Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 review

Still a goal's a goal, so cue the replays - where you'll see how good the player likenesses are. You can tell at a glance which player is which, and they're expressive too - they'll wag their fingers at the refs when they get bookings, look to the heavens when they fluff a chance, run over and celebrate goals with the subs bench… they run the gamut of emotions. Their mouths sometimes look a bit flappy, mind, like Zippy from Rainbow with teeth, but you can't have everything.

Master League, disappointingly, is almost exactly the same. You choose a team, or create one from scratch, fight for promotions and cups, sign players - the usual, really, only this time with those static pictures that fooled us into thinking new things were afoot. You'll get shots of fans in pubs, or your star striker being interviewed, but they're neither animated nor interactive. How about post-match interviews where your responses affect team morale? Or your team secretly going out on the lash, leaving you to deal with tabloid uproar? Russian billionaires taking over rival clubs? Sure, the fans play slightly more part than before - the worse your results, the lower your match attendance, which knocks your popularity and makes it harder to sign players - but Master League should be doing more by now.