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Pro Evolution Soccer 5

Pro Evolution Soccer 5

Information
Reviewer: Andy Carmichael
Developer: Konarmi
Publisher: Konarmi
Platform: PC, PS2 and Xbox
Genre: Sports Simulation
UK Release: 14th Oct 2005
Article Date: 03rd Nov 2005
Difficulty: Hard
Price: £34.99
Score Breakdown
Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:


Overall Score: 84%
Discuss this review in the Forums
Pros
  • long term challenge
    Cons
  • initial gameplay,
  • need to edit (again)
    Screenshots

    4 of 9
    		•

    This review comes almost a fortnight after the release date of the latest Pro Evolution instalment. That’s not down to any tardiness here at IC headquarters, more a reflection on the additional time that this game needs to be properly play-tested and scored. If it’s closest rival, the Fifa series, has always been the ‘plug and play’ football title, Pro Evo is the deep thinking mainframe, maybe not as pretty but with vastly more longevity.

    Only now, after playing through numerous cup competitions and seasons of the Master League do I feel I’ve got to grips with the game. I’ll admit that my initial reaction, doubtless echoed by sections of the console community, was ‘do I not like this.’ I won’t deny there are still elements which infuriate me, and little things that I could previously ignore that by release 5 of the product should, been addressed. On the whole though I feel you need to devote time to this game to truly decide, but I’m getting ahead of myself now.

    The facts are that this is the same basic engine as Pro Evolution 4 (or Winning Eleven if you’re from Eastern lands.) The core competitions around the matches are the same as owners of that edition will be familiar with; international cups, leagues, and a club based Master League with inclusive knockout tournaments. The challenge training mode is a touch of déjà vu, and the line ups of teams and players are little varied as well (so much so that you can port any edited data over from your PES4 game if you laboriously altered the duff names.) So far, so what do I get for my money?

    Well there are some animation enhancements. Some players at least look slightly like their inspirations – some previous titles in the series have been Frankenstein in their treatment of this – but it’s still not in the Fifa league for beauty. There are some variable weather conditions and a new stadium, but hardly something needed on the packaging (which they have done.) Similarly a few goal celebrations and player moves look to have been given an airbrush but once again these are merely changing the stripes on the sleeves of the first team jersey. More relevant, however, is the Master League which has been given a bit of a bump. Training is improved, experience points count for older players, squad rotation is an absolute must as stamina plummets much quicker week to week, and for those buying at a level below top difficulty you can now see your likelihood of securing a player’s services. In general, a lot of bonuses to the management aspect of a side. For the real crowning glory though - how about this – it’s now online. Hurrah, at last Pro Evo on the PS2 can allow you to take on the world.

    And taking on the world is how you’ll feel after you start your first match against the CPU. The real meat of this new release is the difference approach to games. Now I was a good Pro Evo 4 player. I could beat my Master League opponents quite nicely on the unlocked 6 star rating, whilst still maintaining a competitive game, but when I tried to repeat my classic 3-4-3 total football formation I got pumped 5-3 by Feyenoord. Ajax I could have possibly forgiven, but this was shocking. The game plays totally different. There are far more offsides than I was used to (negating the through ball), the foul count is horrendous – a whistle every few seconds till you wise up, and passes go astray from even the best of your talent. Your quick players don’t have the significant advantage they used to – getting down the wing or spinning a defender doesn’t work anywhere near as well, and those scoring positions you used to take up have no guarantee of success. And yet a lofted through ball from the halfway line pinged over the goalie’s head and into the net! This was a strange new kid on the block.

    After my initial fury I considered that at least it meant I was getting something more than a cheap makeover. I started to realise that you can’t simply hold down X when trying to win back the ball, and the silly fouls and plain wrong decisions are actually what I see every weekend (even more so if you’ve got Serie A on Sky.) Buying Michael Owen and therefore the title no longer works, well that’s ok, someone please tell Roman Abramovich before he swoops again. And there does need to be room for the odd aberration, although I do think the shooting has been made a bit too accurate.

    Gripes remain though, for example the yellow card lottery is worse than ever – some disgraceful hacks in sight of the penalty area result in nothing more than the (personally irritating ) animated referee tap on the arm for the defender. Messrs Brackley and Brooking still spout the odd bit of nonsense – such as this being a relegation decider when it’s the middle of the season, and why has the crowd noise been ratcheted up yet the stands remain devoid of faces? Surely they could have made it look like there was a full house, even if they were of the 2d variety. And here’s the million-dollar answer – no, they haven’t given all the players/teams/stadiums the correct names. A lot of the current stars have been licensed but classic players in particular still need to be edited for real authenticity.

    There are no doubt lots of other minor tweaks that people will pick up on over the next few months, but none more initially shocking than that gameplay. I think there is a debate to be had over whether you score a game as standalone, or whether you should consider it’s ratings against the best the industry can stack against it, and on this last point I have no hesitation in saying that Pro Evolution Soccer 5 is the best console football game released this year. Unfortunately, I do not feel that it is without flaws, rather like our current crop of tabloid hogging superstars.
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