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Great entry in the PES series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This review is for the XBOX360 US version of the game.

Pro Evolution Soccer is the game formerly known as Winning Eleven in the US. This year the reviews are worse than usual and that made me think something went wrong with the game. But I liked the gameplay from the XBOX Live demo and after buying the full game, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is a significant step forward for the series. I think what might have happened is that the European version, which was released earlier, had more glitches that have been fixed by the time of the later US release.

If you're new to this series, what you can expect to find is the richest game of football there is. If what you're looking for in a sports game is gameplay, then this is the game for you - the responsiveness of players leads to situations that will still have the potential of surprising you after tens of hours of play, and that is what matters for a sports simulation. Graphically, the game looks very good (but not exceptional) and I have not encountered any framerate issues in over 30 hrs of play so far.

If you've been playing Winning Eleven before, here are the highlights for this version:

- it's really the first next-gen version for XBOX 360 - the previous version was just a port with higher resolution graphics, widescreen support, and missing features (couldn't save replays, restricted editing, etc.)
- player models have been upgraded and look more realistic than before
- there are significant AI changes - players hold formation differently than before and they learned some new tricks
- players are a bit more responsive and can be controlled earlier - you can now avoid missing a pass because your player was waiting for the ball
- shooting controls are not as sensitive as they used to be - this is good, because in previous versions any harder button press would result in a ball way over the goal
- the missing features have been all added back, so this is now as complete a package as it was on the old-gen consoles (not as many stadiums as before, but there are some new ones)

This may not sound like much on paper, but if you have played the game before, you'll notice all these changes and their positive impact once you start playing the game a little.

Gameplay is criticized by some as being too fast. That is probably true, but it's easy to get used to the speed and once you get used to it and with what it allows you to do, you'll find anything else sluggish in comparison.

What is missing? I would like to see more AI improvements so that my team mates would be more proactive at pressuring the opponent. The auto cursor switch could also be improved - this has always been a nagging point with all football games I played - I wish someone would really nail this - today I play with manual cursor switch.

A note on the online play - I only tried this once and that time was horrendous. I didn't try it again, so if online play is important for you, look for more opinions on that.

For those hesitating between FIFA and PES: I gave up on the FIFA games a few years back because FIFA games place a larger emphasis on longer animations at the detriment of player responsiveness. Moving between FIFA and PES, what I always noticed is that in PES there is more action per square foot than in FIFA. Also, in terms of animation, PES is much richer - just look at what happens when players bump into each other in PES vs their behavior in FIFA. Of course, YMMV, so my suggestion is to download both game demos from XBOX Live and give them a serious try. Play them for extended periods of time (several hours) and see which one provides you with more fun.

Excelent game with awesome grafics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a excelent game toplay with 4 or 8 or 2 friends... have amazing really tricks moves, for me better than FIFA08, playbility it awesome and very fastest game, maybe 4x more fast than FIFA08, i have both... to me this is better game.

The only thing that i don't like to much is in XBOX LIVE, you can only play with other person in a single game, this means one to one (1vs1) this game doesn't come with play pro like FIFA, but it still my prefer game...

Thnx, and sorry about my english, I'm venezuelan

Keep in touch...

A REVIEW FOR THE CASUAL GAMER

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

So you don't play sports video games usually? Then this is the review for you! I gave this game a spin when I saw it lying around the office and figured I'd give it a chance. So here's what I thought of it:

GAMEPLAY: 3.5/5 -- As far as the basics go, it's thankfully intuitive. And the large button-map that shows during the load screen is a lifesaver!
The AI (at least on beginner) automatically selects whatever player of yours is closest to the ball for you to control. And what if the ball goes somewhere else? Then the AI warps you to the next closest player.
Stealing the ball away can be a bit tiring, as I found myself constantly mashing the "run" and "tackle" buttons to get the ball. It works well, but again, very tiring on the thumbs.
Shooting and blocking shots was also pretty easy for a beginner like me.
Of course, there were more advanced difficulty levels and tactics for more "hardcore" soccer fans to take advantage of.

