30.10.2007

My purpose in writing this is to try and give an objective review of PES 2008. I had the game on pre-order with Amazon and canceled my order having read all the framerate horror stories. I hired a copy, and having satisfied myself that the game was worth buying, did so.Let's start with the framerate issues. Yes, there are some. If you play the game with full commentary and crowd effects the game becomes jerky whenever a long ball is played and the screen has to scroll quickly. I didn't find it rendered the game unplayable, or led to me missing tackles or shots, but it's certainly not very satisfactory. I experimented with the various graphics and sound options in an attempt to speed the game up.Installing the game on the hard-drive, turning off crowd effects and the commentary eliminates the problem entirely. Of these three things, turning off the commentary has the greatest effect. There are reports circulating on the internet of the game working better on HDTVs. I've tried the game on a standard CRT and a HDTV, and could see no difference. In summary: if you're prepared to sacrifice the commentary then you can avoid the frame rate problem.Now turning to the game itself. The gameplay has undergone some tweaks. The pace of the game is slightly quicker than PES 6. Dribbling is easier, but so is tackling. In particular it's easier to tackle simply by using the physical weight of your players. The AI is much improved on last year, with computer controlled team-mates running into space when attacking and marking better when defending. That said, you'll still occasionally wonder where your centre-half has got to, or why your winger wont run on down the line. Scoring from outside the box is more difficult. The balance between defender and attackers when competing for a headed ball has been improved. In PES 6 I found it almost impossible to score from crosses, with the defender nearly always winning out. Scoring from crosses is now possible. Flick-ons and knock-downs from long-balls are now easier. I've read reports about bad goalkeepers, but these seem pretty realistic. My main gripe with the gameplay is that the referees are much more harsh than in PES 6, almost back to the levels in PES 3. The result is that sliding tackles are limited in usefulness; mistime them even slightly and it's a booking at best. Overall the gameplay hasn't changed radically, but it is better. I personally wouldn't want them to change it radically, PES is popular for a reason.Now to the graphics. These are good, but not brilliant. The player likenesses are great. The crowd are laughable pixellated blobs. Sadly the amusing banners in dodgy English seem to have gone. Graphics don't worry me personally, if they are important to you then you'll be disappointed.Finally to talk about the menus and the master league. The main menu is bizarre. I think it's meant to be a rotating pitch side advertising hoarding. Why Konami can't do something straightforward I do not know. The rest of the menus are pretty much the same as PES 6, but a little cleaner. The master league has hardly changed, which to me is the main disappointment. It still presents a good long term challenge, but it's still throughly bizarre in it's organisation.In summary, I think the game was worth my money. If you can live without the commentary the frame rate is fine. The gameplay has been tweaked nicely and the game looks good, but not great.

2.11.2007

Everyone giving this game two stars either has dogdy eyesight, is playing it drunk, or are guilty of some serious bandwagon jumping. I probably played PES 6 on the PS2 for 200+ hours and this new PS3 version is an improvement in every way. I can't help but feel people really want to bash Sony some more and are just not keeping things in perspective. I have now given more than 20 hours to this game over the past week, mainly on the master league, and it is really great!The AI of the computer is much improved. I have always played on the highest difficulty settings and even weak teams are giving me a massive challenge on this version. For example AI players perform a much more variety of attacking tactics.Previously they always seemed to do the same thing. Now they shoot from distance (40 yards plus!), play pin-point through balls, mazy dribbles into the area, headers from corners - anything you can think of. In PES 6 the AI nearly always missed direct shots from free-kicks, and now even weak teams are pinging them into the top corner from 30 yards (on the highest difficulty setting mind), making giving away free-kicks on the edge of the box suicidal. Furthermore to breakdown opposition defences you must keep your attacking play imaginative and unpredictable, as AI defenders cover space and easily stop your attacks if you rely on the same manouver for every game.Further improvements are the graphics which really are brilliant especially in close-up. The commentary is by FAR the best seen in any PES: they actually say things that relate to how the game is proceding (i.e. who scored first, if there has been a large comeback, if you had a lot of chances but failed to score), and most impressively will change their commentary depending on the course of the league (i.e. first/last games of the season, important games etc).Most importantly the master league is much better! Both division 1 and 2 have far more teams in the leagues (20 teams per league I think), making the campaigns longer and more satisfying. Negotiation for players is better: each player has a number from 0-100 to indicate whether they want to join you. Your popularity as a team increases as you win games or decreases as you lose them. Also there are more people in the stadiums if you are doing well, and less if you are not (this is really cool surprisingly!) The presentation is also much better and there is much more of an attempt to keep you aware of your position in the calender and what games are coming up.Lastly the supposed slow-down has been widly overstated! There always has been a bit of slow down in PES games when things get a bit hectic, and I haven't been bothered by it. It certainly isn't severe enough to affect the gameplay. I haven't tried the online features yet, but PES6 games were pretty laggy so I never really got into this feature.The only downsides I can see is that the menu music is absolutely terrible - I actually liked the PES menu music in the past, and the referees give yellow/red cards for 90% of the failed sliding tackles which is a bit annoying.Conclusion: I love PES, and I love this game - it's the best yet! (I should know I have played every iteration since PS1 days and I still played PES 6 until recently - I get the impression other reviewers haven't played PES 6 in a while perhaps).

