PES 2008 Review

Dean820

Source: www.winningelevenblog.com

This has been one of the most difficult reviews I’ve ever done. Even more so because it’s on a game from the PES series. What is usually something easy to write, (write superlatives here etc), became something much more thoughtful and time consuming.

There’s no doubting many of you will have skimmed to the bottom to see that I gave the game 8/10. The difficulty of reviewing PES 2008 his year more than any other is rather than trying to justify why I didn’t give the game a 9 or even 10, I find myself trying to explain why it didn’t score much lower. How you find PES 2008 is going to be how you approach the game. Expect something groundbreaking and revolutionary then look away now. Expect the same addictive gameplay that will have you hooked until next year’s version, then you won’t be disappointed.

Without beating about the bush, PES 2008 on next-gen isn’t the title that it should’ve been. The most recent version on the PS2 gave Konami a fantastic starting block for the new next-gen era. To their credit they’ve developed the core gameplay from that version and evolved it into the most complete PES yet. One thing you will notice when you get onto the pitch is the feel of the game. It’s much more considered and heavy, with the ball and players carry much more weight to them. Besides this initial adjustment time needed, the game is the same as it ever was. You’ll be passing the ball about like a pro and stringing together some inspiring moves in no time. This similarity may be a sign of not much ambition shown by the developers, but to many it’s a case of ‘if it aint broke…’ etc etc. You can agree to both points, but you can’t get away with the fact that Seabass and his team have created a special game engine. To change it and risk losing an incredibly loyal fan base would be a catastrophe, and they’ve certainly played it safe.

While you may separate camp by sticking with the tried and trusted formula, everyone who picks up the game will be very satisfied with their experiences. And it’s on the pitch where the game still shines. As mentioned passing is still as crisp, with nice new animations to go with each distribution. The same goes for shooting, although you’ll need to give yourself some time to adjust to the slight change in its mechanics. In previous versions the outcome of your shot would depend on various situations (player skill, opposition pressing etc), and it’s much more integral now. This goes hand in hand with the goal keepers, who now are more skilled in shot stopping and one on ones – even if they do parry back into dangerous areas consistently. They anticipate where you are going to shoot much better, while covering all angles amazingly well. This leads to an even more satisfying feeling when you do score, if that’s possible. The ‘keepers animations also have been given a boost, making them look incredibly realistic when making those ‘for the camera’ saves. The same can be said for all the players, also specific player animations haven’t really been upped since last-gen. With more power to work with though they look even more lifelike, with players having more exaggerated movement when turning and tussling for the ball.

There’s something that many games can’t quite encapsulate, and that creating an emotional attachment with the player. It’s something PES does incredibly well, and something that gripped me the first time I played the game. Playing a Milan derby, I was locked in a tough battle until I scored a peach of a free kick with Pirlo minutes from the end. To say I jumped out of my seat and ran around the room screaming is an understatement! This had more impact with the player due to the incredibly detailed goal celebrations. When scoring a goal you really are treated to amazingly lifelike reactions, with the stars all having signature celebrations. These go out of the window when you score an important goal however, with players going mental and running over to the subs bench to get everyone involved!

Along with the feeling of scoring Seabass & co also have managed to make every player feel and play differently from one another. Players like Kaka and Seedorf can hold onto the ball easily and dictate the pace of the game, while Inzaghi can be brushed off the ball - if he’s not busy being caught offside! Perfect player representation has always been a factor in the series since it first emerged many years ago both visually and how everyone plays. And it’s visually where the game can, at times, look very much next-gen. Zoom into any of the well known player faces and you’ll witness an incredible attention to detail. Players like Michael Owen and Kaka are photo realistic, as are (unfortunately) the handsome Man Utd striking partnership of Tevez and Rooney. Like I mentioned, these details are only impressive when you zoom into the action. Once you pull the camera back the visual quality drops immensely, having the ‘what happened?!’ affect. It doesn’t ruin the experience by all means, but certainly leaves you questioning why the game suffers from slowdown. The same can be said for the crowd detail. While in the pre-match build up they look as detailed and animated as the players on the pitch themselves, once the game starts they become heavily pixelated and very ugly to look at.

Staying on the pitch, Konami have added something totally new to proceedings…DIVING! One subject that has been on the forefront of complainers minds is the ability to simulate. By pressing L1+L2+R1 your player falls to the ground trying to win a free kick or penalty. 90% of the time you will be cautioned by the referee, although I’ve been able to win quite a few penalties when playing the game. So far in my time playing PES 2008, I haven’t seen the computer try it on me yet. It will be interesting to see if it becomes an issue after prolonged play.