GRAPHICS: 3/5 -- Blah. The soccer players look about as detailed as store mannequins and in individual close-ups they always do the same actions (rub the nose, wipe the sweat off their brow).
There are multiple stadiums to play in, but when the camera angle is usually focused straight down, I honestly couldn't tell the difference from one to another.
I did notice that frame skipping during replays, but honestly I didn't feel like it detracted that much. Good replay mode--reminded me of the one in the old PC game X-Wing.

SOUND: 2.5/5 -- The roaring of the crowd got extremely annoying, so I turned that down and listened to the commentary. Two very annoying Brits who say the same things over and over again. Not sure if there is a feature to unlock more commentators but that would certainly be something to consider in future versions of this game.

FUN: 3/5 -- How much do you like soccer? Your answer to this question will greatly determine how much fun you have. I certainly felt some accomplishment after scoring a goal . . . or 8!

OVERALL: 3/5 -- I'd say rent this one first, see how you like it and then go from there. Pretty easy to catch on to for the casual gamer and it looks like it has plenty of advanced stuff for the hardcore.

The best so far...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

After I saw most of the reviews for this game i was pretty sure that I wouldnt buy it. But I did anyway because the PES series have always been good. At first, I felt like throwing this thing outta window, but as time went by I got used to it. Then, I started noticing the substantial improvement it had from the last version. Here are the pros e cons about the gameplay. I figure you guys probably know that it is still lacking the real names for many englsih clubs and the german league. So I am only gonna talk about the gameplay:

cons:
1 - lags a lot in xbox live...because it requires more broadband capability...if 2 ppl tha thave good internet connection play it wont happen...
2 - Aesthtically speaking the game is a bit worse too...the image of the players runnig is a little funky and the player's arms are way too big for them
3 - the referee's whistle is annoying...

pros:
1 - much more realistic ...it is harder to go around and dribble everyone from the oppositie team
2 - the shots are better directed
3 - the overall representation of player's quality is better...
4 - the section on tactics and formation are better represented in the field

Overall, this game is still very good and I dont even touch my 2007 anymore...i might take some time but it is gonna feel as good as the previous...If they keep the same idea for the 2009 version with the arrangements that they already know they have to do it will be the best footbal game ever!

getting there

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

the gameplay is what PES is known for, and by my account it is still great, the only real letdown is the lack of detail, the commentary gets very repetitive and is not really geared for first and second half difference (it says the game is almost over when its merely almost halftime) other than these little quirks, the game is great. It would be great for Konami to make sure the game is more polished.

Still great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'd heard plenty of criticism from the British and Australian/New Zealand gamers about this game when it came out back in late October. After playing this year's version of PES 2008, it became clear to me what the real issues with this game were. While the gameplay and game mechanics are still top notch, they also went slightly downhill this year. I was just fine with the presentation, but some of the finer details in the game make it more obvious how lazy Konami are. They haven't released an effective patch to fix the replays, and they haven't added anything new to the game in awhile. Online is where 90% of the complaints for PES 2008 come from, as it is completely unplayable. The truth is that PES is still king when it comes to offline play, but Konami are resting on their laurels at the moment and don't impress me. While I love this game, this might also be the last PES I buy as it's obvious this series isn't improving at all.

Still solid but at the same time still the same issues

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 23, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is still the front runner of soccer games - great controls and realistic play. But it still suffers from the same old issues - horrendous replay system (lousy frame rate for replays too), janky menus and pretty lousy soundtrack. But those are all secondary to the spot on gameplay. If only they'd just get those team licenses and remap some of those buttons so you don't go for a boot and end up fouling with a slide tackle!

Better than FIFA? Not by a long shot.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Better than FIFA? Not by a long shot.

