Once upon a time there was a brilliant football game, but then some other game came along and....
When PES 2008 came out, I remember thinking that it was not as great as I expected - at least not as much as Konami's previous release -, but judging it from a holistic point of view I just gave it an 8 (far from the 9.6 I had awarded to PES 5). Even though I never ceased playing it, the game made me look for that it didn't deliver somewhere else. That's when FIFA 08 came into the picture (a series I had decided to abandon when it's disastrous 2006 release came out). The game had a few interesting features: the manager-like mode, the be a pro mode and the world challenge mode (the licenced teams were a plus here). Overall the game was solid but its gameplay was a bit sluggish and there were long load times.
So, when PES 2009 came out I really thought it was a good chance for Konami's product to achieve redemption. But after playing it for a few minutes, I must say, that I was really disappointed. I don't if it's a message from the people at Konami telling PS2 owners that it's time to upgrade to PS3 or what. But the game seems to have decayed.
On the whole it is very similar to its predecessor when it comes to gameplay and graphics. Moreover, some players now look a bit odd. As far as Licenced teams are concerned, they are about the same as 2008's (is there ever going to be an entire English Premier League?). When it comes to its gameplay, I must say that it's pretty much the same except for two things: now there's no more trick stick (right analog stick) - you have to perform the tricks with the left one - and the other thing is that it has become buggy. Every now and then the game will "undo" the substitutions you make during the match and replace the players you have sent into the field with those that have been substituted (but it'll show you that you've already used the substitution).
When it comes to features, there are two new features, the Be a legend and the world tour. These are nothing but a rip off FIFA 08. They're ok, but they make it seem like a desperate attempt to release "some" kind of new game.
On the other hand, FIFA 09 is quite similar to FIFA 08, but they have managed to improve gameplay just a little bit (it's still a bit sluggish though).
So, If you want to get a up-to-date football game I'd say this year's game is FIFA 09. Of course you can always resort to an older PES.