By Wrecker
For close to the past ten years Pro Evolution Soccer has been challenging EA’s well-established FIFA series, and together they have dominated the soccer gaming market. Pro Evolution Soccer made its debut on the Wii last year and surprised many with its innovative in-depth control system that created a more tactical and realistic experience. With generally positive reviews Konami has some pressure and expectation to deliver in the next installment. So have the developers created some new ideas, or is Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 just last year’s game rehashed?
The successful "playmaker" control system from last year’s edition has again been implemented into this version, with some tweaks and new abilities. The basic movement of the player is done via the nunchuk stick and the wii remote pointer is utilized for aiming and off the ball movement (controlling and setting up your teammates). Initially the whole control system is a little daunting and rather difficult to get a grip on, but persistence is the key here. It’s recommended to thoroughly cover all aspects of the training mode to improve the precise movement required to be successful in the game.
There is now more control over the direction of your shots on goal. In addition to swinging the wii remote to fire at goals, players can now aim with the remote and hit the B button to strike. Whilst defending you now have the ability to drag another defender to close down and mark an attacking player or to move into unmarked space. The option of calling in another player to tackle the opponent with the ball can now be done by aiming at them and holding the A button. Pressing the Z button will also harass and often dispossess the opposition. However, as always don’t overdo the sliding tackle or, as we soon found out, you won't have enough players to continue. Also new are one-two moves, ‘give and goes’ and the ability to perform skilful feints, turns and tricks. Although these new moves do complicate things more, all are welcome additions and enhance the realism of play. The AI appears to be slightly more intelligent as well.
If you find the controls too difficult to handle you now have the option to use a “traditional” control input, either via the wii remote by itself (held sideways) or with a classic controller. This now allows access to casual gamers as well as the soccer fanatics, and this can only be good. Although these alternative controls methods work fine, they do take away the real essence of what this game is all about - the unique control system. If you have a buddy around you can try the co-op mode, which allows the second player to control an individual player. This creates some great fun trying to set up perfectly timed runs off the ball, especially heading towards goal and beating the offside trap.
A much-welcomed new game mode is the UEFA Champions League, which is presented in all its glory right down to the official graphics and theme song. You can still play a friendly match, set up a league or cup, or tackle the Champions Road. The Master League mode is also now included (take charge of a hopeless team and lead them to glory). The Nintendo version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 does not feature the ‘Become a Legend’ mode, unlike the other console versions. However, Wii users Mii’s get a go here and you can make up teams of all your buddy’s Mii’s, then watch as they take to the field with ridiculously oversized heads.
As you start to hone your skills via the rather difficult controls, you’ll be able to better manage your teammates movements. This is all good, except you tend to forget about the player with the ball and often you are dispossessed without even realising as you are looking elsewhere on the field. This is where you have to find a balance between controlling the man in possession and scouring the rest of the field to set up plays.
When playing the game with multiple players the pointers become too prominent on screen and it all gets a bit hectic. Switching off the players' names is one way to reduce the clutter. The on-screen map showing players' positions is not required either, as it is not at all helpful (as is the case in most soccer games). It can also get a bit cramped at the top of the screen, especially when throwing in, as at times your player is obscured by the time or score. As the in-game characters are reasonably small so too is the ball and as a result you can sometimes lose track of it. Playing in snow doesn’t help either due to the fact that the falling snowflakes look very much like the ball. Then again maybe we need our eyes tested.
Another problem with multiplayer soccer games is that you are able to see where your human opponent is about to pass, throw and set up teammates via the on screen pointer. This is especially the case in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 due to its prevalence in using this type of control method. Oh, and when taking penalties make sure you hide the cursor, otherwise the goalie can see exactly where your shot is going.
The online play in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 now includes four players being able to take on friends, strangers or even AI controlled friends' teams. There was still some slight lag (definately not 100% smooth) but fortunately this doesn’t interfere greatly, and is an improvement from PES 2008. Just make sure you play with someone that actually passes the ball and doesn’t try to go on ridiculous solo runs.
The leagues, teams, players and logos present in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 are a mix of genuine and fictional. This is due to licensing issues. The French and Dutch leagues are there in their entirety as well as the Italian league (although the logos and the league are not licensed). Unfortunately only two English clubs and eleven Spanish clubs are available in their respective leagues. Luckily for me Manchester United is one of them. Although not Konami's fault, these half actual/half made-up leagues make the game feel somewhat incomplete and will disappoint the diehard soccer fans out there. You can however edit these league teams and players back to the real thing (if you have the time and patience). There are also eighteen free slots to make up your own teams or league. Unfortunately some of the rosters are not quite up to date due to the games release after the most recent trade period.
As already mentioned Konami has obtained the rights to the UEFA Champions League, although not all clubs are present (licensing again). There are also some club teams from outside of Europe, such as a couple of Argentinian and Brazilian club sides, but there is no sign of any A-League clubs. Fortunately the Australian team did make the cut, but that's not such a big issue these days as our recent success has us well established in the footballing world. The other international teams are also a mix of licensed (real) and unlicensed (fake) teams. The stadiums in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 are in fact modelled on real-life arenas, although not all are named accordingly.
The player models in the game are decent if somewhat unspectacular. Player animations work quite well for the Wii, and the stadiums all scrub up pretty nicely. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the crowd. These days one surely shouldn’t expect to see blurry and cardboard thin spectators, reminiscent of games from days gone by. The in game menus are also fairly standard but include some nice cell-shaded/cartoon style graphics in the training screens. The players on the field are rather small but we feel the developers had to go this way, as a greater amount of the field must be seen to set up tactical plays.
The music in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 is fairly generic but fits the game suitably. Sound effects during play are what you’d expect and the in-game commentary is quite smooth and is relevant to what’s taking place on field, even without players' names being mentioned. The crowd cheering is also well done and adds to the overall atmosphere. However, one particular sound effect during the “Carmen Sandiego typewriter style" training instruction screen does tend to get on one’s nerves.
The Final Verdict
All in all Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 is an improvement over the previous edition, but to what extent? It’s a tough call. The improvements made have enhanced the soccer experience and the depth of realism can’t be challenged, but the gameplay can be difficult to follow and at times doesn’t flow well. If you own Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 then you may want to have a hard think about purchasing this title. If on the other hand you don’t it is highly recommended, particularly for soccer tragics, as the clever use of the Wii controls produces a different approach to soccer gaming. It may not seem like much fun at first with quite a steep learning curve, but you’ll be rewarded for your patience. At the very least it will see you through to the next release of FIFA.
Gameplay
7.5/10
Still the most rich and realistic soccer title on the market. Tactical style gameplay through the ability to control teammates. Nice implementation of the Wii controls. New player moves.
Graphics
7.5/10
Presentation is clear and neat. All aspects of the visuals are done well (except the crowd).
Sound
7.5/10
Fairly standard menu music and on-field sound effects. Decent commentary and atmospheric crowd cheering.
Value
8.0/10
Added depth with the inclusions of fresh game modes (including Champions League) and additional player moves. Multiplayer on-line play now included.
Overall
A quality product. More tactical and rewarding than FIFA09, but maybe a touch less fun. If you already own PES 2008 changes may not justify purchasing this, otherwise check it out.
7.6/10