Gameplay
Penetrating balls
I was very excited to get PES5 back to my house for a play. I’d been accosted many times about the superiority of Pro Evolution to FIFA (not the least of which was by the editor of a well known UK Gaming magazine who scoffed at my ignorance and rightly refused me employment), and so I finally cracked. I eagerly wrenched open the box on my journey home and opened the manual for a quick insight into what I was about to face. After several seconds I closed the manual again and put it away; it was far too complicated for a mere mortal like myself to read. Luckily there is a lovely training option in the game which will take you through the techniques piece-meal and this was my first port of call.
The training is rather wonderful. It first explains what you can do, then it shows you a demo of how it looks when done properly, and finally it let’s you have a go yourself. After about half an hour I was quite happy with my skills and progressed straight to an exhibition game. They ran rings around me and I’d lost, 2 – 0.
This is definitely not FIFA. Initially you feel as though you have been presented with an arcade game from your local cinema, and the distinctly ‘Ridge-Racer’ soundtrack does nothing to dispel this. But after a few minutes you realize that this is more than an arcade game, it’s a simulation.
Changing Names
The amount of options available to you is frankly boggling and whole days can be wasted when customizing your team. You may want to do this when you begin as EA are hogging all the licenses AGAIN and so some of the teams, such as Manchester United, do not have their team name licensed. But you can edit it yourself, so you’ll probably want to do that. You can also edit the stadium names; again, some of them are not licensed (Old Trafford, anyone?).
Individual players can be customized in a variety of ways. You can change almost every part of their appearance; their face, weight, boots, socks, wristbands, hair etc. It’s a very nice feature – you don’t need to use it at any point, but it’s there if you do and has a nice depth. You can also edit the team badges because, you guessed it, they haven’t all been licensed! I’m not sure how the whole licensing thing works. If I name my team Manchester United using the editor, do I have to pay the club for the privilege? And if not, then why do Namco? Hmmm.
Okay, so that’s the basic customizing for those of an anally retentive persuasion. Now onto the juicy bits.
4-4-2, Sven, 4-4-2
Once in command of your team, there is an equally boggling selection of tactics and strategies to crawl through, enough to make even the most hardened of Championship Manger fanatics shed a small tear of joy. You can customize your setup in great detail – opt for a 4-4-2 formation and you will be able to specify whether you want it attacking or defensive and also you can specify where you want your men to be. You could set your midfield up as a diamond formation, or a line of 4, or quite a few other formations as well. It’s all very nice and easy and it can be vital in overcoming the opposition’s defense.
You also have the power to setup each individual player. You can specify which parts of his surrounding area you want him to prowl and whether you want him in an attacking or defensive stance. You can also set up tactics individually. For instance, you can set the attacking setup to a 4-4-2 aggressive play, and the defensive to a 5-3-2; and you can alternate between these in games. It’s great, you can set the team up to be good on the counter attack!
On with the games!
So, you’ve set your team up, given them all a Scouse mullet and told each and every one of them, in no uncertain terms, what they will be doing. You’ve brief the press and told them it’s all complete balls, and now your team marches proudly out into a massive stadium filled with cheering crowds and red flares. That’s as long as you’ve chosen some big teams; my friend and I choose an African side each for a game and found ourselves playing in the middle of the Congo with no audience at all!
But you’re ready. The whistle blows. You kick off.
The thing about Pro Evolution is that the play is glorious. Every game is different. There are no scripted set pieces which you can exploit again and again. And it’s bloody hard too. You really have to move the ball about and be possessive, slowly making your way towards the opposition’s goal, building up the play.
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