Review / Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 |
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| BY Andrew Woods Oct. 23rd, 2008 | More on: |
I have played every iteration of Pro Evolution Soccer (known as Winning Eleven in other parts of the world, and PES for the purposes of this review) there has been and so am laying my cards on the table right at the start. I love PES.
Now that I have got that out of the way lets get to reviewing…
My thoughts whilst thinking about this review have gone a little something like this — if you are a PESphile and have played this game, see if it matches your own thought processes:-
Right Side of Brain: Whoa, I can’t control this at all, are they running in butter?
Left Side of Brain: Shut up! It’s PES, you’ll get used to it.
RSB: Oh yeah, there it is, got the hang of it now.
LSB: See, it’s just like all the others really.
RSB: Phew I thought it was broken. Hang on though, I was hoping it would be better than all the others, not just like them. OH WHAT A SHOT! AWESOME!
LSB: Hmm.
You see the thing is, it’s not that PES is bad, it’s just that it’s so consistently great that it’s a bit predictable, and predictable is…well…a bit dull. Because PES has always been nearly perfect there isn’t much to improve upon. I mean, you can’t add a new vehicle section, or add new weapons can you? Football is football at the end of the day. All the familiar PES bits are there, the Master League is still there and exactly the same as it ever was, the online bit is still a bit laggy (RSB: That’s something they should have improved upon!) and there are all the usual cup competitions. New stuff includes a licensed Champions League mode with all the music and TV style graphics and Become a Legend mode, where you take you play one character and take him from being a 17 year old kid right up to the great honour of captaining England (or whatever country you like), and it is nothing like FiFAs Be a Pro mode at all. No it isn’t! Shut up!
Gameplay wise there has only been a slight Evolution (get it?) on the 2008 version. All slowdown is gone and they have added new animations so now movement is more realistic and smooth, and I didn’t think that was possible. Ball physics is great, cross field passes fly faster and flatter, thus making them more effective, a chipped through-ball is possibly too accurate, and goal mouth action is crazy and a bit random which is just the way it should be.
There are an impressive number of tricks and flicks that, with practice and a highly skilled player, can be used to create space and beat the defenders. My favourite move is still the Stanley Matthews Feint named after the mercurial winger from the 30s, 40s and 50s. It’s been been in the game for a few years now, but the fact that the PES developers have obviously heard of the great man is one of the reasons that I keep coming back. These guys just love their football.
FiFA has made some bigger strides this year and is defintiley catching up to PES on the gameplay front, but it is still in second place. However, if the PES people don’t come up with something pretty special soon I don’t think that will be the case much longer.
-
- online play is a bit shoddy
- there still aren’t enough licensed teams (but there never are in PES)
- there has not been enough innovation.
+
- improved ball physics
- better presentation
- no slowdowns and it’s still the best game of football outside of Wembley.
October 23rd, 2008
at 10:52 am
(..) there still aren’t enough licensed teams (..)
Well, the Fifa package is exclusive, and EA signed it, sooooo, Konami has to signs licensed what’s left and not excluive separatly, and it cost money.
What’s kinda sad (imo) is the amount of money they still put into very bad “commentary” for every country (exept the awesome japanese one), and that i trun off immediatly the first time i launch the game. Commentary is what is anoying on TV, why trying to replicate it badly…
(..) and it’s still the best game of football outside of Wembley. (..)
Well, it seems that FIFA is now the “king” for those last two years on HD cosnoles… not that it’s pleasing me, but seems to be what everybody really think (and play).
On Wii, PES still seems to be the Best choice of the two.
October 23rd, 2008
at 11:13 am
Have you played FIFA09 on the X360/PS3? Have you given it the chance it deserves?
Because it is now MILES ahead of PES. And, like you, I used to LOVE PES and was a die-hard fan dissing FIFA.
But the game changed, and PES no longer has the best GAMEPLAY.
October 23rd, 2008
at 11:14 am
And as for visuals, just take a look at the keeper’s gloves in the screenshot you’re using above this review.
October 25th, 2008
at 2:15 am
After playing FIFA 09 for a couple of days at a friends house, PES 2009 just blew me away. Got right into it when trying it first time, and had great fun! The controls are just perfect, and the pace of the game is right where it should be!
The controls may not be as realistic as FIFA’s, but still there’s not too much arcade-feel either. A sweet, sweet mix. Responsive, but yet slightly restricted by the controlled player’s ability.
In FIFA 09 you sometimes struggle to get the ball under control, and you never really get confident. Even when clean through on goal you still just can’t stop thinking that your player will do something you didn’t expect, and it seems like every other goal is a total fluke.
Whereas FIFA made me curse my PLAYERS for not being able to make a pass or put the ball into the net, PES 2009 has got me hitting myself when my team screws up because I know i was the one making the error, not the player and his “half-decent shooting which will make some shots horrible no matter what buttons you push”
If you want absolute control and a faster paced game, go for PES 2009. PES-fans will find this game easy to pick right up and play. Ultimately, it’s YOUR skill that decides the outcome of the matches, and that’s how it should be!