Most soccer fans, which pretty much means anyone outside of the US, should know by now about the huge controversy surrounding the recent France vs Ireland faceoff. France's Thierry Henry deliberately cheated (or accidentally nudged, if you are his mother and believes him) during a soccer game when he used his hands to enable a goal for his team in a World Cup qualifier. The game ended in a tie, but that was enough for France to clinched a chance for the World Cup, since they had scored more points previously. 

Since then, the Football Association of Ireland lodged a formal complaint with the FIFA, seeking a replay of the game, which FIFA declined. Country leaders and even gym teachers in France and Ireland have feuded over the clear cut violation in the past few days, with official explanation from FIFA still to be heard. Henry had even contemplated about retiring from the sport after the reactions to the incident, but maintained that he wasn't a "cheat" and that "the fairest solution would be to replay the game."

Here at The Kartel, we decided to re-enact the very same match on Konami's recently released Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 for the Xbox 360. The new game features several exclusive features including the UEFA Europa license for the first time. Our virtual revenge match between France and Ireland was played in coach mode, so that our editors could experience the game's similarity to watching a real TV broadcast. We hooked the game up to a 50 inch HDTV, cranked up the bass and surround sound, and broke out the brewskis, to simulate a watching a real sporting event.

Here's the transcript of our conversation about our thoughts on the game, sports games and the controversy in general:

The Great One: This should be fun! I never just sat back and watched a full game... I play games for a reason! It seems that PES 2010's fast-paced gameplay actually makes it a bit unrealistic when comparing to the real thing. But I guess it's more realistic than that Thierry Henry handball call huh?

John Master Lee: Considering that I don't follow soccer religiously, I simply wanted to kick back and enjoy watching a game. As if it was really on television. Enjoyed myself quite a bit doing that. The presentation is pretty top notch. Though I did tell everyone that the controversial call was between Italy and France... Goes to show you that you should never have me do sports commentary.

The Great One: You even started the game with those two teams playing... I had to question what the hell you were doing before we got the real match under way. Leave the sports stuff to me next time. Anyways, the opening cinematic with the Gregorian chant choir was epic. I'm sure it hit spot on for fans of the Europa league. It's clear the game will be admired by football (not soccer) fans.

Kghapa: Well I'm definitely not a sports nut or a regular follower of football, aside from the World Cup, but I can appreciate Master Lee's bit of nostalgia when we pitted Italy versus France of the 2006 finals. But yeah, wrong game.

John Master Lee: OK, OK, I get it. I screwed up. Anyways, sporting events are always overdone. It's as if they are gladiators going into battle. The whole pregame show, the half time show, the fancy interstitials, and bigger than life commentary. But yeah, the gregorian chants is a new one for me.

The Great One: So we did try to re-enact the whole Ireland/France fiasco as best as we could. It was an interesting matchup with a not so surprising final score. 

John Master Lee: Not so surprising ending? You kidding me? France should not have won.

The Great One: Well, France is the better team period and I'm sure the in-game attiributes reflected that. The game ended 1-0 with France's Ripery having the only goal. 

Kghapa: It was actually quite exciting to see how the AI made each team and player fare. You could start to see who the standout players were, how aggressive certain players were compared with others, and how differently each team played. Seemed like Ireland really got aggressive towards the end of the game, and drew three penalties.

John Master Lee: So I'm guessing Ribery is France's version of Pele? Or for you new generation of fans, Beckman? Or was it Beckham? Anyways, the only thing I look forward to in European soccer is the rioting. Sort of like the only reason I watch NASCAR is for the crashes.

The Great One: Although there was only one goal, I felt that that the game speed was actually a bit faster than the actual thing. It could be the size of the field in the game, but we all know that watching football/soccer can be boring if nobody scores. The game had some instances of players pushing each other after a red card or yellow card was handed out.

Kghapa: Yeah but no hooligans... As exciting and well paced real life soccer is, this game definitely caters to a desire for instant action in terms of game length, player running speed, etc.

John Master Lee: The game seems to be an interesting mix of arcade action and stats. The play mechanic is pretty straightforward, and game momentum is constant. But there are a good number of stats to tweek if you love the numbers. To be honest, it's hard to tell who the game is catered to. Did you say that the game's stats don't quite rival that of FIFA Soccer from EA?

The Great One: Well FIFA Soccer is in a different pool because of its familiarity with those types of gamers. It's got more licenses, player likenesses, etc. But that's what keeps it different from PES 2010. PES 2010 is more arcade-like with simple options to get you into the game quickly, without putting too many options in front of you to get you confused. With that being said, I'm still unsure if the game will cater to casual gamers who like sports games. Gladly, there's a mode where you're able to start a player from scratch and refine him all the way to the top of the soccer world.

One thing I noticed in the game is that it's actually quite difficult to score in the game. There's a huge emphasis on defending the opposition. The game automatically puts you in a back-stepping position when a player is coming towards you.

