Pro not--Evolution soccer
As is the case every year, I was highly looking forward to the release of PES 08. I have supported the pro evolution franchise for nearly 5 years now, however I can't help but feel that game is taking cashing in on their reputation more than their innovations.
Well lets get down to what's new? Unfortunately, not much the games big innovation TeamVision turns out to be rather disappointing. The inclusion of New Castle as well as Tottanham come at the price of Manchester united and Chelsey . However they did include an edit mode in this years version witch was highly needed!! You can even use the live cam to take a picture and insert yourself into the game. Thats about it for anything new to the game.
Now lets get to the gameplay, this has been the series strongest aspect for years, the play on the field is amazing. This is as close as any non athletic individual will ever come to playing on sat or sundays. The game really gives the player the feeling that they are in control of world class athletes. The player can easily tell the difference between controlling someone as skilled as Messi, to someone as slow as Terry. The feeling of setting up a play with close to 20 passes that lead to a lofted thou ball to a goal is unmatched in any other sport game. The control over the players on the pitch is something that cant be overlooked when it comes to sports games. My only gripe with the game is the goalkeepers leave something to be desired. I don't know how many times I have conceded a goal because my keeper did not come out and get the ball or the ball bounced off his chest and then went in.
As far as the game modes are concerned, they are what one would expect in a typical sport game. You have your season , a dynasty type mode and some cups. nothing out of the ordinary. the game does feature an online mode however every time that I have attempted to play a match, the match would be hampered by a great deal of lag.
It was really hard to decide on a score for this game, seeing as it's one of my favorite games I was tempted to give it a 5 out of 5 however, I do realize that the game i played this year is largely that same as the one I played the previous year. Therefore I was unable to give it a 5. However if any of you enjoy playing soccer then this is a must have! In my opinion the battle between fifa and Pes is a matter of Quality vs Quantity. On the one hand Pes provides people with great gratifying game play while fifa provides players with a great deal more teams and players.
