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The International Superstar Soccer
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Pro Evolution Soccer 5 Review
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The International Superstar Soccer
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Pro Evolution Soccer 5 Review
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I'll just say one thing one: It's the end of an era. ISS is dead. Now PES is dead. In this game, the fundamental aspect for the changes that have been made are simply to make some changes. While I appreciate what has been done, and depending on what you like, it could be an improvement, but essentially it's the same old game and the same old experience. I said at the end of the PES4 review update that I wouldn't be looking forward to this game, and my instinct has proved correct. As with all the previous incarnations, it feels superb on immediately play. On extended play, it's all deja-vu.
The true wish for the ISS Realm is for Konami to move down the customisation route. That is, let the player design how he wants to play the game. That dreams seems more distant than ever.
As with the previous two versions, this one is plagued by its own specific character that Konami has stamped on it. If you don't like some elements, you're stuck with them. If you want a different type of game, get out an older version. I understand that with each year there is some requirement for a distinctive game, but I'm personally sick of it and have lost total interest in whatever Konami tries to do.
Now, I didn't even buy this game. The increased sensitivity of shots, the greater difficulty in controlling the ball, the ever-present pinballing in midfield and the greater difficulty in scoring that various website reviews described was hardly encouraging. I wanted to buy it, and almost did, but withheld because a friend had bought it. The lateness of this review is that it took this long to play the game.
We spent a solid 4-5 hours with the game, playing against the computer and against each other. The overwhelming sentiment is that it does some nice things. Mostly, it's pretty much the same as PES4 once you get down to simply playing the game and playing the opponent.
* Controlling the ball is looser in the sense that the dribble distance is greater upon immediately receiving the ball when making a quick turn. It means you can beat a defender more easily, while the ability to take the ball cleanly in your stride when running in the direction of the ball means you do not lose ground on chasing opposition.
* The horrific bug of through-balls to the side going out of play so often has been fixed.
* Animations featuring crowd close-ups and players on the pitch trying to instigate some biffo.
* Tackles. To be honest, I don't know if this is a possible or a negative. It should be a positive in that the system is very realistic and that anything from behind is almost always a foul (you can't just hold "Press" button now like you used to - it all must be timed), and successful tackles really see the ball spring free. But this only adds to the pinball effect in the game with the scrappy play in midfield.
* The CPU doesn't cheat like it once did.
* Far more errors when trapping the ball, which only increases the ricocheting effect in midfield with the ball bouncing around like a pinball and ugly scrimmaging by the players.
* More errors with passing, especially first touch. I can cope with the first touch, but it's really bad with passes made in plenty of time that just go no where, or usually to opposition players.
* The poor passing is not helped with the poor AI in that often its choice of the recipient you intended is marked tightly or has opposition players in position easy to intercept. It should not be that difficult for the AI to know the player you want is often the closest one! Instead, it tries to do the impossible.
* Shot sensitivity is increased even more - ridiculous. Also, the problem still exists of players controlling the ball too long and not getting a volley or quick shot on goal. It's totally unnatural.
* Really, if you consider it's been over 10 years of Pro Evo and PES, the AI is appalling. Still they don't spread out sufficiently. Still they stay don't lead. Still they run into poor positions. Still there's "on-rails" through-balls to impossible positions. Still they stand around so much. One obvious situation is receiving a throw-in. What should the thrower now do? That's right, run forward. What does he do? Stand around.
* Blocked passes. There's too many of them. You cannot draw a player in and pass-off at the last minute. It just gets blocked and only contributes further to the pinball effect as well. It's so frustrating.
* Lobs, especially cross-field switches, are hopeless. If the ball doesn't go out, fall short, or simply miss the target, then the player AI is rarely in enough space or smart enough to accept the ball and continue briskly with the play.
* Options! Give us an option to set the level of errors in ball control, errors in passing, shot sensitivity, defensive marking, goal keeper AI. Then we can customised the game how we want to play. Personally, I'd shut down the random errors altogether, decrease shot sensitivity significantly, and reduce the goalie AI a little.
I'm keeping an open mind about this game. It could be better than PES4, or it could be worse. I don't know. It might just need more time to learn the controls. They do seem to require more manual input, especially when controlling the ball. Ultimately, it probably gets down to what you prefer - and what you appreciate. Right now, I prefer PES4.
The changes made in PES5 have at least gained my interest. But I won't be persevering for long if the game is not fun. Already, in 4-5 games each, myself and two friends could only achieve a score of 0-0 against the CPU. That's right. A total of about 15 games all finished 0-0. This is on the default difficult of 3 stars, by the way. Now I don't pretend to have ever mastered the challenge against the CPU, but in 10-15 years of playing these sorts of games, I should have done better. We all should have done better. There's definitely something wrong, and as far as I'm concerned, Konami are just making larger and larger steps in the wrong direction that's only stripping the game of its fun factor and replacing it with hair-pulling frustration.
In games against each other, it was usually 1-0, maybe a 1-1. One game of lapsed concentration saw a 3-2, but that's about it.
I'll say it again, and probably say it for the final time. It's all very well going for realism, but no one plays matches of videogame football for 90 minutes. We only play for 10 minutes, and therefore all the "realism" in terms of errors, errant passes, and wild crosses and shots, must be removed - almost entirely. The 10 minutes should represent a highlights pack of a 90 minute real game, not a 10 minute segment of a game. Until Konami understand this, then forever they will be mired into making changes simply for the sake of making changes.
Yes, you will love the changes, and probably also love the game. As you've done before for each previous version, you'll then begin to anticipate the next version, hoping that it will be better. But should the game be better? No, after 10 years in the series, 5 of those being on the PS2, it should be perfect.