Another thing you’ll notice is the commentary change. For many years now Brackley and Brooking have been the two guys in the PES commentary booth, so it’s very sad to see them go. The new duo of Jon Champion and Mark Lawrenson do a decent job (Champion more so, Lawro not so much), although it’s a case of bad script more than anything else. While Champion seems to flow in his assessments quite well, Lawrensons ‘round-up’ ramblings feel like they’re straight from a script and get annoying very quickly.

Onto the front end, the game modes available in PES 2008 aren’t anything new. Whilst Master League now has a proper 2nd division and a few pics here and there to try and make it more involving, the impetuous to go on season after season doesn’t remain. Especially seeing as the teams that go into your intending league are never from the same country! The edit mode this year on next-gen gives with one hand whilst taking away with the other. The ability to scan your own face and team logo into the game is an important and much welcomed feature, and certainly adds to the realism you can re-create within the game. This unfortunately is the only high point in the mode as so many options have been minimised. Shirt templates and player edit functions have been severely stripped without reason. Along with this the menu screens are over complicated and bland, looking like an afterthought rather than a thoughtful inclusion.

Something that you won’t be able to get away from is the notable slowdown issues that the game suffers. When I played the first game I was stunned and shocked about the frame rate, its something I don’t expect from a next-gen game of any kind. After using the option to install onto the HD though things got considerably better, even though replays still are extremely choppy. You’ll also realise that playing in particular stadiums causes the slowdown to increase and make it more notable. The simple answer is to stay away from them, but to have to do that simply isn’t on. Added to the fact that the game only has 15 stadiums in the first place makes it totally unacceptable.
This considerable flaw to the game is the only major gripe that I have with PES 2008, and one of the reasons I wasn’t sure about whether to score it lower than an 8. In my eyes we shouldn’t have to accommodate slowdown and frame rate issues in next-gen, when it’s quite obvious the hardware can easily handle it. Lazy programming? Not understanding the hardware? Not enough time/people to complete the game? Whatever the reason, it’s certainly going to affect how many fans perceive the game.

Gradually for me the slowdown factor became less of an issue. After the initial shock of it being there, I started to enjoy the game for what it was. There been much talk about the core being too similar to its PS2 roots, but these roots actually save the game in the end. For all its flaws the same addictive PES gameplay is there underneath the underwhelming front end. It’s something you can’t get away from, and the reason why we’ve been playing the series for an incredible amount of years. Where this game lacks it much needed element to justify its existence on next-gen, the ‘soul’ of the game more than makes up for it. The essence of PES will strike a cord with everyone who picks up the controller and, while sounding like a cliché accustomed to the PES series, will keep you hooked until next years version. Surely, you can’t ask for much more than that?

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 7
Longevity: 9
Overall: 8

Rowley Birkin QC

Sounds good to me. Stadiums, editing kits etc etc will always be secondary to outstanding gameplay and un-paralleled emotional involvement, compared to any game of any genre.

Roll on those never ending "one more game" nights.!!

Julez

Yeah, as long as the solid gameplay still remains, besides, I'll just download an option file with the correct kits etc. then never go near the edit mode again!!

kensutz

You can only get option files on the PS3 and PS2. No way of getting near an Xbox 360 option file and winningelevenblog asked MS if there was a way around it and they refused to co-operate.

Cannibal Ox

kensutz wrote:

No way of getting near an Xbox 360 option file and winningelevenblog asked MS if there was a way around it and they refused to co-operate.

There is, its just not particularly safe. You might end up getting your Xbox Console ID banned, and your access to Xbox Live terminated. Not really worth it tbh.

KdjaCL

Cannibal Ox wrote: »

There is, its just not particularly safe. You might end up getting your Xbox Console ID banned, and your access to Xbox Live terminated. Not really worth it tbh.

LOL

serious you can reburn the game disc with imported images?


jaysus back in the day it was that reason alone that sold millions of ps2 modchips.


kdjac

Dean820

Cannibal Ox wrote: »

There is, its just not particularly safe. You might end up getting your Xbox Console ID banned, and your access to Xbox Live terminated. Not really worth it tbh.

Would be worth it for me :P

Cannibal Ox

KdjaCL wrote:

serious you can reburn the game disc with imported images?

lol
It involves tampering with your HD. The reason I'm not explaining it is because I don't want someone trying to kill me in two weeks time because they're console IDs been banned and they want vengance.

Dean820 wrote:

Would be worth it for me :P

The other problem with it, is that who ever originally distributes the OF is almost certaintly going to have their console ID banned. So, finding someone to actually distribute an OF is going to be pretty difficult.

You could always get an Xbox Live camera and just do it yourself.

kensutz

Thing is, how will the Xbox live camera do the editing?

Mitch Connor

can you not use that hardware kit that enables you to hook the 360 HDD up to a PC? thats why i bought it a year ago (and never opened it cause there were no PES option files.