Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (PS2) > Reviews (45)

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is actually the *tenth* installment of Konami's hit football series. Winning Eleven publishes every summer in Japan, is then localized and optimized, renamed and shipped here to Europe, only to go through the same procedure again in order to find its way to American stores as "World Soccer: Winning Eleven [Number]". Even if incessant touring like this hampers the likes of Real Madrid, it apparently works just fine for PES as it just keeps getting better and better. Although it is forever doomed to sell less than the impeccably presented FIFA, Pro Evolution will not have to worry about coming in first to the educated football fan's heart for at least one more year.

***The Gameplay***

There is one thing and one thing only that sets Pro Evolution apart and makes it the choice game for virtually all video-game-football competitions: the incredible gameplay. Thankfully, since this is football we are dealing with, that is what it all really comes down to. The depth, the diversity and the authenticity all guarantee an amazing gaming session. The only catch is that it's not very friendly to the new user.

Of course, as always, an excellent tutorial exists that covers everything, from the most basic controls of moving around to intricate dribbling. Any gamer will be able to play a more beautiful game of football after going through the Step-by-Step Training, instead of just hoping to get lucky with a corner kick. Unfortunately, people who own the game usually ignore this part completely and those who don't would understandably want to play a "real" match instead of training. All this much to my dismay, as silly questions like "How do you do the Marseille Spin/360o?" always manage to out-shout the lively in-game crowd and no mute button is available.

Important questions also arise, with "Why did my shot ended up outside the stadium?" easily being the most popular. All Pro Evolutions feature insanely sensitive shooting controls and this one is no different. Using the Square button you determine the power of the shot, with the respective bar going up extremely fast and even faster when the player you control is running, using his weaker foot, heavily marked, tired or trying for a first-time shot. You shouldn't watch the bar to determine when to release the button, which is a common mistake. It's more about timing it in your head, with millisecond presses for low shots and a millisecond later for top-corner blasts.

It will be difficult at first, but shooting is also the most artistic aspect of the game and where the greatest satisfaction lies. After all, it's all about scoring goals, eh? If they happen to be spectacular all the better!

Depending on the direction of your stick, your footballer will try to shoot for either corner, or the center of the goal. Adding the fact that there are two types of lob-shots that can be tried at any time, at the press of a trigger button and you have the wide range of shooting options a real player has when trying to score.

Some efforts are less likely to succeed from certain spots, but this is just another area where real-life familiarization with football comes in handy in PES. Knowing your footballers helps immensly, as Nedved has little problem of unleashing piledrivers with either foot, while with Rivaldo you'd be better served using his precious left.

An understanding of physics is required for answering the other common inquiry "Why didn't my player pass when I pressed the button?". X is used for passing and the Triangle for through-balls. Since PES strives for realism, it doesn't utilize the insta-passing of other titles, whereas a player would magically pass the ball even if he had just flicked it running forwards. If you started trapping the ball towards another direction before pressing the button, that move will need to be completed before the next one begins. Fast passing requires fast thinking and reflexes, but not doing either doesn't mean you won't enjoy the game; just that you'll be intercepted more often.

The passing is great, especially if you take advantage of the pressure-sensitive buttons. Ideally, the person to which you pass the ball is determined by the *pressure* with which you hit the button, with easy strokes for nearby teammates and harder for those further away. Inarguably the smartest use of DualShock 2's pressure sensitivity this side of Gran Turismo.

All crossing is done using the cycle, with the number of taps determining the flight of the ball; 3 taps equaling a low cross. Heading is the part of the game in which you have the least control over, yet it still doesn't drop to the levels encountered in FIFA. Using the appropriate buttons you mimic respective headers, passing, lobbing or even diving ones. The problem for scoring headers is, you have limited time to position your player, you chose a direction and then you *hope* it goes inside. The outcome is mostly up to the footballer's skill and random chance. Bicycle kicks also happen much in the same way, but they also look much cooler.

