[rikismyname1983]

So after last years dissapointment how would you rate this years effort from Konami ?

I havnt played the full game yet as i went for fifa 09 this year, but am interested to find out what people think of pes 2009?

[winstano]

9 for me. It's brilliant thus far. No issues online at all, and it feels like PES is genuinely back.

[CAS FAN]

It's a 9 from me. Had some lag online but it was easy to get a game etc. The BaL & Champs League modes are fantastic though and IMO this is the best ever offline PES.

It's just so much fun to play and the game feels way more fluid now with great ball and player physics. For me, the last 2 PES games have been a bit of a let down so it's great to see the series back on form.

[holbrook99]

Its pro evolition soccer which means its got great gamneplay without doubt BUT it still seems like a ps2 game with better graphics....and there are still some half assed problems that could easily be sorted..

1. the commentary is as awful as ever!! and its almost exactly the same as last year - LAZY

2. Hardly any new animations, plays very similar ot last year with better graphics.

3. The crowd still look WORSE than a ps2 game.

4. movement of players is still very restricted

5. the goalkeepers are still TERRIBLE!!!

6. Online is still VERY far from perfect.

7. Master league is same old story.

8. Hardly any stadiums

Overall this game is good though if you are a pro evo fan BUT it is certainly just the game that last years should have been, and i seriously cant justify keep paying £40 for these games each year..unless people start to boycit these games, and keep buying them blindly Konami will continue to be lazy and will continue to release the same of rehash of the previous years game.

There are however some plus points to the game..

1. The graphics of the players close ups are excellent and VERY lifelike.

2. The menus are improved

3. you can import own music and chants, which is a good idea in principle but doesn come without issues, but thats for another time (30 second loop ***)

4. Champions league is presented well apart from the commentary.

5. BAL Mode is ok

i think that sums up all my initial thoughts on the game

[bigmac1]

I don't play online so can't comment on that, but so far I am finding it's back to it's best in my opinion. Yeh there's a few annoying things in there still but the overall gameplay is superb and just feels like the closest thing to the real game for me. Had some great games with my mates already

[musti]

9 from me... PES is back, so what if it's just a PS2 game upscaled, if it aint broke don't fix it! it will always knock the socks off Fifa IMO!

[rikismyname1983]

Originally Posted by holbrook99

Its pro evolition soccer which means its got great gamneplay without doubt BUT it still seems like a ps2 game with better graphics....and there are still some half assed problems that could easily be sorted..

1. the commentary is as awful as ever!! and its almost exactly the same as last year - LAZY

2. Hardly any new animations, plays very similar ot last year with better graphics.

3. The crowd still look WORSE than a ps2 game.

4. movement of players is still very restricted

5. the goalkeepers are still TERRIBLE!!!

6. Online is still VERY far from perfect.

7. Master league is same old story.

8. Hardly any stadiums

Overall this game is good though if you are a pro evo fan BUT it is certainly just the game that last years should have been, and i seriously cant justify keep paying £40 for these games each year..unless people start to boycit these games, and keep buying them blindly Konami will continue to be lazy and will continue to release the same of rehash of the previous years game.

There are however some plus points to the game..

1. The graphics of the players close ups are excellent and VERY lifelike.

2. The menus are improved

3. you can import own music and chants, which is a good idea in principle but doesn come without issues, but thats for another time (30 second loop ***)

4. Champions league is presented well apart from the commentary.

5. BAL Mode is ok

i think that sums up all my initial thoughts on the game

i agree 100% with that, i got fifa this year thank god as i wasnt impressed with pes this year, and so glad i did as i wasted £39.99 lasy year.
I hope pro evo 2009 doesnt do too well because konami will assume its loved if people are still buying it blindly year after year.
I think it needs to do badly in the sales for them to realise they need to up their game.
Heres hoping next years will be better than fifa, untill then konami isnt getting my £39.99 Electronic Arts Sports are.

[holbrook99]

as a bit of a follow on from my first semi-review above, i can now confirm that i am indeed of the opinion that this game is just as poor as pes 2008 just with slightly better graphics...

the online is only slightly better and after about 10 games ive decided to give up on it..about 4/10 were laggy and i cant be bothered with those odds.

all the graphics apart from the players are DREADFULL ps1 style!!!

The game just "feels" samey and boring, no difference really from pes 2008 or at least no BIG difference.

SO.....for the first time EVER i am going to buy fifa 2009, im going to give that a couple of weeks, and see wether i can be converted or wether it will in fact make me appreciate pes 2009 more???

[ash]

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

It's a 9 from me. Had some lag online but it was easy to get a game etc. The BaL & Champs League modes are fantastic though and IMO this is the best ever offline PES.