9.9.2007

The first football game I ever bought was World Cup 1998 and at the time it was probably the best version of football on any console. However, after a friend introduced me to pro evo I decided that the EA sports football games were supremely inferior to those made by Konami. My first pro evolution acquisition was pro evo 2 and at the time it was a quality game. it may not have had the licenses or official kits that Fifa had but the gameplay was much better and much more realistic. The step up from 2 to 3 was vast and highlighted the various weaknesses in the previous game. The gameplay was once again superior over Fifa's and pro evolution 3 was quickly replacing the place of Fifa in people's ps2 collections.Now the change from 3 to 4 I also found vast and at first I found 4 difficult to play. this, however, does not mean that it was a poor version of pro evo. it just meant that people needed more practice to get good at it. Despite being a very good game, pro evo 4 had several weaknesses but these were put right by pro evo 5. With few flaws, pro evo 5 was so much better than Fifa 2006 which had that ridiculous off the ball option which just made the game an absolute joke. Now although their isnt much difference between pro 5 and 6 the latter is by far and away the best sports game I have ever played. The gameplay is brilliant, the R2 accuracy shot makes scoring those impossible curlers a reality and the random selection option is an absolute classic. Meanwhile the current fifa game, fifa 2007 is dismal. the gameplay is poor, the players control over the ball is poor and why is it that when u commit a foul seemingly 35-45 yards from goal that the free kick is suddenly within shooting range. EA sports have had some nice ideas with the 'toggle the left analog stick to battle with the defender' and i do like their 'lounge' option but they just havent executed them in the correct way. Playing fifa is just such a chore and it is frustrating to know that there are people out there who would much rather have a game of Fifa than pro evo. i think why these people prefer fifa is because it is an easier game to play for beginners. I have found that a beginner who plays pro evo against an experienced opponent will rarely if not never get a result whereas a beginner who plays fifa against an experienced opponent will, much more often, be able to get a result. Maybe this is why many prefer Fifa because they cannot handle the far superior gameplay of pro evo. In my opinion pro evo 2008 does not have to be too different from pro evo 6 to be a good game. In fact i'm sure konami could stop making newer versions of pro evo and pro evo 6 would still be better than any fifa game ever made. In my opinion fifa need to copy pro evo to become a better game. They've already copied the R2 accuracy option and the little x that shows where the ball will land. There is no doubt in my mind that pro evo 2008 will be the best football game ever made and will continue to reign over fifa in every department.

28.10.2007

I must admit I'm a confused man tonight.You see I read all these reviews - 1 star, 2 stars - lag, freezing, horrible controls, useless this, useless that, more lag, juddering....And the thing is after playing this pretty much solidly for four days I must say I've experienced none of this.Now please bear in mind I play this on a PS3, on a standard TV and have been playing Pro Evo since the days of the original ISS on the PS1.This is the best of the series.It feels more like real football than before with balanced passed, jinking runs, chipped crosses, diving headers, horrible open goal misses and the thrill of bundling in a last minute defelcted winner that has me dancing around the room more than a thirty yarder in FIFA ever could.Now please don't get me wrong,afterall this year's FIFA is generally an improvement from last year's which was the best FIFA since '98 but still it doesn't FEEL like football - Pro Evo '08 does. In FIFA you have to wait for the player animation to finish before you can complete the pass or shot - in Pro Evo the player will attempt what he can making timing crucial - too early or late and he'll just scuff it embarrassingly.Also the graphics are decent, they're good, at times they're pretty. Sure the crowd is hilarious but I for one don't care about the crowd, I care about the players, their animations, the stretching and flexing of the kits, the textures, the facial expressions, the fact that Lee Barnard looked totally thrilled after scoring his second goal for Tottenham on his first appearance of the season.Cups and leagues are there as usual but the Master System has been greatly improved, personalising the menus for the team you're playing as, including how much the fans love your management and the players you're playing - neat touch.Multiplayer is better than ever, whether online or offline - true you can never ever beat having mates around to play but online does a decent enough job and adds to a game that would have been fine without. Also, editing is back and better than ever. The chance to scan in your face or sponsors for shirts really helps to add to the realism too and must get a thumb up. Kit editing, player editing etc is all deeper and generally better than before.So please, read this review after all those 1 star ratings. Yes, I'm a Pro Evo fan. I play FIFA but it doesn't EXCITE me like Pro does. Maybe you're the same. This is NOT a step back, the way the computer learns your tactics is great, the way the players dive causing you to shout at the TV is spot on with today's game, and the animations and most importantly gameplay are top notch.Speaking as someone who's played both Pro and FIFA on the PS3 and 360 this year let me tell you this - the best is Pro Evo '08 on the PS3 and it's in NO WAY a disappointment. I've had no lag, no crashing, no issues....Except the crowd but that's something I can live with quite happily as I know that every time I sit down to play, I'll love every minute, even when I'm losing.