"Why do I foul all the time?" was an increasingly asked question as Pro Evolutions progressed, but Konami took good measures to eradicate it this year. Holding X while defending automatically "homes" your player at the opponent in possession and then takes defensive action, from simple taps to hit the ball to blatant shirt-pulling. Gamers embraced this Mecca of defending and Konami continuously increased the amount of fouling when employing it, in an effort to diminish its use. Old habits die hard and the only thing that accomplished was to heavily slower the pace of the game, due to the exponential amount of fouls called.

For Pro Evolution 6 Konami took a different approach, in simply reducing the effectiveness of the "X defense". Pressing now fouls much less and makes for a very quicker game, but defending is also harder and definitely requires more use of sliding tackles.

Sliding tackles are performed with the Circle button, with their efficacy and style varying greatly from player to player.

You might try a clumsy Peter Crouch tackle but the committed efforts of John Terry are a much better sight for the eyes. Different referees have different views as to what they'll call a foul, but they universally make the occasional error of whistling when the defender clearly hits the ball, then the legs of the opposition player. They play the advantage well, now without the yellow on-screen sign of yesteryears but with a nice in-game animation. A new Quick-Execution option is available when pressing R1 and L1 at once, a nifty trick that doesn't allow the defenders much time to reorganize, but not terribly useful.

Free-kicks are, once again, a delight, being slightly improved in crossing efforts and remaining virtually unchanged and equally amazing for direct shots. Roughly the same controls as normal play are used, with the control stick also adding curvature. Routines with two-man executions are available through the usage of trigger buttons and the power-bar is a bit more tolerable. Once more, different players execute free-kicks differently, with some preferring power, some finesse and some, like Lyon's Juninho Pernambucano, a lethal combination of both.

I've mentioned several times that different players behave differently as this is another major aspect of Pro Evolution. While as far as visual representation is concerned PES doesn't hold a candle to FIFA, the opposite is true for gameplay matters. In FIFA the only prevailing characteristic that changes from player to player is the speed and that is no exaggeration. For Pele's shake, every player shoots equally as well with either foot! In Pro Evolution Soccer, Maradona would sooner try his trademark left-foot-behind-right shot rather than unleash one with his weak right.

Minor details like this apply for more players than you'd think, but there is also a solid stat-based formula for every one of them, making sure that Wayne Rooney has far less inaccurate shots than Gary Neville and Patrick Vieira passes better than Marcelo Zalayeta. What's more to say of a system so intricate, that a player's ability is taken into consideration when the referee decides whether or not to produce a card?

The fantastic Artificial Intelligence, ranging in 5 difficulty levels, also assures that when having two computer teams play each other you'll get a very realistic interpretation of football, actually imitating the way these particular teams play. It won't be difficult to mistake for the real thing either, as the graphics are pretty decent especially for the licensed leagues, which are: Liga Espaniola (Spain), Serie A (Italy), Ligue 1 (France) and Eredivisie (Holland).

Some more clubs have been individually licensed, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Rangers, Celtic, Galatasaray, Juventus, Benfica, Sporting and Olympiacos, as well as a plethora of International Teams, like Argentina, Czech Republic, England and Sweden.

Unfortunately, players that play in unlicensed teams are depicted as a similarly named and looking "clone" of themselves.

Although everything can be edited, the sheer amount of players that don't have likenesses rights and the sometimes deceiving names, especially in the "Classic" teams, makes it difficult to "correct" more than your favourite clubs.

Although they do perform accurately, according to their counterparts' abilities, the made-up names are definitely something that distracts from the overall experience, particularly since most English clubs suffer from it. It assuredly is the most valid gripe concerning this almost flawless game.

***The Game Modes***

Up to 8 players can join the fun in all but the previously mentioned practice mode. There are 57 International Teams, plus 7 of the "Legend" type and 120 Club Teams, plus 2 populated with PES/WE staff members and 18 "empty" teams available for your customization. Standard Exhibition matches pit any two of them against each other and Cup and League modes exist in the pursuit of Silverware and PES. Various familiar and customizable formats exist, allowing the user to recreate World Cups and Euros. Pro Evolution also features special leagues involving each and every of the licensed divisions, complete with their own themed frames.

