World Soccer Winning Eleven 6 International

"Konami 2-0 EA"

Good Morning, Children. Today we’re going to learn why Pro Evolution Soccer 2 is the best soccer simulation on the Playstation 2 and why it is of much better quality than FIFA 2003. I’ve been hearing from the headteacher that some of you kids think differently. No, don’t hang your heads in shame boys. It’s perfectly acceptable to like the FIFA series better. Choosing Pro Evolution over FIFA is like choosing to marry a model instead of a scientist. FIFA may be pretty and nice to look at but that can only take you so far in life. Choose the scientists boys, they’re a lot more intelligent and you’ll get a lot more fun time out of them. What’s that? You don’t understand. Let me explain further in what we in the staff room like to call a review.

Gameplay:
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 is the smartest soccer game ever invented. When you’re passed the ball you always have 8 options of how to get rid of it. The shape buttons are your simple pass, chip, shoot and through ball commands which is all you beginners need to have a good game but hold L1 with a shape button to have access to modified versions of the action such as a chip shot, cross or one-two pass. Add in the dribbles, dummies and skills and you have everything and anything that Steven Gerrard or Michael Owen would want to do collecting the ball for England. Master the Manual Pass using the R3 stick and you can put the ball wherever you want on that football pitch.
Fans of the Pro Evolution series always seem to struggle to explain WHY their game is so superior to FIFA fanboys. There isn’t one specific reason why Pro Evolution’s gameplay is so gripping and addictive. Just the fact that it’s faultless. There are little niggles such as the erratic refereeing and the attacking headers always seeming to fly over the bar but this is comparing the game to a REAL game of football. PES2 does all the important things perfectly. Players are always making intelligent runs. Everything feels right. Each player feels different. You can easily spot the difference in ability between David Beckham and David Batty. I’ve never ever been frustrated with the players themselves, only those damn referees. Children you know I’m a tight marker so that nasty man in black drops the gameplay score to 9/10

Graphics:
The kits, stadiums and players aren’t licensed but are all recognisable. It’s hard to compare them to the likenesses of FIFA 2003 because they are very different. They’re probably less detailed but also less cartoony. All of the world famous players are picture perfect but there is certainly a difference in the quality of the likenesses of top players like Beckham and that of fringe players like say, Nick Barmby.
Any football fan could recognise the non-licensed Trad Brick Stadium as Old Trafford or Catalonia Stadium as Barcelona’s Nou Camp and the crowd inside the 15 or so stadiums look impressive in the home team’s colours too. In comparison to other PS2 sport games the graphics receive an average 7/10.

Sound:
Peter Brackley and Trevor Brooking provide an enthusiastic much improved commentary compared to the original PES, making references to the scoreline and much less stupid comments. These comments aren’t completely ridden of the series though. Peter Brackley often blurts “I tell a lie he’s missed!” after lines such as “He shoots!” or “A header!” And my 2-1 European Cup Final victory was slightly ruined by Trevor Brooking saying how the match was great despite the lack of goals.
You can now set the crowd and the commentator against the away team but the crowd’s whistles are annoying and too frequent. What crowd boo every opposing foul, cross and corner? The Sound receives a disappointing 5/10

Features
The normal argument from FIFA fans is Pro Evolution’s lack of a FIFA license. There is an X-Port file available that changes all the team and player names or a quick visit to GameFAQS and 10 minutes editing will save any major annoyances with team or Dutch players’ names. Another scored Man United penalty from Oranges201 just isn’t the same so sort it out straight away.
Anyway Pro Evolution 2 DOES boast 38 of the world’s top club teams, although I’m sure us English fans would have preferred to see teams like Tottenham or Everton rather than Rio De Janeiro and Olympiakos. As far as modes go the 6 new training modes added allow you to practice all the necessary skills to succeed. An improved realistic Master League Mode accompany a variety of cups and leagues and every national team worth including plus Classic Teams and Scotland too.

Lifespan:
Endless. Even without all the modes the AI is so consistently excellent that it’s applause worthy. I’ve never seen the COM make a major mistake. There’s no cheap way to score. I’ve had the game since its release in November and am still challenged on 3 star difficulty. 5 star difficulty is rock hard and even if you are skilled enough to find 5 stars a doddle I’m sure there’s a Man United fan round the corner that thinks he has the skills to beat you. The Master League has been transformed into a realistic player/manager mode and will take a longer time to tire of now it has 3 leagues and signing the top players has been made much more difficult. Without a doubt Lifespan scores a 10/10.

Some people prefer 50 yard runs and overhead kick goals every game they play and FIFA may indeed be better presented but proper football fans from Ajax to Yeovil should buy Pro Evolution Soccer 2. Every time the whistle blows whether it ends 0-0 or 4-3 you are guaranteed an intelligent game of football even if it is that flukey git Noraldinho that crosses one into the net for the winner.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/03