I'm not a big football fan, but I am occasionally drawn to PSP football games, as they're ideal fodder for a long journey. Over the past few years the options have been simple - FIFA or PES - and there's a reason why EA usually win for me, which can be summarised with just two words: Merseyside Blue.

No, it's not a UK version of the hit US show NYPD Blue! Konami have never secured the licences for the official Premiership teams (apart from Spurs and Newcastle… and really who wants to be those teams, other than the local supporters?) so instead of Everton, my home team, we have Merseyside Blue. The players are all there, from Man United's, er, I mean Man Red's Wayne Rooney, to Chelsea's, no, I mean London FC's Ashley 'I cheated on arguably the sexiest woman in the world, aren't I dumb?' Cole (and yes I believe that is his full middle name!), but the names, the badges, the stadiums and everything else connected to the Premiership, is conspicuously absent. Because of this, the game feels a bit like drinking a supermarket's own brand orangeade; you know that it will taste just like Fanta or Tango, but you'd rather have the named brand all the same. Sadly, this problem runs through the entire game, with all the cups and many teams given generic names that make them sound like some shady, knock-off perfume store selling Bugo Hoss and Kalvin Clein.

However, despite these licensing issues, PES is the perfect football game for the hardcore fan and for the non-football fan alike. So, whether or not you organise your week around match fixtures, watch Sentana Sports News for more than twelve hours a day and make sure that you take a date out on a Saturday night to a bar that will screen Match of the Day, PES allows you to enjoy a great game of football without getting bogged down with complicated statistics and endless options. While it's true that someone like me, who couldn't tell you what the difference between a centre forward and a striker is (is there any difference, really?), could get confused trying to change your team formation, for those who do know the ins and outs there are so many options that you could get lost for days changing and reworking your team, playing with one formation and then another to see which works best and knowing exactly who to put in which position to maximise your chances against the opposition.

Match and Multiplayer are your typical Quick Play modes, also including a penalties section for those who want to relive any big England game from the past twenty years. Multiplayer allows you to play against another local player and, unlike other PSP games, where you might have to scour the Earth to find another player, you could probably walk into any café or fast food place in the known universe and bump into at least one person playing PES. Also unlike other PSP games, if you did recommend this game to a friend so you can play against them, they'll probably go out and get it immediately, if they haven't got it already.

There are a number of other modes on offer that I thought might not work with the lack of licences, but Konami understood the general idea of what the Premier League or Cup games are all about and they have adapted their game to this format, giving you several in-depth options. First up is Master League, PES's version of Championship Manager, where you take any team from the bottom of League Two all the way to the top of the League One. This mode includes a transfer market, while winning or playing well improves experience points and makes players better and more valuable, giving an amazingly detailed and deep experience. This mode is insanely lengthy too, which wouldn't have been a good thing if the gameplay was mediocre, but thankfully as PES 2008 is wonderfully addictive you may find yourself playing this mode every waking moment you have, which is a clear mark of perfection. Next up is League, similar to Master League but confining you to one of six countries rather than the entire world. You play each team twice, as with the real thing, so this is also a lengthy mode, but it was more enjoyable for me as it omits the transfer and market elements, which at times went right over my head.

Cup mode includes generic, fictional versions of all the major football cups and follows a grid-based knockout tournament, which is perfect for those who like to play four matches and then bask in the glory of a golden cup, as I'm sure most people do. Finally, in World Tour you must take one national team around the world and complete a number of tasks. These are not exactly imaginative, with some simply that you must win by two goals or more, but it is a great little mode for those wanting a specific challenge rather than just to play through a season. One that I thought was excellent simply had the goal to play the entire match without being caught offside. This unfortunately did not come with an explanation as to what offside meant however, as it's one of those things that has been explained to me dozens of times but I still don't get it.

Graphically the game is fine for the PSP, with some players showing a passing resemblance to their real faces, while the general movement within celebrations and complaints over fouls are excellent, though far from perfect. Within the actual game, the scaled down players are again fine for the handheld; the screen is not bogged down with too many unnecessary stats and the movement of players and the ball is authentic, and doesn't make you scream about how a player could never physically be able to kick a ball that far. One excellent touch is the ability to record and edit your goals, taking in as many different shots or angles as you desire. My only quibble with this is that the option should really be available at the end of the game, as you may skip past a goal that ended up being what clinched you the victory but has now disappeared into memory.

Coming onto the sound and the music is horrible generic hip hop and rock, but this is remedied by allowing you to play your own music within the menus (though not during games), which is great, as it means that if you like to mess around with your teams or check on how they are performing, you can listen to whatever you like, from David Gray to Beyonce to Bill Hicks. Despite my hatred for the commentary in Smackdown, I have always enjoyed it in football games and so I was a little disappointed with the lack of commentary here; all you get is a comment when you score a goal, which just feels lazy. I'd rather the developers had removed the music and used the extra space to include the commentary from the other versions instead.

In terms of longevity, I will defy anyone to play everything on offer within a month and I will defy them even more if, after they've done that, they complain that there's nothing more to do. Unlike some games where once the credits have rolled you have no reason to play them again, PES 2008 has so many options that you could be comfortable playing it until the day before PES 2009 is released and still find a lot to do. Of course, the main reason for this is because it is so much fun to actually play. Again, I should hammer home that I'm not a football fan at all and yet I've spent the past few days playing this game - not because I had to review it, but because I wanted to. Every time I've had a spare few minutes I would crack open this game to see if I could thrash Liverpool… I mean Merseyside Red one more time and I've enjoyed every minute of it. As you continue to play, you will get more and more involved in the game, shouting at the players, then at yourself, and then at the players again to move, run, kick, shoot, tackle. You'll be working out to the nearest millisecond how long you have to hold the shoot button to pull off the perfect strike and setting up corner kicks so you can get a classic cross-pass goal or diving header. The gameplay doesn't go for the flashiness of FIFA, but instead grounds itself in reality and as you take Ever... I mean Merseyside Blue to the top of the Premiership you can sit back and think that it could actually be possible if they played as good as you are now (though fourth/fifth is still pretty impressive). The controls aren't complicated, with a separate button for shooting, passing and tackling, while comfortably allowing the shoulder buttons to control running and player selection. It is simple and effective, and even if you have never played a football game before (or on a PSP for that matter) you can easily pick it up and immediately start playing. For those who do want to become the PES equivalent of Pele, there is also a thorough training mode to help your endeavours. Once you have mastered the game, you will be pulling off clever back kicks, making amazing tactical decisions and scoring awesome goals that you must record just to prove that you did it and then boast about it every chance you get.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is arguably the best football game to own for your PSP (or any system for that matter). While it's true that FIFA have paid top dollar for all the whistles and bells to make their game very pretty and authentic, PES rises above its less impressive presentation and lack of licensing to prove that you don't need these luxuries to produce an excellent football game. As such, PES 2008 will find itself slotted into your PSP for a long, long time to come.

Reviewed by David Simpson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).