The PES franchise is a shadow of it's former self.
Something went wrong in 2008 though. The first edition of PES to make it's way onto the PS3 was a big step backwards for the franchise. The A.I was dumb, there was lag, it wasn't as good looking or sounding as it should have been. I remember never having been more disappointed with a game, since I had awaited the arrival of PES on the PS3 with baited breath.
2009 certainly brought some improvements. It looked and sounded better, had improved menus and slightly smarter AI. It wasn't up to the standard of 2007, but it was starting to get back on the right track. I therefore had high hopes once again for 2010.
Suffice to say, Konami have disappointed once more. The A.I in 2010 is shockingly poor. CPU players often make senseless decisions, such as running away from passes rather than to them, or even running out of the path of an opposition player approaching with the ball. And the goalkeepers! WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THE GOALKEEPERS?! Never in any soccer game have there been dumber keepers. They dive the wrong way, deflect the ball into the goal, run out of the box leaving the goal exposed, or worst of all, just stand there staring while the ball trickles past them and into the net. Once, when playing against a friend, his goalkeeper actually lifted his leg to allow a slowly rolling ball into the goal.
Another thing I find extremely frustrating this time around is that the CPU sometimes won't let you select the defender that you want. This occasionallly results in goals being conceded that could otherwise have easily been prevented, adding to the frustration.
One last complaint is the commentary. Please Konami, fix it. One thing EA has always gotten right is the FIFA commentary. In PES, year after year we get irrelevant commentary such as "Well, I just can't see them coming back from this" when it's 1-0 after 10 mins. Or "That was nowhere near the goal" when the shot hit the post. At least I can say the OST is much improved this year, and features a few big names. That's one thing Konami have learned.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game. I've focused this review on the negative points, because this series truly needs an overhaul in several key areas. However I still give it a 7.5 (though this was once my favourite series, worthy of 9.5s), as I've still spent many an hour playing PES 2010 online, much as I did with PES 2009. The gameplay, apart from the CPU errors, is still quite realistic and addictive, although I must say FIFA has caught up a lot in this regard. 2010 is the best looking PES ever too, with players actually resembling their real life counterparts (finally). I keep going back and playing it online, if only because it's been my favourite soccer game series for the last 5 years or so, and I don't want to have to readjust to FIFA controls. PES is still fun and addictive for the most part and one of the best soccer games available, its just marred by stupidity of the AI.
So come on, stop being lazy bums Konami, give us dedicated PES fans what we deserve. Take PES back to it's glory days!