24.10.2007

To begin with, I may be the only one here that writes a review for this game after having played it. I tested the game at a preview at FNAC for the PS3 platform. Earlier I had played the demo for the PC which doesn't resemble much to the game I tested on PS3.To begin with I also tried FIFA 08 because of the positive reviews it had collected. FIFA 08 does well in the fields of graphics, commentary, official licences and this time round its gameplay has been greatly improved. Still it is a mediocre game and of course feels less footy than PES 2008. But it certainly isn't a bad game.Now, about PES 2008 I must say that the first glimpse on the game was certainly positive.Textures and graphics in general have been hugely improved. However there are some drawbacks: there is a great drop in the framerate in replays and a slight drop in the framerate in some points during the game (mainly when many players appear on screen). Apart from that the game certainly looks good.Secondly, the franchise hasn't gone a step further in getting as much official licenses as possible. Although I am not an FA league fan, I don't like the fact that only Newcastle and Tottenham have signed an agreement with KONAMI. Maybe KONAMI prefers to save some money, since most people download patches that feature official budges, names and kits for all teams.Lastly, I will comment on the most important (for most people) fact of the game: its gameplay. The game feels like PES 6 and the flow of the game is only a little slower than that of its predecessor. Shooting has been partially improved and you can feel the difference when shooting in one-on-ones. The set pieces have been improved of course, because they were pretty awful in the previous version of the game. Passing is still almost identical but it is true that the game seems less repetitive than PES 6. One parameter that annoyed me, however, is that the game is pretty easy. I played one game (Inter vs Arsenal) at the Top Player level and finished the game having 13 shots on target against 0 from my opponents. Maybe it is because I have played all the previous games (from the SNES era until now) for about more than 200 hours each (and for more than 1000 hours for some of them!), but I think it is the first time that I play a new PES game at top level and it seems easy from me right from the beginning.All in all, the game is visually impressive at first, but it isn't a huge step forward. However, it is as entertaining as the best of its predecessors (PES 1,3,5) and you can probably heartily stick to it for the next season. Nevertheless, my opinion is that KONAMI could have done better because the game's fan base is getting more and more demanding.

29.10.2007

This is by far the best next-gen football game available today. I'm so glad that Konami didn't make the same mistake that they made with Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 on the Xbox 360. They've finally made a faithful upgrade to their illustrious PS2 series.If you're a fan of the FIFA series, then you won't like this game. This game is for people who want to have fun and get involved in every skill move. Put simply, if you like footballers like Alan Smith or Mark Viduka then you'll love FIFA. If you like footballers like Joe Cole, Ronaldinho or Lionel Messi then you'll love Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. The other reviewers were completely correct in saying that Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has problems;

29.8.2007

I am not going to add too much by way of a review of this game because, as we are all aware, it hasn't been released yet.That aside, the bits and pieces of information I have picked up here and there sound very promising. The graphics will have been tweaked slightly but where Konami continually seem to improve year in and year out is with the gameplay.Someone said that Pro Evolution 4 was the best and taht it converted them from Fifa, whilst Evo 5 and 6 were awful. That doesn't really surprise me to be honest as, for me, Pro Evo 4 was the worst in the series by a mile! The gameplay was arcade-like and the graphics were dire - a step down from Pro Evo 3. This probably explains why a Fifa fan liked it so much!

