Before I review FIFA 10, let me make this clear; if the editor goes through this and replaces every instance of ‘football’ with ‘soccer’, there will be transatlantic war! Secondly, do yourself a favour (I won’t even fix your spelling of "favor." -ED) and read this review before scrolling down and checking the scores.

The history of Electronic Art’s FIFA series is well documented from endless rehashes to being continually outshone by Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer. That all changed in 2008 when EA rehauled the game, including a superb new physics engine. Since then, year on year improvements have led to the gaming masterpiece FIFA 10.

One FIFA’s eternal disappointments since the PS1 days has been that despite analogue sticks, player control has been an eight-way affair. This throwback to the d-pad days has been eradicated, and the game feels so much better for it. Movement of both players and the ball feels subtler, allowing for a deft level of simulation never seen before.

The increased simulation improves the speed of players and the way the ball pings about the pitch. Players feel ‘bigger,’ meaning shorter passes and more vital use of space, especially around the box. Punting the ball forward is much less fruitful. All of this results in an environment where players must work hard for goals - seeing the ball ripple the back of the net has never felt so satisfying.