These days when the previews for the latest iterations of FIFA and PES emerge, I find myself wincing a little. Not because the improvements I read about aren't worthwhile, because they frequently are. But every year offers something extra to learn: new tricks, flicks, adjusted physics, an overhauled defensive model. That's as it should be, of course, yet as my free time is at a premium, I never really have the time to truly get to grips with either game to be properly competitive. I'll play the odd game with friends, sure, but I'm increasingly avoiding matches with online players who I know can out-feint, outmanoeuvre and invariably outscore me. Part of me yearns for something simpler.