30.10.2007

i was highly anticipating this years pro ev, with it being the first next gen game of the series. id played every game before this, and was confident Konami would get it right again. for the most part they have. the game feels more fluid the visuals are great & player liknesses are spot on.the bad part begins with the lack of real editing. no boot editing, strip logos can only be put on with photos, not simply adding text like b4. i used 2 spend hours in editing mode tweaking strips and boots, however strips can only be one of sixteen choices - all be it different parts can be made different colours for some variety.theres a distinct lack of stadiums, only 16 or so, but this doesnt affect much.the gameplay is great,

31.10.2007

First of all i have to say regarding the slow framerate...i have never experienced this at all offline. Online is terrible at the minute but this will undoubtably be fixed in a patch this weekend (i hope).There has been large debate as to which football game to buy this year (PES08 / FIFA08) so here is my opinion - hopefully it may help!I have played FIFA08 on xbox 360 and i own PES08 on PS3. Personally the gameplay on Fifa is much improved and makes playing 1 player against the AI far superior to PES. However, in my opinion that is not where a football game shines...in all honasty no matter how good the gameplay is it is extremely boring playing AI. To me a football game should be realistic,

28.10.2007

Ive been playing pro since they came out and i can say that this one is as good as each one ive played. Now each new pro comes out improves on old ones, and two start them it takes a while to get used to new changes.The changes on this one are aparent as u start game, no more just running down middle, though u can still do this if u have a wee bit of skill, which is good. The defending and tackling is alot better, at first i was crap at tackling but now its brillant, u actually feel like u have control over each player. The shooting is much better and each time u have ball near net u feel like u have a good chance. the character switching is much better to, no longer changing to wrong players alot of the time.

21.1.2008

i would first of all like it noted, that yes i am a fan of the pes series and have been since the days of the snes. however, i have always enjoyed the fifa series as well, just a little less.after reading many of the reviews for both pes 08 and fifa 08, i was dubious to buy either of them, but i desperately wanted a football game on a next gen console.i decided to download the demos of both the games from the playstation store to get a brief feel for each game.i initially played fifa as was mightly impressed with all the 'little' touches in the game i.e. real names, kits, stadiums, the stadium annoucer telling you the name of the player who scored.

3.10.2007

i've been one of the very few fortunate enough to play this game.Lets get one thing straight. FIFA and Pro are different games for different gamers. FIFA is the glamour of the game and Pro is everything that football fans look for in football. The licence's are slowly updating but us pro fans know what we look for in this game. Its all about the players movement, the reaction of players and the movement of the ball however, the graphics on the ps3 are getting more life-like and this does make a difference. There is a new stadia builder and there is on this version updates of new stadiums if thats what you want again you can edit and update teams, players and stadiums to your desire.Teamvision is the way forward for this game,

2.12.2007

I have read so many user reviews for this game that my head was starting to spin. Having taken the plunge though, i've got to say the gameplay is by far the best ever. Passing is crisp and fast and there's nothing like pinging a ball the width of the park to switch play. Shooting is vastly improved as are the goal keepers. The AI seems to have learnt how to shoot properly at long last and actually take advantage of the positions they get in rather than ballooning a shot over the bar.I don't seem to suffer from any real noticable lag offline, granted its there to the same extent as it was at corners on PES6 on the PS2 but it certainly doesn't ruin the game for me.

26.10.2007

I haven't played FIFA 08, so I'm not going to go ranting on about the dire gameplay and so on, but I will talk about what I feel is another stirling attempt by Konami to create the most realistic football simulation possible. I have only played this twice, once on the 360 and once on the PS3, and I have to say I found both experiences utterly exhilerating. Unlike a large majority of other users I found there to be no lag at all during gameplay, although the tempo was a little slow at times. The graphics are lovely, the kits look crisp and the players look mostly realistic. The gameplay is fantastic as always, dribbling is much easier and the 'keepers seem better too.

29.10.2007

Firstly, i've only had a gamecube since the majestic ISS 64, so I've never been able to play Pro Evo titles properly and had to make do with FIFA through the cube years. Having had a weekend with this Pro evo 08 title I have to say I've really enjoyed it.I know the framerate on replays isn't very good, but general gameplay doesn't suffer using the default camera. Konami will patch this in the near future so it shouldn't put people off buying it now, early reviews put me off but I was brave and it has paid off. This game plays a good game of footy, with the physics as good as i've seen in a football sim. Graphics wise, I think it looks fine, especially with the HD gloss.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3) - Reviews

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