Feature rot from other elements; Steep learning curve; Awful tutorial doesn't help learning curve

Concept: PES 2013 is mainly about refinements, but the new equipment system is a cool step forward Graphics: The running animations are still a bit stiff, and the graphics are solid but don't wow Sound: The crowd does a nice job of responding to the flow of play Playability: From new manual controls...

A look at this year's crop of soccersims. How they stack up, and which one is right for you?

For everyone that absolutely needs to have the latest game from their favorite series, here it is. You don't need convincing. If you haven't played a Pro Evolution game since 2011 pick this one up. It's different enough to be worth it.

for well over a decade now we have actually reviewed very few soccer games over the years. We're not sure why, but in any case it's probably important to note that I, personally, am going into this review with little benchmark to base the games quality upon.

Once again, PES has improved in a number of areas, but falls short in the all-important gameplay. And please Konami, fewer menus next year.

Solid online; Master League is a nice ‘RPG-like' mode

Gameplay is still poor; missing key franchises; could be called A Game of Menus