The best just keeps on getting better as Pro Evolution Soccer 2 arrives...

It’s been a barren time for football fans, having to make do with EA’s offering during the World Cup was at times unbearable; however fear not because the daddy of all football games is nearly upon us. <br /> <br /> Pro Evolution Soccer 2 is the latest title in the critically acclaimed Pro Evolution series from Konami and based on the Japanese title, Winning Eleven 6, which cheered us up during the World Cup and earned a Perfect 10 all that time ago. <br /> <br /> So what you should already know is that the Pro Evolution Soccer series is the true king of the football genre, no questions asked. You can have your luscious looking FIFA and This Is Football, because the Pro Evolution games truly are football. I can think of no other genre so dominated by one title as this, Pro Evolution Soccer 2 is gaming perfection and every football-loving fanatic out there should not be without. <br /> <br /> Perhaps it’s the way that you feel totally in control of everything you do on the pitch, without the stilted nature of other titles; perhaps it’s the way that players look and behave just like their real-life counterparts, so you’ll find Beckham drifting in 40 yard passes in his sleep and Owen terrorising defences; perhaps it’s the simply sublime control system that helps to create the most enjoyable gaming moments you’ll have in your life; perhaps it’s simply because the Pro Evolution Soccer games are the nearest to gaming perfection we’ve ever seen. <br /> <br /> Like its predecessor before it, Pro Evolution Soccer 2 has undergone a number of enhancements during its lengthy translation from Winning Eleven 6. In particular the tussles between players for the ball have been immensely improved and more balanced, players no longer fall over all the time and because of the increase in animation midfield battles look totally convincing. <br /> <br /> When we first received Winning Eleven 6 we were confused to find that Konami had reduced the run buttons to the two right shoulder buttons. This system now gives you greater scope for tricks, feints, and sprints because it’s a lot tighter then before. If like us you thought there was no way they could improve the controls, think again, Pro Evolution Soccer 2 feather-like controls work like a dream. <br /> <br /> Whilst the controls have been tightened, that’s not the only gameplay improvement as the game now runs quicker and more fluid then ever before. When it was first announced that this latest version ran at a quicker pace we were worried, worried because visions of arcade styled gameplay entered our heads. Well fear not, although the pace has quickened it’s so subtly implemented that you’ll barely recognise it. What it does do is create a much smoother and fluid game, when you’re good you’ll be flying down the wings, taking on defenders, jinxing inside and launching a 40 yard shot into the top corner, quite honestly it doesn’t get any better then that. <br /> <br /> So the game controls even better then before, there have been a number of enhancements and modifications and it works better then ever. However off the pitch there have also been a number of additions and modifications. The superb Master League mode (whereby you take a club through a season), has been completely overhauled and now features three divisions and a wonderful transfer system, which takes into account transfer windows, players decisions and the ability to loan players. It’s quite difficult for a newcomer to understand what’s so great about Pro Evo because everything is so subtle, however the new Training Mode will quickly bring players up to scratch. It looks very similar to the training system in ISS on the SNES all those years back, there’s a variety of different challenges from dribbling around cones to free-kick training, all designed to get you into the joy of Pro Evo, so now there’s no reason to even think FIFA. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately there are a number of grumbles purely at a cosmetic level. Firstly the visuals haven’t seen any real enhancements, and look a poor third compared to the wonderful looks of FIFA and This Is Football. Perhaps it’s Konami saying that ‘Gameplay is King’, however the experience would be all the better if we had superb visuals and attention to the smaller details such as subs running around the outside of the pitch, coaches hugging the touchlines, etc… There’s not a bad word that can be said about the animation however, possibly the single element that ensures Pro Evolution Soccer 2 is the most realistic football you’ll find. No matter whether it’s taking a forty yard shot or a two-footed challenge, everything looks as it should, chuck in unique player animations such as Beckham lifting his arm before a free-kick and you’ll begin to forget about the so-so character models and stadiums. <br /> <br /> Unforgivably the team line-ups aren’t up to date in the version that we’ve received, so there’s no Rio Ferdinand propping up Manchester United defence and the blob they call Ginola is still at Aston Villa. That would have to be the major grumble with the game, whilst the FIFPRO license grants them some rights, we still have to play as Aragon for Manchester Untied (!) and get used to seeing the likes of Gigsi for Ryan Giggs. It really is a minor niggle, but that’s all there is stopping Pro Evolution Soccer 2 from being absolute perfection. Seeing as one of the games main strengths is that every player is unique with an armful of attributes - provided by Sports Interactive they of Champ Man fame – that guarantee’s they play just like their real-life counterparts, the illusion is spoilt by the commentator calling them a stupid name. Hopefully the FA will sit up and take notice that we want Konami to gain the official license from EA, however I think West Brom have as much chance of winning the Premiership. <br /> <br /> On the sound front things are surprisingly good. Although the usual bizarre phrases do spout out, the two commentators do a good job of keeping up with the action and even stop and start between phrases. It’s still not amazing and you’ll probably find yourself turning it off, but it’s good to see them taking a step in the right direction. A nice feature is the way that you can alter the Commentators stance to favour the Home or Away side, just like Big Ron on a Man Utd game in Europe you can expect them to get very favourable when you set them on your side. On the other hand the crowd effects are up to their usual high standards, each team has a number of chants that they spout out, whilst it also takes into account whether you’re playinmg home or away.