There are three things that are certain in life - death, taxes and a guarantee that, come Christmas, the lastest version of FIFA Football will be on the shelves.

Electronic Arts' FIFA Football 2003 has been released with the usual promises of enhanced strike power, more accurate passing and a tighter defence.

Although it manages to outplay Sony's This Is Football 2003, it falls some way short of the standards set by Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (PES 2).

It has been improved in three main areas, team play, tactics and player attributes. The physics of football have also been refined to make the 90 minutes of madness more realistic and deflections, goal mouth scrambles and the like make more than cameo appearances this time around.

The artificial intelligence has been improved and players for the most part make intelligent runs and tackle back, even when they're not being directly controlled.

It is also far more difficult to score the cheap goals the series is famous for.

However, in so many ways it can't match PES 2. Accurate, long passing is next to impossible and crossing options are limited. Don't expect to play the Manchester United way. Those curling crosses from Beckham just won't work. Ground passes and diagonal runs are the way forward, which is fine (especially if you're Liverpool) but lacks variety.

The player ratings are also a bit odd.

Carragher outscores Henchoz and Ryan Giggs outscores Zidane, Figo and Ronaldo.

While a number appear similar to the real thing (Danny Murphy is spot on), others don't.

As always with the FIFA series, the game looks and sounds amazing. The stadiums and fans are beautifully realised (if football fans could ever be beautiful) and the chants are spot on.

The game's fundamental problem is a lack of accuracy.

Fans of the beautiful game epitomised by PES 2's intuitive gameplay should avoid this, although if you prefer good looks over ability (like fans of David James), FIFA is worth a kickabout.

Price: £39.99 (PlayStation2, Xbox or Game Cube), £29.99 (PlayStation or PC).

Contact: www.ea.com
Feel good factor: 7 out of 10.