Game Review – Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Publisher – Konami.
Platform – PSP.

In its’ many guises over the last fourteen years Pro Evolution Soccer has been the purists’ choice - the most valiant attempt at translating the nuances and subtleties of the beautiful game onto our consoles. Where FIFA and others were more interested in gimmicky effects and high scores PES focused on realism, awareness and intelligence. Goals were scored in other games but were earned in PES. Over the last few years the others have caught up by catching on and mimicking the approach taken by PES. The latest in the PES series suddenly has some work to do to stay ahead of the game.

All the regular features are present and correct. In fact the PSP version is the only version other than the PS2 one that has the World Tour mode. This new mode is actually a welcome addition to the regular cups, training exercises and Master League. It puts you in charge of a club or national team and gives you a task or mission to complete – such as having to win from a goal down or winning by a set number of goals etc. The gameplay is identical to the PS2 version in practically every respect.

The small differences are enforced due to the lack of the two shoulder buttons but this does not take away too much from the experience. Holding down the right shoulder button still makes the player run more quickly but with a double tap the player executes a step-over instead of increasing his pace even further. The one thing that the PS2 can never compete with is of course the portability of the PSP and the idea of playing PES on the plane, train or automobile is delicious! The ability to compete against other human challengers is an option but essentially this is a single player experience.

Unfortunately PES 2008 is not a great step forward from its’ predecessor. In fact it could be argued that it’s actually a backwards step as it seems to have lost a little bit of fluidity and smoothness. Scoring is not as intuitive as it has been in the past and even having taken a first touch and steadying the player his shot is liable to end up in the crowd instead of the net. Unlike the PS2 game this version suffers from slowdown that, while infrequent is disappointing. Overall though, while this PES engine needs to be stripped down and rebuilt it is still about the best fun you can legally have on a bus.