Pro Evolution Soccer 3 (PC)

...I am well aware that Pro Evolution 4 has been out for almost a year and also that it isn't long before Pro Evolution 5 hits the shelves. However, I've just recently picked up my copy of this game and started playing again, so given that it has only the one review, I thought I'd give you all some variety.

I've never been particularly impressed by Konami, their most memorable release for me being Catlevania for the N64 and that was hardly ...
...and everything changed. The first Pro Evolution game was released and FIFA had to step aside as the kings of football games. But I'm here to review the third edition of the game so that's what I'll do.

The first thing the guys at Konami have altered is the menu system, it now loads up fully before you get to it, meaning there's no waiting whilst you navigate in between and through menus. This does get annoying sometimes, especially ... more

Now before I start this review, I need to say that I am well aware that Pro Evolution 4 has been out for almost a year and also that it isn't long before Pro Evolution 5 hits the shelves. However, I've just recently picked up my copy of this game and started playing again, so given that it has only the one review, I thought I'd give you all some variety.

I've never been particularly impressed by Konami, their most memorable release for me being Catlevania for the N64 and that was hardly impressive. I've also always been a staunch supporter of the FIFA series, beginning all the way back in the depths of time when Road To World Cup '98 was released for PC. So you can understand that it was always going to be hard to get me to convert to another football game, especially when the precedent for it is the flawed ISS system.

Then the Playstation 2 arrived and everything changed. The first Pro Evolution game was released and FIFA had to step aside as the kings of football games. But I'm here to review the third edition of the game so that's what I'll do.

The first thing the guys at Konami have altered is the menu system, it now loads up fully before you get to it, meaning there's no waiting whilst you navigate in between and through menus. This does get annoying sometimes, especially when all you want to do is choose the next match option and get playing again, but overall it does save you a lot of wasted time staring at a black screen.

There's all the usual game mode options too, Match mode allowing you to pick any two teams in the game to play a single match against each other, Cup mode giving the choice between a World Cup setup, America Cup, Asia-Oceania Cup, Africa Cup, European Cup and a fully customiseable Konami cup. These take the form of either group & knockout stage or just knockout stage tournaments using the appropriate teams from the areas. The Konami cup can be a round robin, group & knockout or just knockout depending on how you choose to set it up.

There's also the new training mode where you can have a free reign to practice any aspect of your play that you want, or embark on a series of challenges that will test your skill at free kicks, passing sequences etc. This is nice and will quickly help you build up some skills to use in the normal game, but you'll either find it far too easy too quickly and have them all finished, or too hard and not even worth contemplating attempting them again.

League Mode sets up a group of 16 national teams in a standard league format, allowing you to play a full season (two matches against each team, totalling 30 matches) or a half season (one match against each team, totalling 15 matches).

Finally, the Master League mode is the best feature on the game. This allows you to take control of a team of your choice (although it makes no difference, you always start with the same players) and work them up from Division 2 to Division 1, buying new players and improving your squad all the way until you are the proud owner of the Division 1 title. It doesn't stop there though, both Divisions have a cup to win and there's the Pro Evolution versions of the UEFA cup and the Champions League to compete in.

The gameplay is much improved from the other Pro Evo games, let alone the FIFA opposition - it's much faster and the AI has become even more intelligent. No longer is there the possibility to score in the same way every match and win each game 10-0, not only is the computer defence better than that, but also they learn from what you're doing and will adapt their system the counteract your efforts.

There's also unprecedented control over the tactics of your team. In terms of formation, there's a number of set ones to choose from, but also you can move the standard positions of the players to create your own. It is possible to alter the defensiveness of each player individually and the directions in which they attack can be changed in the same way.

However, I can't allow myself to get carried away praising the game. I haven't yet come across a football game in which the commentary doesn't get ridiculously annoying and Pro Evo doesn't break the mould, but then you can always turn it off. The refereeing in places is very questionable, with some games going by without a single correct judgement on fouls. Your players will often position themselves very badly, meaning that offside is called in a large number of attacks. The inclusion of a handball rule I feel is a mistake, given that you have no control over where your players hands are. Just occasionally you get the impression that the Playstation isn't playing by the rules too. Often you'll find that when your opponent launches an attack, all your defenders have mysteriously moved to the other side of the pitch.

Overall though, despite the failings, this is still the best game I've played in the best football series there is. Two years on from its release and I'm still playing it, and that's a testimony to the quality of the game. I would recommend everyone to get hold of a copy of this, or another game in the Pro Evolution series. 

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