PES 2010

PES 2010

It used to be that Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) could hold its own against FIFA on pure gameplay terms. Sadly, this year is looking very different.

We’re not in love with PES any more. You could call it a tender parting, mutually agreed. We will always value the time we have spent in its company. Something just hasn’t been right for a couple of years, but PES 2010 is really the final straw.

You’ll excuse the melodrama, but PES has for the longest time been the game of choice for football aficionados. Not that FIFA has been completely overlooked, just that PES is the game that mattered – the one that always felt right. How else could we have overlooked the absence of UK teams other than those in the Premier League, and even then not have the proper team names, strips or stadiums? We have been happy tinkering away in the Edit mode to finish the job for Konami because the gameplay has always been worth it.

Our feeling this year is that PES has not only failed to move forward enough to keep FIFA at arms length, there are old gameplay issues that still haven’t been addressed, but more worryingly new traits that could cripple the series.

In many respects PES 2010 is the ‘Pro Evo’ we have learned to admire. The passing and movement off the ball is slick, if you succeed in putting together a quick-thinking attack the goals can be truly exhilarating. Some of the new animations not only add to the gameplay possibilities but can be entertaining also – defenders poke the ball from between the legs of players under pressure, for example. Players can even be booked for diving (you can chance this by pressing specific buttons, but risk a yellow card). Master League is even more feature-laden, and cannot really fail to prove as addictive as ever. Similarly the Champions League mode feels important.

At this juncture we wish to point out that we believe Konami has made every effort to build on previous successes. But we get the sense that with FIFA breathing down its neck, the pressure is forcing uncharacteristic errors.

The enjoyment starts to suffer when you notice that keepers are still spilling easy catches to allow rivals a second chance to score. Some of the best players are impossibly skilled, where top drawer strikers such as Liverpool and Spain’s Fernando Torres are almost unstoppable when on the ball as if covered in grease. But worst of all, the famous PES goal-mouth scrambles have become a goal-mouth shambles – the ball pinging around like ping-pong as you attempt to make a decisive clearance or create a chance to score. It appears as though the player takes longer than is helpful to realise he is no longer computer-controlled and vice-versa, leading to crucial split-seconds of apparent uselessness.

It’s more worrying for PES this year because FIFA 10 has made such important strides toward being the complete console football experience. Even if you can ignore gameplay idiosyncrasies of PES 2010, the core appeal now seems weary, in need of dramatic upheaval to become as exciting as it once was. In short, it feels old. It feels not too removed from the game we were playing on PlayStation 2, and this can no longer be good enough on the new generation of consoles.

Since the online mode is not officially up and running for the purposes of this review, we can only comment that the features are lean compared to FIFA 10. You will have the choice of 1vs1, 2vs2, or 3vs1 online matches. The Community feature lets you create leagues and tournaments involving your PES-playing friends.

Finally, returning to the sore point of official teams and the exclusion of important teams in general. By important we mean the likes of League Two trouble-causers Notts County, League One’s battling MK Dons or valiant Leeds, the Championship’s Newcastle United and resurgent Crystal Palace. None of our League teams are available for fans to select in PES 2010, you can probably guess why but that’s not good enough any more. And if you’re entering the Champions League as Arsenal or Chelsea, you don’t want to be cheering for North London or London FC. If you buy PES 2010 expecting a fully-authentic package you could be dearly disappointed - although if you follow Liverpool or Spanish and Italian top-flight clubs you are well catered for.

It wouldn’t be fair to list everything that FIFA 10 has to offer in terms of gameplay options and online support. But speaking purely of the realm that PES has so magnificently reigned for so long, it looks like time to take the King’s gameplay back to the drawing board because the modern game has changed.

As a PES addict you may still prefer the PES football dynamic, as we have said the core elements are still in place. However football fans with a decision to make may find themselves donating their hard-earned to the EA Sports juggernaut this year.

4 out of 5