Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Review

The Pro Evolution franchise has been going for some time now but has never really been established as the superior football game behind Fifa. Although it brings better gameplay, more forms of play, and maybe even better looking when it comes to graphics in the PC and PS3 versions, it still seems that the licensing that Fifa has overrules each and every good aspect that Pro Evo has to offer for the majority population. When I found out that there was going to be a Pro Evolution game on the Nintendo Wii I thought that would either be as rubbish to play as it's Fifa counterpart which was created, or far superior to it. I don't know why I ever doubted the idea.

When I saw the Wii get released I had a bad feeling. I would never have thought that you could play a football game properly on one. But this is how a football game SHOULD be played. The concept of being able to move each and every single player around the whole pitch just makes goal opportunities endless in vary and style.

The game is played as if you are dragging players across the screen using the “A” button, but instead of dragging and dropping them, you are commanding the player to run or dribble to the position you are pointing to. Clearing and scoring (/shooting, depending on how rubbish you are) is as simple as it is complicated with a flick of the nunchuck. If you want to clear the ball as it is coming towards you (when in your half), you can shake the nunchuck and a blue dot will appear above the players head highlighting they will attempt to do so. If you want to shoot, you make the same action (in the opponents half) then the highlighted player with a red dot above their head will attempt to shoot, although timing is key. The “B” button works as pass when pointing to the player you instead to pass to, and that's about it, it's fairly simple to get used to.

Fair enough there are more complicated moves to get to grips with which help in improving your game to the highest level, but these are the basic skills. To learn the more complicated ones, you can go to the Special Abilities menu which teaches all these moves and more such as One-Twos, Slow Dribbling, and the ever effective through ball technique. One thing I did find hard to get to grips with, are the special footwork moves. To perform them you must be dribbling using the Wii Remote whilst moving the nunchuck analogue in a specified direction of which isn't clear. Yes, it is as tricky as I sounds.

The gameplay in this game is truly marvellous. The way the game is played with the Wii remote and nunchuck is fluid in it's own individual way. As this game wasn't released at the same time as the Xbox, PS3 or PC versions, it shows that Konami have really put in some time and effort to make the Wii version of the game that little bit more special. Although it has the same name as all the other versions, it could be put in a different league to the them (yes that was an intentional play on words) just because of gameplay. I know that Konami has made a football game special when I have to work hard to score the great goals, and when I did, I found myself cheering in pride at each and every goal that I scored, every single time.

There are a fair few game modes to choose from such as the usual suspects; Quick Match, Exhibition and Training as well as some new modes including a good online match playing system. The main mode is of course the career mode, aka “Champions Road”. In this mode you can choose either an existing team, or a new team that you can make up yourself. You go around Europe with this team playing in various different leagues which you need to win to advance and unlock new leagues. The mode includes many enhancements to make your “Road” more enjoyable including Player Acquisition at the end of each game which gives you the opportunity to select a couple players from the side you just played to join your team. This is a really good way of getting your team more experienced, and helps them move up in the leagues as each one gets progressively harder. Champions road is a long and in depth game mode and will keep you playing for hours as it is both enthralling and challenging.

There are a lot of things to like about this game. The layout of each menu suits the game very well and gives the game an arcadey feel. There are many things to unlock in the game such as Mii Matches which allows you to play exhibition matches with the heads of your created Miis. This is very funny to watch but could have been made a bit better graphically. Speaking of graphics, the game itself is anything but brilliant in terms of Wii standards and looks very similar in some respects to the Playstation version of the game. They aren't terrible but surely could have been improved.

The game overall is something great. It combines the use of the Wii's innovative controls and the smart thinking at Konami to produce a very special game. With new and better footy stars appearing on each PES game cover every proceeding year, and the promise of a Pro Evo 2009 appearing on the Wii also, all they need to do now is nail public wanting licences and they will turn into a truly outstanding franchise.