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Pro Evolution Soccer 6

It’s that time of the year again. The birds are chirping, the Christmas release schedules are filling up with all sorts of tat that will be sitting in the bargain bucket during January, and Pro Evolution Soccer is trotted out once more. This sixth version of Pro Evo is the first to make an appearance on the Xbox 360, and we’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity to play it.

Based on what I played at Microsoft’s X06 conference last month, this was due to be a glowing review. The game ran well, looked awesome in widescreen on a HDTV, and was everything I could hope for. On closer inspection, it seems that Pro Evolution Soccer maybe hasn’t come on as far as it maybe should or could have done. Take the slowdown as an example. When you’re taking a goal kick, or lining up a free kick from anywhere on the pitch, the game starts to stutter and stumble, as if you were playing the PS2 version of the previous title in the series. Or, take the Xbox Live modes as your point of focus. Konami have made it easier to get a game, by providing an indicator that lets you know when a player is unavailable or is considering another challenge – but that seems to be about it. No custom cups, no custom leagues…although you can now leave feedback on a player from the “Final Score” screen, instead of having to wait until you’re returned to the menu system. Wow. If that’s all that the step up to a next-gen console that is highly integrated with its online service can provide us with, then surely something is amiss.

Thankfully the game engine still shines, and as mentioned, Pro Evolution Soccer 6 in high-definition widescreen is like being in gaming heaven. New player animations fall into the mix to give everything a wonderfully polished feel when the ball is in play and seeing Peter Crouch tuck away a goal for England from just inside the box, with arms flailing and both feet ending up off the ground for a split second is something to behold. The overly-strict referees of the previous version have been told to keep their whistle in their hand for the more innocuous challenges that really didn’t need to be blown up for, and this makes for a game that flows a lot more than before. Another nice touch is the instant dead-ball situations that occur. You used to have to wait for an animation to play out, or for something to load whilst you stared at a black screen when you got a throw-in but now, the game just “flicks” forward to the set-piece, without any delay to the action and without any black screen shenanigans. The ability to take a quick restart when a free kick is called also helps with the speed of play.

When I say that the game flows better, I mean that the referees don’t blow up every three seconds. The play itself is a lot tighter, and there is a lot less space to be going on with. In single player, on the harder game modes (the “star” system has been replaced with traditional difficulty level names), the CPU defence seem to be a lot more aware of what’s going on, and counter your attacking moves well. This means that you have to actually FIND a space and exploit it, rather than just playing the through ball constantly. It also means that your “Xbox Live goals” (where the opposition would simply run up to the keeper, then play a square ball to a striker who could tap it into an empty net) occur much less often, simply because the defenders are wise to the play. It can be done, but not anything like as easily as before.

Looking at the way PES6 controls, there have been changes made. The “Dash” button which used to be mapped to your right trigger in the days of the original Xbox, has been switched to the right bumper button. The “change player” button has been switched from the left trigger to the left bumper button. And this is where fans of the series will be split. In my opinion, the bumper buttons aren’t designed to be used that often, and are there for use as switches – so I’ve remapped the controls to put things back to how they should be. Other points of note include the stacks and stacks of new moves and variations on old moves that can be pulled off. Indeed, the “Game Controls” section of the manual now stretches to six pages, and I’d highly recommend that you read them since the game doesn’t provide any real tutorial mode. The training mode is as useful as ever to try and master those new skills.

Shooting seems to have undergone an overhaul, too. You can still power the ball over the bar from two feet in front of goal if you’re too ham-fisted with the controller, but in general, shots seem to fire off somewhat lower than they used to do. Volleys are now properly playable, based on your timing, rather than the game’s decision as to whether or not you’re allowed to spank one this time. The whole thing feels more “real” than it did before, and when you’ve got five players all sliding for the same ball in the penalty area, and you’re screaming at the screen as if it’ll help your striker be the one to get his boot to it first – you’ll have to remind yourself that it’s only a game.

You’ll be initially shocked at the slowdown and minor issues that Pro Evolution Soccer 6 contains, but extended play reveals that the improvements made in this latest edition are firstly much more numerous than you’d initially imagined, and secondly not of the kind that can be emblazoned across the back of the box as “this year’s greatest feature.” It runs much deeper. It runs to the core of the game mechanic and can’t be summed up in just one line. Seabass has been hard at work for sure, and yet again, he’s made a game that you’ll be playing right up until the day before next year’s edition is released. Maybe the lack of any real innovation on the Xbox Live front is for the best, since some of us need to eat and sleep.

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is the best football game available for any format. Period.

Addendum: To clear things up a little regarding the "Edit" mode - you CAN edit players and create them, but you can't edit or create teams. So you can't change Manchester United into Exeter City, but you can change Wayne Rooney into Steve Flack.

Words: Ken Barnes

9 out of 10