Pro Evolution Soccer 3 (PS2)

...collection it looks as if Pro Evolution Soccer 3 would finally be on its way out. With the upcoming January transfer window approaching PES3 is perhaps surplus to requirements, but that's not to say that this not a class title, for I simply feel it is time to move on. As a PlayStation 2 title, the tendancy to model games towards realism is showing, and the effort towards recreating the beautiful game means we can identify with the football games ...
...will want to build up to match fitness level through the various challenges in the training mode. Aside from setting up competitions between national sides, you can to some degree put together one of the top European leagues. These don't feature the cup competitions but if you want something more akin to the football season then you should tackle the Master League mode. Here the incentive would be to put together a dream team which you can then use ... more

With the arrival of other football titles in my games collection it looks as if Pro Evolution Soccer 3 would finally be on its way out. With the upcoming January transfer window approaching PES3 is perhaps surplus to requirements, but that's not to say that this not a class title, for I simply feel it is time to move on. As a PlayStation 2 title, the tendancy to model games towards realism is showing, and the effort towards recreating the beautiful game means we can identify with the football games we play.

Those unfamiliar with the series will want to build up to match fitness level through the various challenges in the training mode. Aside from setting up competitions between national sides, you can to some degree put together one of the top European leagues. These don't feature the cup competitions but if you want something more akin to the football season then you should tackle the Master League mode. Here the incentive would be to put together a dream team which you can then use to compete against a friend's.

In the Master League, you start off with the same players no matter which team you choose. This can make getting results to be most difficult to begin with since these default Master League players are poor. The player negotiations aspect does not take on those of the football manager game, as there is no indication as to why a transfer did not proceed. I find it annoying when I fail to add to the squad during the negotiation period but fortunately there are options to vary the likeliness of successful transfers. Sadly these options would be relegated for the next game.

One feature which was also relegated and rightly so was the implementation of handball. This was a strange one given that the outfield players don't coordinate the upper limbs in such a manner so as to provoke a ball-to-hand, hand-to-ball argument. It is indeed a case of misfortune and a nuisance that play is stopped when the ball strikes a player above the legs. I found that the rate at which players gets penalised is highest in the opposition box, and goal-mouth scrambles are often halted in this manner. The chances of a player handling in their own box must be zilch, otherwise it would have been an own goal for such a feature.

During play you'll notice that the game uses a lot of scripting, allowing the action to go into the necessary animations to make it look realistic. You'll soon get a feel for when these take over the play as well as the sort of attraction the football has over the players making the game pan out in the right fashion. However, there are times when there is not enough control of a player and you are simply witness to bad play. This lack of vision is shown through having several players chase a ball which is obviously going out of play, and also players not being able to take the necessary touch so as to prevent the ball from doing so. Players don't seem to read a situation as to react when a player becomes in possession of a ball.

Now the football that I play involves strict use of passes along the ground so there is an emphasis on possession. This means I use short passes to build up play, which I find are generally not played with enough pace. I know player statistics somewhat come into this but it undermines lesser players taking the basics in the wrong manner. Because of receiving players having to come short the game is not so attack minded and I would describe PES3's style of football as compact.

While you can have it that players simply make mistakes, the problem with the short pass is that it is not always how you interpret it to be. Using the short pass you can struggle to negate nearby players by passing along the ground to those who are actually in space in the same general direction, again adding to the idea that the football played is not so expansive. I wished that players closeby to the player in possession would move so as to provide a sensible passing option and not get in the way, but credit to the game because it makes you consider building up an attack again from the back should you not gamble on the passing angles.

As with the short pass, through ball passes are often not how you intend it to be, but their setbacks can be bypassed should you be able to master manual passing. This involves use of the right analogue stick, allowing both weight and direction of ball to be determined. It will take time to learn this technique, but I rarely play like this for it's like a whole new ball game to me whenever I take it on.

