Although the brand new control scheme may be overwhelming at first once you get used to it you will find an amazing game
Worse graphics, tacked on waggle controls and terrible online play?
No, this time a developer has put effort into a Wii multi-plat game and has come up trumps.
First of all when you start the game you are immediately put into a basic tutorial mode which is needed if you're going to get used to the game. Once this is completed you will be taken to the main menu where there is the standard Match, League, Cup etc and an advanced tutorial mode if you want to become an expert.
The reason this game is amazing is because of the control scheme, you point and drag your player towards the direction you want them to run (you can also use the analogue stick) and if you point at another player and press B you will pass to them. Depending on how far the player is and if there are any players blocking the path depends on wether your player does a high pass or a low pass. This is where the controls work well, while you are running you can also drag other players into a better position and once they are there you can pass to them. You have the power to control every player on the pitch at the same time whereas in other versions you only control them one at a time. You can create pinpoint passes and it is really easy to play through balls and switch the ball to the other end of the pitch. To shoot you flick the nunchuk, the harder you flick it the stronger the shot is. If you flick the wii remote instead of the nunchuk you will do a lob shot instead of a normal one.
While you're attacking in the game if you flick the nunchuk while holding Z your player will do a random skill, be it a step over a turn on the ball (I think its called a maradonna spin? ) or just faking a shot and going in the other direction. This is great for getting past players and goalies.
The attacking controls are amazing in the game but how do the defensive controls hold up?
Well the main way to tackle a player is to point at them and tap a and your player will run at them. The more times you tap A on that player the more players will run at them. The tackling may be the worst aspect of the controls to advanced players as it limits your freedom to how you want to tackle the player but to new players it makes it very easy for them to tackle players so its a minus and a plus. You can also drag your players and if they run into another player they will usually tackle the player, although its not as affective as just tapping on your opponent. You may think that the defensive controls are too simple but there are some advanced options like when you tap on a player and run up to them to tackle them if you hold Z and flick the nunchuk you will go in for a slide tackle. Note that unless timed perfectly you will probably hack down your opponent. If you flick the wii remote you will trigger the offside trap.
Although the defensive controls aren't as good as the attacking controls they're still pretty great.
The graphics in the game are obviously a downgrade from the PS3/360 graphics but they aren't too bad and are a lot better than the PS2 version as expected. The graphics are downgraded but does not suffer from the lag and slow downs that the PS3/360 versions have.
Unfortunately the game doesn't have the great master league mode which marks it down but it does have another mode called champions road. Although it is not as good as master league it is very fun and addictive but I hope there is a proper master league mode in the next game.
The online mode in the game can be great and can be plain awful. This depends on your opponents connection. Although the majority of games run very smoothly as most people have a stable internet connection, some people you face will have a horrible connection and it will be a lot slower. You may think that this is the case with all games but in Pro Evo Wii, for some reason when there is a bad connection it lags a hell of a lot more than other online games.
Overall the game is brilliant, there is a lot of room for improvement with defensive controls and the lack of master league but is a brilliant start for the first pro evo on the wii. />
9/10