Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (PS2)

...new kid on the block, Pro Evolution Soccer, with such amazing concepts as 'hyper intelligent A.I.' and 'more real than real-life gameplay' and FIFA began to look a little… well, dated.

Of course, Pro Evolution Soccer was by no means an overnight success - the series did in fact begin as I.S.S. back on the Super Nintendo. Indeed, if you take into account that the series has adopted more names than Prince down the years (I.S.S. Pro, ...
...10 years. But it was Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (PES4), the subject of this review, that was the first version of Konami's acclaimed football dynasty to actually outsell EA's normally-untouchable FIFA franchise when they went head-to-head; it proved a real victory for word-of-mouth - gradually, magazines and hardcore gamers alike were able to give the series the advertisement that Konami seemed unwilling to produce for their own masterpiece, and with ... more

Once upon a time in the lands of gaming (or to be more precise, the early nineties), there was a wonderful football game called Sensible Soccer, which occupied many a console and many a gamers heart. But time waits for no game, and when FIFA first appeared in 1994 with such incredible concepts as 'real team names' and something called 'the offside rule', Sensi Soccer began to look a little… well, simple.

Fast-forward a decade to 2004. FIFA has been occupying gamers consoles (if not their hearts) for ten years, always coming out as the top-seller each Christmas (except for 2000 and the unfeasible popularity of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cash-cow). But time waits for no game as they say, and in its complacency, FIFA didn't notice the new kid on the block, Pro Evolution Soccer, with such amazing concepts as 'hyper intelligent A.I.' and 'more real than real-life gameplay' and FIFA began to look a little… well, dated.

Of course, Pro Evolution Soccer was by no means an overnight success - the series did in fact begin as I.S.S. back on the Super Nintendo. Indeed, if you take into account that the series has adopted more names than Prince down the years (I.S.S. Pro, I.S.S. Pro Evolution, Pro Evolution Soccer to name but a few), there have actually been more than 10 editions in the last 10 years. But it was Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (PES4), the subject of this review, that was the first version of Konami's acclaimed football dynasty to actually outsell EA's normally-untouchable FIFA franchise when they went head-to-head; it proved a real victory for word-of-mouth - gradually, magazines and hardcore gamers alike were able to give the series the advertisement that Konami seemed unwilling to produce for their own masterpiece, and with a fifth instalment doing better than ever, all seems rosy.

On paper at least, PES4 is your average footie simulation - 80 club-sides and 57 national teams make for better reading than PES3, though its certainly nothing FIFA hasn't offered for the last five or six years, and many of the national teams (Germany, Czech Republic) are not licensed and therefore don't carry real player names. There's an exhibition mode, a training setup and various league and cup options; but again, these are standard fare these days. There are 3 elements that make PES4 (and its more recent predecessors) stand out from the crowd - its gameplay, its multiplayer and the Master League mode.

I'll make no bones about it - PES4 is not an easy game to pick up and play, and that's perhaps why the more accessible FIFA games were always more popular amongst the casual gamer. PES4 isn't about 10-0 wins - it's a football game that really makes you think about your actions and graft out your victories. Scoring a goal through one method of attack doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to score again using the same tactic; defenders are quick to learn your attack patterns, and so don't expect to charge through on pace alone. Speed may have worked in other football games down the years, but here you are encouraged to craft your goals; passing the ball around trying to expose gaps in the oppositions defence; drawing a foul in the penalty area after a trip from a careless defender; or sneaking a through-ball between the opponents last line of defence, seeing your striker dummy the keeper win a feint and tap it coolly into the net. It manages to create an astounding feeling of satisfaction in the player as you score each and every goal. There are times when you realise there are hundreds of different ways to score, and yet all are so difficult to fulfil in their own manner.

PES4 is a beloved of the fans as it recreates the tension and atmosphere of real football matches to near-perfection. I don't consider myself the biggest fan of the sport, but within a matter of minutes of beginning a match I find myself swearing myself blue at the referees for an unjust booking or ridiculously-unfair offside decision. As each and every player in the game has a remarkable wealth of individual statistics that cover 'attack' and 'defend', 'stamina' and 'speed', and 'teamwork' and 'mentality', they are all individual in the true sense of the word. What makes PES4 such a wonderful (but consequently often maddening) imitation of the sport is its mixture of the unpredictable (players blasting shots into the stands when you simply wished them to tap it in the bottom-corner, passes going astray, deflected goals, goalkeepers fumbling under-pressure) and the moments of magic such as the occasions that see you dribbling past a number of defenders and chipping the keeper to score in the cheekiest, most glorious manner imaginable mean its more often than not a superlative, gripping experience.