It's just so much fun to play and the game feels way more fluid now with great ball and player physics. For me, the last 2 PES games have been a bit of a let down so it's great to see the series back on form.

Have you played FIFA08 or 09? If so, what comparison would you make.

Thanks

[Darth Canary]

Would definitely like to hear from anyone that has both PES and FIFA, I tried both of the demos and wasn't massively impressed with either of them. I didn't bother getting a footie game last year but fancy a kick around.

[MarkusThatch]

Ordered FIFA yesterday for £22.97 from amazon as I'm getting a bit annoyed with PES even though intially gave it a decent mark out of 10. I find the cursor control frustrating - if I take off assisted it seems a right pain but if you have it semi assisted the players do things themselves (i.e. defensive clearances and even had a striker score when playing against a mate the other night). I'm going to keep pes and perservere with it but at £22 I felt I had to give FIFA a go, particularly given the generally positive reviews it's had. I really do wonder what konami are up to - the in game graphics are not next gen quality (the likenesses are very good in cut scenes but that's not what I'm getting at) - how ridiculous do the players legs look when they run? Why can't they immitate the running styles of different players? The sound is attrocious, the ball being thumped just sounds plain wrong so I turn this down and lose the stadium atmosphere (I know you can download chants but just listen to the different sounds fans make in england and on the continent throughout a game - particularly the celebration of goals is a sound that differs hugely on the continent). I'm probably asking too much for a game that is released annually but it strikes me that the developers just aren't taking advantage of the power of the consoles. The ball physics are pretty spot on with pes but things like the officiating really grate with me - at least in the old days of pes you could chose a ref that lets the game flow whereas in exhibition games now you get refs who give a straight red for straightforward challenges. PES used to be the football simulation of choice for the purists but from what I've read it seems fifa now has that mantle. I'd be really interested to see how sales between the 2 titles are looking (I know FIFA has always outsold PES but I'd be interested to see if that gap is widening). I await delivery of FIFA with interest.

[Passenger56]

Been playing Pro-Evo pretty solidly for the past couple of days and initial joy at the gameplay has quickly turned to frustration and an urge to smash everything in sight. Master League is the same as ever, delighted to see Castillo still features. But thats just it Master League dosen't feel like its advanced at all, it seems the same as PES 2006 with slightly more pizazz. The real problem lies with the introduction of the Become A Legend mode however. It looks at first glance to be a good addition to the series but it becomes clear it may have been more of a distraction from improving general gameplay. Frustration quickly grows when your teamate yet again passes backwards or misses a clear header, and then miracously turns into a world class player again should you be subbed.It just feels like a rushed job to compete with Fifa's Be A Pro.
At the moment Fifa appears to have won back its crown with several friends switching allegiances to the FIFA franchise.
A 7/10 game but hopes for next years installment

[Haroon Malik]

I've read on the UEFA site that they have signed a 4 year deal with Konami for UCL rights in PES starting from 2009.

I haven't played PES 2009 as yet but I do know that last time around PES didn't contain all the registered team and player names e.g. Man Red, Man Blue etc.

So, with this new deal with UEFA, does PES contain the real team names and real player names now?

Secondly, is the UCL mode realistic? I remember playing the UCL game from EA on the 360 which was quite realistic and fun especially in the knock-out round with the away goals rule kicking in. Is it comparable to that?

[SavageDonkey]

Very easy to install correct kits etc... on the PS3 using a USB stick. No big improvement on last years (apart from performance) but I still prefer to Fifa.

[the-PAIN]

man if the online experience was as good af the offline ex then it would be an 8 instead of a 7

if the graphics was as good as fifa09 and as good as fifa09 online then it would be a 9 instead of a 7

[manfromtherock]

Having played both PES2009 & FIFA09, I have found them both to be somewhat disappointing, and can only hope that 2010 brings better things from both of them. The pre-hype talk is that both are bringing their houses in order, but I've heard that year on year on year only to be disappointed each time.

I tried 'Be a Legend' but gave up as it became so frustrating that I wanted to kick something, the Fifa 'Be a Pro' was better but imo they both could have been 10 times better.

Both commentaries are poor, repetative and don't really add anything to the game (NHL09 had wonderful commentary btw). On PES it sounds like they are reading from a card sometimes, not good. Adding chants is okay, but get the other things right before this please.

On-line lag with the PES is woeful, no excuses for this really poor.

The menu system is nice, good improvement and maybe a little better than FIFA.

In terms of gameplay, I think PES still just edges FIFA, but if they continue to stagnate then they will lose this too.

All in all I would rate them both only as average. A 'C' to PES & 'C+' to FIFA (Just because you can play online without tearing your hair out!). Bring on 2010 (but I won't be the first in the queue, I'll wait until both drop in price before committing myself).