Three Speech’s Chris Burke has been on the training ground with both Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA, back once again to battle for PS3 footie supremacy, and we can report that this year it’s probably the most closely contested match yet.

Licensing is a big point of difference again. In PES (above) 2009, only Man U and Liverpool will be fully licensed, with everyone else it’s looking like Von Persil in defence for The Potteries - although it does have the Champions League. FIFA 09, of course, will be fully licensed and features a huge range of stadiums from the San Siro down to grotty lower division grounds, plus a huge range of fully spec’d up teams. On the plus side for PES, everything should be editable from player likenesses to kits, logos and even stadiums.

Both games have added a career mode in which you control only one player and attempt to take him to the top as a pro footballer. In both PES’s ‘Become A Legend’ mode and FIFA’s ‘Be A Pro’ mode, your customised player develops through matches, with high match ratings resulting in offers from bigger clubs and a rise up through the rankings. Controls in PES are lob, shoot, pass, hoof; in defence it’s foot-in, sliding tackle or pressure. But it’s not an easy game to play. Timing, direction and placement of player are tricky to master, but hardcore gamers will find it a more satisfying experience.

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I probably play about five times every night at home. I love playing it online because youre speaking to different people and trying to build your points up - Rooney in the lovely News of the World.

Turns out Wayne Rooney is a gamer… Next time you’re on FIFA 08 online, you might be playing against a real Man Utd player - you probably couldn’t beat him on the pitch, but maybe on the PSN?

EA have released the soundtrack listings for its 2009 iteration of the FIFA series - and it’s looking good, if you ask us. The game, to be released in October, will include tracks from 21 different nations, celebrating the game’s multi-cultural roots. The UK’s entries (this is starting to sound like Eurovision) are provided by The Fratellis, The Script, The Ting Tings, Kasabian, The Kooks, Foals and Duffy (okay, definitely not Eurovision). Hit the jump for the official press release, and full track listings.

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The sports games on show at PlayStation Day looked very strong indeed. Particularly exciting was the talk from Evolution’s Paul Hollywood on MotorStorm: Pacific Rift. Can’t wait for more brutal off-road racing! Beyond MotorStorm we’re looking at more racing with WipEout HD, more traditional sports like golf and football, and of course the official Olympic game.

We’ve got the official press release on upcoming sporting titles below, but first here are some concepts and screenshots from MotorStorm: Pacific Rift. Enjoy…

Concept art

Screenshots

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We’ve been looking forward to telling you all about this one! Good luck to everyone involved, but especially Max, Chris and Danny! We’ve lined up a ThreeSpeech interview with Chris. Let us know what questions you’d like to ask him and we’ll include the best ones in the interview. In the meantime check out the official press release below…

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So, we were chatting, out of hours, as you do, and two of our writers, Steve Boxer and Chris Burke, had quite opposing views on which was the best football franchise. Chris was totally into Pro Evo Soccer and Steve was pinning his colours to the FIFA side of things. Here we let them explain why they think their favourite respective title is the best. First with the ball is Chris Burke on Pro Evolution Soccer. Hereeeeee’s Chris.

Pro Evolution Soccer is the best footie game series ever. Fact. And the PS3’s power means that Konami’s latest game, PES 2008, is an absolute belter. Its beautiful, super-sharp graphics, detailed likenesses, smooth movement and realistic animations and lighting effects make this as close to watching the real thing as you can get – and of course you’re controlling the action. The ball physics are just one of the many, many things Konami have improved (none of that cannoning-off your shins that went on in previous versions), and ball control now is pin-point accurate.

It’s not the easiest game to master, but it is very easy to get started – and the tricks and techniques you’ll master are intuitive and will become second instinct. There’s nothing prescribed about the way Pro Evo plays either - it’s one hundred per cent down to you. Mad skills are there to be shown off of course, but as in reality Sunderland players can’t convincingly pull off the Cruyff turn, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo can do his step-overs and shimmys and Ronaldinho can still curl in a pin-point free-kick over a flapping keeper.

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