It's that time of the year again: the clocks have gone back, there's a nip in the air, the optimism surrounding your team has been rapidly whittled away and EA Sports and Konami have released their respective footy titles.

For years Pro Evolution Soccer was the undisputed king; constantly evolving while FIFA languished, propped up by those who couldn't cope without official licences and correct player names.

But things changed with the release of FIFA 09, as EA finally righted its past wrongs and brought out a thoroughly playable and highly entertaining game. EA was also helped by criticism of Konami's 2008 release, with one reviewer describing the game as an “embarrassment”.

So how do this year's incarnations fair, has FIFA 10 widened the gap or has PES 2010 regained its crown?

Appearance

Whether intentional or not, Pro Evo's menu system and layout now looks remarkably similar to FIFAs. However, as it has grown closer to its rival it appears to have lost some of its simplicity. On the pitch Konami has obviously spent time sorting out the player likenesses (which had been a bit hit and miss) and the in-game graphics are bright and vivid.

EA's games have always been pretty and this year's FIFA is no different – it looks gorgeous. The menus are clearly laid out and logically ordered. Graphically the designers have plumped for washed out realism with the colours reflecting the series' new-found seriousness. Unfortunately the subtly of all this was rather lost on me as I've been playing the game on my ailing CRT television, still I could kind of tell I was playing something beautiful.

Online

The future may be online, but I've always been pretty ambivalent about this area of gaming. Previously I'd contented myself with doling out thrashings to my housemates, but I'd been assured that playing someone half-way round the world could be just as fun. Setting up a match on Pro Evo was pretty simple, but my games were frequently spoilt by slow-down.

FIFA's online game was just as easy to set-up but it again suffered from lag issues, which I'm guessing was the main cause of my team's bad defending. However, I should probably add that other users have reported nolag problems on either game, so it could well be down to my own internet connection.

Commentary/sound

Like that old sweater you just can't bring yourself to throw out Pro Evo's commentary has always been comfortingly awful – and it remains so.

Lines are repeated ad nauseum until you find yourself parroting phrases like: "that goes back to the old debate about referees who haven't played the game at the highest level" even when you're not playing the game.

Pleasingly, Konami have splashed the cash and brought in “proper” music so now you can have the Klaxons and Keane serenade you as you alter your line-up.

FIFA's commentary is marginally better than Pro Evo's – like being punched in the face as opposed to getting run over. Andy Gray and Martin Tyler do their best to try and sound interested but as you play the game more and more, the repetitiveness kicks in. For future releases maybe EA should just do away with this feature and use their gargantuan playlist to fill the gap.

Playability

In the interest of full disclosure I should say that this is my first proper go on a FIFA game since I emptied my post office account to buy the very first version in the early 90s.

Admittedly I've dabbled in a couple of releases, but found them pretty infuriating, especially when compared to Konami's sublime efforts.

So it comes as a bit of a shock to find myself warming to this latest instalment. The feature that stands out immediately is thee 360 degree control system.

It enables you – with a little practice – to open up that extra yard of space in which to unleash that killer through ball. Play seems slower when compared with Pro Evo and some may prefer the more clinical feel, but after a while I was hankering for the slick passing and frenetic pace of Pro Evo.

There are other quibbles too: EA still hasn't totally nailed the ball physics as passes, shots and crosses feel curiously light; more infuriating is the ridiculous amount of curl players manage to put on crosses, even Phil Bardsley produces Kaka-like balls into the box.

Pro Evo is a step up from last years game, which contrary to critical opinion was still a decent effort.

They've brought in something similar to FIFA's 360 system, which - although not quite as good as EA's effort - helps free-up the whole pitch.

Other improvements are really minor tweaks: goalkeepers have a wider range of shot-stopping techniques and it is now harder to dribble the ball around the opposition with Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

So which should you buy?

Deciding which game to buy, ultimately comes down to your style of play.

If you like quick, fun exciting games then I'd say go for Pro Evo, if on the other hand you favour a more studied, technical game then FIFA would be your best bet.

Both games come with an abundance of extra game modes and will no doubt provide hours of enjoyment, but as detailed above both suffer from nagging faults.

Put a gun to my head and I'd choose Pro Evo but this could all change over the next few months as I become reacquainted with FIFA.