For producers of any long-running franchise, eventually there's a conundrum to face. Do you take the road marked 'EA Sports' and gradually move your games on a little each year, without trying anything you'd consider as a serious risk? Or do you try something different, knowing damn well you could alienate the fan base that currently funds your rather swanky Christmas party?

Reading some of the material in circulation about Pro Evolution Soccer 5, you could be forgiven for thinking that Konami's developers have gone for the radical overhaul option. In fact they haven't, but they have taken some measured chances here, and pushed the game still further away from arcade-kickabout land, consequently moving it towards a more serious simulation.

The results, predictably, are excellent, even if they take a bit of getting used to. Gone is the close control that fans of previous versions could, to an extent, take for granted. Gone are the simple backheels, the accurate turn-on-a-sixpence style passes and almost magnetic through balls that could routinely be relied on to turn a game.

Instead you have a ball that bobbles round a lot, bouncing off shins, never really doing what you need it to do unless you've got it under proper control. It's a bit of a culture shock at first, although a logical one. More than ever, the game makes you think about which of your players has the ball, what they can do and what tactically is the best move to make. All the while, of course, fending off enhanced computer-controlled players who snap at your heels.

Foul play, too, is a far more common occurrence. Those little foot-in tackles of old more frequently result in a yellow card, and discipline is something you really need to watch. Likewise, the tactics of your computer-controlled components vary greatly, with few traditional 4-4-2 line-ups to be found. That works in your favour too, thanks to the far more flexible formation and tactical set up options that are open to you now.

For the single player, the main attraction is once again the Master League, where you take a team from the bottom to the top with a bit of wheeling and dealing in the transfer market along the way. It's a superb way to enjoy a superb game, and whilst the management angle isn't the match of FIFA, we don't ever remember intensely caring about the result of a match in that game in the same way we do in Pro Evolution Soccer 5.

We particularly like the fact that, for example, if you need a draw to get a promotion, you can set out specific tactics to do that, and if you employ them correctly it's possible to grind out the point you need. Contrast that with the continual attack-attack-attack focus of FIFA, and you begin to realise just how deliberately measured Pro Evolution Soccer is. That's a very good thing.

Perhaps the improvement that will interest PC owners the most, though, is the full and proper integration of online gaming. Those who played the last generation of PES will be oh-so-familiar with the cumbersome, unfriendly, unstructured and unhelpful online options, that were seemingly tacked on as an afterthought. No such worries here. This is pretty much what we originally wanted, and can easily see ourselves losing many months to, er, conquering the world. Cough.

Any problems? Well, nothing major. The unofficial team names and at-times bizarre commentary are becoming more part of Pro Evolution Soccer folklore than an explicit reason to chastise the game. That said, it really would be nice to take the official materials away from FIFA and marry them up to a PES engine.

But it's hard to suggest fundamental improvements to a series that clearly knows its game, and is confident enough to take a few risks with it. It's an evolution rather than a revolution, certainly. But this time, it's a sizeable progression, and one that comes very strongly recommended. The best action football game on the planet? It is. Until next year...