What marks it out from its predecessor(s)? Well, the pace of the action is slightly faster than previously, and whilst PES4 has been criticised for this, I found it took little time to adjust and ultimately one-touch passing became more fluid and less difficult to execute. Graphics and sound are slight improvements from before, as are the overall player movements and control, which is good news for fans. On a more negative note, the shot power-bar is still notoriously sensitive - even a slight nudge can sometimes send the ball into the crowd, and my opinion Konami should revert to the system used in the later PSOne games, whereby skill is still paramount but shots a little easier to judge. Free-kicks meanwhile are still ludicrously difficult to master (I've only ever scored 2 or 3 in what must have been several hundred attempts!) and penalties still have no power or direction bars, meaning a shot may be missed through no fault of the gamer. The A.I. still (at times) employ the annoying tactic of running vertically towards the touchline, so as to ensure they cannot be tackled, and even in 5 minute matches, they often seem intent on passing it around their midfield playing keep-ball rather than trying to attack. Fortunately, the Edit mode has been improved; making the changing of players and team placements is far less difficult than in Pro Evo 3, and therefore meaning for a lot less needless fiddling about on menu screens. Though PES4 can't match certain games for licences, it at least out-strides its predecessors for proper teams, though many club-names have to be altered to fit the bill in terms of true authenticity.

The multiplayer mode is bliss, as it retains all the drama and depth of the one-player experience, without any of the questionable A.I. tactics. Should you and your friend prove quite attack-minded, it can make for some breathless end-to-end action - my most memorable time included a 3-3 draw in a Milan derby, whereby I eventually lost a hilarious penalty shoot-out 10-9, after even the keepers had taken their shots. Whether winning or losing, PES4 has a magical 'one-more-go' factor to it that grips like a vice - it's amazingly addictive.

Not only do the players behave in a realistic way, they also look eerily like their real-life counterparts too - the Italian's with their greasy hair-do's and Del Piero with his silver boots, Edgar David's with his glasses, Rio Ferdinand with his dreadlocks - even the faces look remarkably accurate for the most part. The level of animations is also hugely impressive, as players show disgust at being booked, stumble or writhe around after a tackle, hang their heads at missed opportunities and sulk off when defeated - it's these little things that make the game so realistic as a whole.

Not so convincing however is the commentary, which still lacks variety comes out sounding more like some bawdy innuendo at times ("He's looking for a free man!" and "I felt that tackle up here!" spring to mind), and whilst Peter Brackley at least sounds like he belongs chiefly, Trevor Brooking is over the top, unproductive and quite useless really. Oh well, not even PES is entirely perfect…

So it looks and plays like a dream - how does its lifespan hold up? Fortunately, that too is assured, and though it seems more of an 'update' than an 'evolution' of PES3 in truth, the revamped Master League alone warrants the games purchase. Taking a club team of your choice, you must work your way up through the lower league, with the ultimate aim of winning the 'WEFA' (or European) Cup and taking your team to the top of the rankings. In this mode, players age over time and therefore improve/depreciate depending on their age. Therefore, you must discover the right balance of experience and youth to best suit your team; whilst contracts must be debated; players bought and sold and money monitored. The better your results, the greater your earnings, though its game over if you can't pay the wages come the end of a season.

More good news - PES4 is only £9.99 on play.com now, and though I don't normally recommend very tough games to the youngsters, Pro Evolution Soccer 4 may well be just the ticket for those looking for a high-class, progressive challenge, and with six difficulty settings, its guaranteed to keep 'em off the streets for a good while too. Needless to say, its every bit as good a game for the 'grown-ups' too, though given the hysteria that surrounds each new instalment, I probably didn't need to tell you that.

Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is ultimately another successful continuation of by the far the best football-game series around. It captures with it all the excitement of a crushing victory, the pain of defeat to a last-minute goal and all that's in-between, and what's more it does it with finesse and buckets of style - it looks a peach, has gameplay that's been honed to perfection, a Master League for long-term fun and a multiplayer mode that will last more or less forever. Or at least until you buy PES5. Absolutely essential.
 

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