PES are special points that are awarded each time a game is played, training is completed and Cups are lifted. They are used to unlock hidden extras from the PES-Shop, like famous veterans and new stadiums. For the celebratory edition Konami included some weirder extras and opted to have the cherished different match-balls available from the beginning. Fans are sure to be pleasantly surprised.

Master League remains as the franchise's most stellar mode and a joyful way to earn PES. Users select, or create, their team and can either use existing players or, for a greater challenge, the archetypal Konami line-up of true underdogs, like Minanda and Castolo. The team is inserted in the Lower Division, challenges the Tiny Cup and can secure promotion to one of the four larger Leagues by finishing in the top two.

Points are awarded for winning, drawing and scoring goals, as well as more generous amounts for good league position and cup wins. These are your Funds, used to pay your squad's salary at the end of each season and for arranging transfers. Players' attributes improve when they play well and deteriorate as they get older, spicing up the sessions.

Seasons get progressively more packed, as the team promotes to the more heavily populated First Division and participates in a European competition, making squad depth and rotation welcome. There are two Negotiation Periods for contract renewals and transfers, in mid and pre-season. Friendly games can be scheduled in pre-season, with unique all-star teams, like Lefties, Oldies and Shorties, available for amusing encounters.

An auto-save feature is optional for the pathological cheater and winning the highest competition, the European Championship, is going to take at minimum 3 seasons. It's great and lasting entertainment.

It might be worth noting that panoramic views of the stadium, lit with fireworks, set the atmosphere in key cup moments, while the winning ceremonies remain unchanged, except they are now shown at double speed.

A special International Challenge mode also exists, that has you leading your National Team of choice to the "World Cup" and its conquest. It's flavoured with things like national paper clippings detailing your endeavours, but nothing really unique.

***The Sound***

Previous years' commentators return for the audio coverage and it's nothing remarkably different from last year's version. With FIFA adding more and more colour commentary for specific teams and stars, Pro Evolution seems to be falling a bit behind in this department.

Nevertheless, they try to be enthusiastic and they try valiantly to pronounce the Greek Internationals' names so it's a respectable effort. They could take a cue from the Japanese commentators, specifically the trick where they pronounce even the nonsense names of non-licensed players. Those names are made up to sound like their real-life counterparts when spoken and it's certainly something better to hear than "Number 10" and "Number 9".

Match sounds are top-notch and invigorate the experience, with only the crowd leaving a tiny room for improvement. The sounds the ball makes when it comes in contact with the woodwork, the net, the footballers, they are all perfect.

***The Other Versions***

Konami has designed every Pro Evolution so far specifically for the Playstation and its DualShock Controller. As such, it was always detracting to play with the original X-Box's controllers, be they the huge or monstrous version.

360o's controllers are more similar to the DualShock 2, yet the usage of the shoulder buttons is notably less comfortable. Most importantly, features have actually been cut rather than added for the 360o version and slightly better graphics doesn't nearly make up for the omission of the Edit mode.

Thus the only the only other version I could possibly recommend is a PC one, *if and only if* you have an adapter allowing the use of the DualShock 2. Even then, pressure sensitivity is ignored but the better graphics and online content can be considered as a fair trade-off.

***OVERALL***

Konami concludes its reign on the PS2 with another spotless evolution of the successful series. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 offers no groundbreaking improvements over the previous installments, but the faster flow, the celebratory extras and the fact that it marks, effectively, the end of an era, render it an important piece of Winning Eleven history. Definitely worthy of a spot in your collection, especially since even non-gamers can enjoy the endless multiplayer action

If only FIFA's awesome presentation combined with PES's gameplay brilliance, the resulting game would enthral even the most soccer-impaired Americans. But with no such merger possible, there is only one option for the knowledgeable gamer. After all, you don't watch matches for the halftime show.