Ever since the days of the SNES Konami have been bringing gamers fine footballing games with the ISS or International Superstar Soccer games, though it has to be said, the GameCube incarnation, ISS2, was a little lacking in polish. Let's just hope that ISS3 can build upon that and give FIFA 2003 a run for its money.

The look of ISS3 is somewhat similar to its predecessor, but delving deeper into the game it's much more than an update of player names and stadiums, ISS3 brings a host of features to this game previously unseen on the GameCube.

First of all is the new 'mission' mode, which could be compared to the amazing 'scenario' modes of SNES and N64 ISS games. These put you in situation, such as being a goal down with a couple of minutes left, and you have to go on to win the game. The missions here are a little more specific than in the previous games, with you being asked to score direct from a corner, or a free kick.

Completing missions gives you points, and points mean prizes! Well, no, but they can be used to purchase certain things from the new 'Catalog' mode. You can do your teams up in snazzy new kits, unlock new teams, and even build all new stadiums. It should add a little more life to the title in single player mode that was desperately missing from ISS2.

There are also plenty of new additions in the gameplay itself, with the set-piece play completely revamped to allow greater precision in your free kicks and corners. Perhaps the most intriguing new addition to the gameplay is the 'close-up' mode though. When on the attack a small icon may appear over your head, this allows access to the close-up. The camera zooms in on your player, and you can perform all sorts of dazzling moves in order to beat the last defender, from side steps to step-overs and the like.

It's also obvious that Konami have had a great deal longer to work on this title than they did with ISS2. The graphics are far more polished, with much more recognisable players, though it's highly likely that Beckham's haircut will be out of date by the time the game is released here.

If Konami get the gameplay mechanics just right, with a decent passing system and decent AI for the computer controlled characters as well as implementing the close-up feature as something more than a novel gimmick, then perhaps we won't need Pro Evo after all.