PES3 was the first in Konami's football series to have a familiar face on the front cover, although we were perhaps not expecting Pierlugi Collina. PES's lack of licensing has been the story of seasons, but what can you do when a rival seals exclusive license deals with the governing bodies? Anyway, despite having arguably the most recognisable referee on the cover, not only is he nowhere to be found in the game, but the refereeing decisions in this game are consistently poor.

When the whistle has blown for a foul it is a telling that a card is going to be shown when the crowd turn on the noise. A player going down as a result from a sliding tackle regardless of ball contact or not seemingly risks receiving a card. The problem here is that the referees are not able to interpret whether there was intent or not from the human player, so their decisions favour those of the computer opponents.

Now while I don't mind the odd harsh decision, there are times when you get no second chance, which is plain unfair as nothing is done about their persistent fouling. The referee is also lenient as to blowing for a foul against them occasionally, which does not help as they are getting away with murder far too much for my liking. In the case of the rare injury, this is usually seen as a misfortune and cards are rarely produced here much to my dismay.

Aside from having the referee on their side, higher difficulty level computer opposition seem to pay no precise attention to players stats as a means to provide the competition. This means not only do they press fast and hard, but they can win and hold the ball too effectively, and are certain to be the quickest to react in dangerous situations.It's a shame that this is what brings about their advantage because the competition does not feel genuine this way. The football they play becomes predictable and I find that the major source of their goals comes down to capitilising on human errors or goalkeeper blunders, and rarely by means of sexy football. I should mention the inclusion of the 'Advantage' rule here but it is not implemented well and fails most of the time.

Moving into the final third it is important that the game correctly ensures that there is always that element of chance throughout play, in particular in front of goal so as to keep scores from being over-the-top. However I feel as if the shooting system wrongly equates length of shot with height, overlooking the need for the low and hard efforts. Apart from volleys and the like, the pace of shots are a bit off so it never feels as if shots are being struck as they should.

But the pace can be enough to trouble the goalkeepers, whom are below average in this game. While they are able to run off their line as you want, when exposed to the overhead ball here they couldn't be more casual as to how they run back and prevent the goal. They can throw themselves about but do not see long shots until much too late. They are also lazy to collect the ball heading out for a corner and tend to spill shots into dangerous positions. The way they deal with the ball in different situations seems inconsistent with one another, which undermines the physics of a football.

When I play I prefer to win a game strictly through open play so I hate penalties, and I do not like them in this game. Taking a penalty involves pressing/holding a direction (or not), and even though luck is still a factor, there is no placement of the ball other than the general direction. What also makes it not so convincing is that there is none of those side-footed efforts, the way the ball is kicked makes it look as if a kid provided the motion capture. In regular play the animation is smooth but there are times when certain passes do not look natural as players kick the ball using the other areas of their foot I do not expect to see.

Free-kicks are okay and are tricky to score from as would be expected. My gripe is that when making a pass from the free-kick there are situations where you cannot target a player to pass to, so the pass leads to a loss of possession.

In this game the resemblence of a player can be seen to be closest to their real-life counterparts for a number of top players, while those for the lesser ones you could find amusing. You can of course change how they appear along with many other aspects in the edit mode, as well as correct those fake player and team names. The commentary as ever is not up to scratch. Not only does it fail to overlap so that anything noteworthy becomes delayed or is absent, here what they do describe sometimes fails to relate to proceedings. The crowd noise is okay, but it's clear that when the action is in the final third of the pitch this turns up their volume.

I bought this game when my uncle was staying over at our house. It was one game I knew he was familiar with so I thought it would be fun to compete. I rarely play football games with more than 2 players simultaneously because it gets confusing playing in the same team switching players. You can of course organise a tournament. Also there is the chance to set up a game so that everyone controls one player for the duration of the match which I would like to do one day. One player may not be as fun, but I find it addictive because I like to prove myself in every match that I play.

While I find that the style of football in PES3 is not so attack oriented, what the game has to it's advantage are those negotiation setting options. Like any other game in the series, this is a solid game which captures what the beautiful game is about.  

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