Yep, That's Definetely Pro Evo
This year's installment of the Pro Evo franchise takes the much-loved gameplay of previous years and, um, puts it in a new box (with added Michael Owen). The addictive nature of the game is still apparent and fans of the series will be playing right up until the next release, although at that time they may not rush out with as much vigour to grab the 2009 edition.
One of the main issues I have with the game is that it has not fixed what is broken. In contrast they have tried to fix what isn't broken, the computer AI. Don't get me wrong, it's probably better than ever but Joe Bloggs isn't going to notice. What he will notice, however, is the PS2 graphics, the lacklustre online play and the loss of rights for major teams (Newcastle and Tottenham are fine teams, but no match for Man Utd and Arsenal from last year).
Let's begin with the online. The lobby system is still a pain, listing all matches, joinable or not.In my experience it as taken up to 5 minutes to find a 10 minute match because of the constant refusals to let me into a match which is apparently open. Once a match is found the gameplay is noticeably less slick than offline, but that is to be expected and it is serviceable. What is not to be expected though is how the ball will sometimes appear at a goalkeeper's feet when the play is up the other end of the pitch, causing a change of possession. These are minor gripes, and the online play has a habit of throwing up incredible goals which feel organic and not at all scripted, unlike in other games. The hapless goalkeepers help I suppose.
The largest criticism I have of the game is the lack of "next gen" (do we still say that?) graphics. I am of the advocates of "gameplay over graphics" , but in the annual sports game genre I feel it is unacceptable that this game falls so short of competitors in this category. Some of the player likenesses such as Adriano are spot on, but other players have the wrong hair colour or are completely unrecognisible. The fluid animation somewhat makes up for this and Pro Evo has never been pretty, but there is room for improvement.
If you have read this far, congratulations and thank you but I may be about to annoy you. Everything you have just read is academical (ie. useless). This is the best football game on the market. The Master League is still intact and just as addictive as always as you strive to take your team of nobodys and turn it into a star-studded superpower. The gameplay is frenetic and the opposition are diificult to break down and offer a significant threat on higher difficulties. When played with a friend it is the ultimate competitive game, moving players from joy to despair in the space of 10 minutes. It truly is the football game for lovers of the beautiful game that is football..
