Pro Evo makes it's return to the PSP - but was is it worth the upgrade? Find out in my review
- More game modes
- Better control.
- Reduced battery consumption
- Updated players stats and transfers
- Lots of nice tweaks that add to atmosphere
- highly addictive
Cons: - Still only supports 2-player ad-hoc - Some frame rate issues on wide view (esp. on multiplayer)
Pro Evolution Soccer is without a doubt the greatest footy sim but many PSP users felt a little short changed by the PES5 on their portable device. It was a very much cut down version that ate batteries for breakfast.
You'll be pleased to here that PES6 makes up for nearly all the shortcomings of the last edition. Tournaments and Master League make a welcome return adding huge amount of replayability. The graphics have been tweaked slightly but no major improvement as the box would have you believe. Gameplay has been improved with greater control of your players.
Players will notice a shift from favoring passing to dribbling. Formerly X was the most used button on the keypad as those short passes made it possible to get the ball all the way to your key striker to finish the move with a strike. Now you'll find that simple passes are more often intercepted so varying through-balls, short passes and crosses are needed. Dribbling has become easier as you have more control and you can now weave your way past several players into the box and score. More emphasis has been put on attack in this edition. I suspect this is in response to fans that struggled with many 0-0 results. Now games are often high scoring as defending is more difficult and dribbling is easier. Shooting from range has also become easier as players can really rocket shots from range. Gerrard is deadly!
As with every new addition of the PES franchise more finesse is required in both shooting and tackling. Shooting is slightly more sensitive and so it's very easy to sky it over the bar even from close range. Slide tackles need impeccable timing to not cause the referee to reach for his pocket.
The master league mode alone is enough reason to upgrade if you already have PES5 as this adds a new dimension to the gameplay. You become manager and buy and sell players to build up you squad and work your way from the bottom division to the dizzy heights of the top league.
One noteable change is the increase in sponsorship. Every replay is sponsored by Canon and Rebook and Adidas are featured on either load screens or ball types. Fortunately it's not too intrusive.
Nice new features include quick free kick allowing you to take a kick quickly without loading into the 3rd person view and catching your opponents unawares. There is also ball shielding to make it difficult for opponents to get the ball off you. You'll also noticed some audio commentry. It only happens when you score or conceed a goal but the commentator cheering your goal adds to the atmosphere. The crowd noises are less generic now too. When you play as England you can here them shouting Rooney's name and with Argentina you can here "Argentina! Argentina" a nice touch. PES6 also has all the correct player names from the outset, however, not all squads have the correct team names and emblems.
I am very pleased at the more efficient use of the UMD. PES5 constantly accessed the UMD and so drained batteries and was very noisy. PES6 rarely access the disc and so battery life is 4-5 times longer. Load times also seem slightly shorter but I haven't times so can't say for sure.
Unfortunatly, the game still doesn't support online play - only 2-player ad-hoc mode.