John Master Lee: But for a game that is more arcade-like, it still seems rather inaccessible. There aren't enough descriptions to explain all the options you can adjust, and it takes a long time to navigate through all the options before you can even play an exhibition match, let along a full tournament. I think the game makes some assumptions that you must have played one of the past games before, and is really designed to cater to that.

But the gameplay is pure excitement, I will agree.

They do a great job of capturing the sights and sounds of a big game. I did wish there were some more over the top moments captured in a game, but I was definitely on the edge of my seat, hoping that Ireland would make one helluva comeback.

The Great One: Believe it or not, the options are actually less robust than FIFA. The game's definitely catered to soccer fans. This certainly ain't FIFA Street or Mario Strikers.

John Master Lee: Mario Strikers? Damn...

Kghapa: Don't get me wrong, PES is solid game, but the buzz from PES enthusiasts is that this game feels more slower paced and there's too much emphasis on defense.

John Master Lee: Good point KGHapa. If a game is supposed to capture a more action oriented sporting effort, it should be more offense oriented.

Kghapa: The entire time seemed to be spent on one side of the field with very little action in the midfield, which is where most matches end up being fought out on.

The Great One: I wish there were more crazy reactions too! There's not enough cutscenes just for player reactions to weird calls, fouls, etc. These could be annoying of course, but presentation can sometimes be everything for sports games. Either way, there should be an option to limit these too.

John Master Lee: Crazy reaction - Agreed. There were at least 3 penalty kicks against Ireland (dirty or desperate, take your pick), and the players standing there waiting to get beamed in the nuts really aren't reacting. One guy even got hit in the face damn hard, and there was no reaction to that shot.

The Great One: I remember that. He got whacked in the head and didn't fall or look mad. It felt too computerized.

Kghapa: While I feel like we sound harsh on what otherwise would be a pretty solid game, with a direct competitor (FIFA 10) going head to head with PES 2010 these small things can really make or break a game.

John Master Lee: Overall, my sense is that the game is pretty solid. Technically, it puts all the pieces together well. It's been improved upon in small increments, and features are built on top of other features. It almost feels like they need to wipe the slate clean, and build a brand new engine, interface, and AI, and really take it to the next level. And by next level, I don't mean technology wise. I mean presentation wise. It really needs to feel like a big sporting event from beginning to end. There are some moments like the intro video that really hit home. But then some interface issues aren't working well. Some animations seem stiff. Some replay videos need to be more dramatic.

Kghapa: Perhaps these issues only seem that pronounced now because much of the game runs pretty smoothly. It's a bit jarring when for one second you see a funny glitch and a player skips an animation. I guess today, I'm expecting a presentation that looks near photorealistic when it comes to sports.

The Great One: The commentary I thought could use some work. Maybe not just in this game only, but in sports games in general. It seems that commentary is only based on what is currently going on, rather than providing color commentary. As a big sports fan, throwing random statistics or a little personal history about a player or a team out of nowhere makes the game feel more realistic and authentic.

Kghapa: Yes they did sound a bit generic, I remember the announcer saying something bland to the point of "When these two teams play they really go at it!". Emphasis on the "these two teams."

John Master Lee: Yeah, commentary seems light. They could have definitely added in more info about what's happening in the game, the history of the players, the two teams, etc. I think there was actually one 10 minute segment where there was actually no commentary going on at all. No way it would be that silent in a real game. Soccer commentators are like 3 year old kids. They never stop talking.

Kghapa: I'd imagine when you're really in the groove and playing the game you dont notice as much, but as a spectator and somebody who doesnt know much about football more info would have been really appreciated.

The Great One: Well the good thing is that players definitely have a choice. Hardcore fans might even get PES 2010 just for the Europa license alone.

Kghapa: Very true. I wouldn't be surprised if hardcore football fans get both.

John Master Lee: I get the feeling this game is really appealing to a niche audience at least in the US. We tried to get an extra copy at Blockbuster for some multiplayer, but they didn't have it. It's definitely heavily skewed towards a Euro audience. They are packed to the gil with various teams that I never heard about. And I understand that it sells well there.

The Great One: It's evident that the game is for fans of the series. They'll eat it up, obviously. This game is also very popular in Japan. It's known as Winning Eleven there. All in all, there's still a ways to go, but all soccer gamers want is good head to head matches. This game has a nice online layout, which is good enough for most.

So there you have it. Even if France did win in this make believe rematch, it seems like FIFA still omitted France from being one of the top seeded teams for the World Cup, ironically enough. The new seeding system, which is now determined by world rankings (from October 2009 according to FIFA), prevents the top teams from playing each other early on in the World Cup. So have faith that FIFA is honest when they say the decision was not impacted by the Henry incident. And just to be clear, FIFA is now a sponsor of the site. Thanks FIFA for the free Ferraris, and Playboy models!