There was a lot of hype around PES 2008 which won me over from the FIFA crowd and, honestly, while there are naturally some fun moments to be had with PES (I mean, soccer is soccer) I really can't wait to go back. PES 2008 is one of the most uninspired and frustrating soccer experiences I have ever had with a soccer game.

Let's start with the basics. Before I even had the opportunity to play my first game there were some things about PES that struck me as lackluster. The menus and prompts look like something out of Playstation 1...borderline Sega Genesis. Also, the music is overly repetitive, bland, and feels dated. Sure you can import your own songs, but who has the kind of time? Besides, we're here for soccer.

The controls are frequently horrendous. Your only defense is to stab or slide and 9/10 times committing the latter will result in a yellow card or red card, regardless of how badly you clip the player or even if you get all ball. Regardless of the situation, if you want to change direction with the ball, your player will step on the ball to stop it and will usually have the ball stolen from him by an opposition player. Taking a shot pretty much requires teeing up the ball and is a slow, frustrating process. Your players absolutely are incapable of passing or shooting a ball on the fly, which is extremely unrealistic given the fact that I've been playing at Wayne Rooney, Ronaldinho, and some of the other greats of today.

The officiating is frequently unrealistic because it is all based on computers and not realistic situations. If your player runs from an offsides position all the way to the other side of the field (as in, near his own goal) and receives a pass, the offsides will be called which is technically correct but, nonetheless, a call you will never see executed in an actual game. Never. If that doesn't sound like a big deal to you, then how about this: Several times I took a shot and the goalkeeper deflected it out of bounds...for a goal kick! What the deuce? Similar situations involving an opposition defender kicking the ball away from you and out of bounds will also result in either a goal kick or an opposition throw-in depending on the nature of the play. Unbelievable.

The commentary in this game is so poor and negative, above all things, that they really should have just omitted it entirely. And I have yet to find a reliable way to limit the commentary. Adjusting it in the sound options doesn't do anything (at least not when you're playing a match of short 5-10 minute halves) and you always get the same handful of lines regardless of the situation, but like I said, the sheer "negativeness" of the commentary is the most infuriating thing. If you take an amazing shot that misses by even an inch, the commentary automatically deduces that it was a "horrible shot" and you really should have "utilized your other players more". If you try to dribble the goalkeeper in the box and miss by a foot or so, the commentator might say "oh, he'd be lucky to score from there." What, from seven feet out? Stupid.

Anyway, a million other things need work on this game that I won't go into but the long story short is that this game is not worth your money and stick with FIFA or perhaps PES on a different console if you want to play real soccer. The X-BOX 360 version is awful and I really wish I could get my forty bucks back. Oh well.

Most disappointed PES ever

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am a PES die hard fan since winning eleven 6, but PES 08's online play is really very absolutely HORRIBLE, how can Konami makes this one's online play worse than PES 07. If you enjoy offline play, this is the one for you, but if you prefer online play, AVOID it and save your $ for PES 09 (hopefully they will make next one better). Despite online play, this game will be worth 4.5 star.

Same old PES/Winning11 with known issues

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing winning11 since 4 years ago on PS2 and it's by far the best soccer game out there. I've tried playing the newer versions of Fifa and they hav improved a lot since the old Fifa days but it's still no match for PES/WE11.

In PES2008, you can expect the same buttons, gameplay, shots, passes, goalkeeping (still easy to score if u do lob shot) and dribbling. There are a few more "tricks" you can do with dribbling but they are not changing the overall aspect of the game. The gameplay is still nicely linked and does not feel much different from older versions.

The biggest issues with PES2008 is the frame rate issues on the replay which is one of my fav. parts of older vers of PES/WE11. But now the replays are choppy and impossible to enjoy after you score a goal.

Playing on Live is horrible. The lag is unbearable and you can't play a game without balls disappearing left and right. Online playing is just not possible and fun at this point.

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