Background information –
With the football game market basically divided up between Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer and Electronic Arts Fifa Series each new release by these gaming giants is keenly sought after by fans of the two rival camps.
Now in its fifth edition Konami attempt to push the football game genre ever further in order to become the recognised number one football game in the worlds best football following nation.


The game

Match Mode: This is basically a quick way to get playing in either one or two player mode, all you have to do is select your teams, strips etc. you can also influence the gaming environment by altering the supporting stance (i.e. set it to a home bias), select various stadiums, the referee, ball type and a special ball effect – this basically shows the path the ball takes and helps you see how close that shot actually was.

League Mode: In this mode the player has the choice of playing a team in a number of leagues – such as the Premiership, La Liga etc. you can also make up your own leagues – for example putting Celtic and Rangers in the premiership and can have a number of human players. In one player mode you get the option to participate in domestic cups, such as the FA cup, this can provide a welcome respite from a rubbish domestic season.


Cup Mode: In this mode the player gets to chose from a number of cups: International Cup, European Cup, Africa/America/Asia-Oceania Cups and the Konami Cup. Self-explanatory really.

Master League: this is a huge part of the game and I shall give a bare bones overview. This league never ends, you can be any team in any league – the aim is to win. Points are allocated for a win/draw and you use these to pay your players/ fund transfers. In this mode players can improve and decline over time, eventually retiring. The player can be responsible for training or can leave to be auto managed.


Gameplay
The gameplay has improved as always, each aspect of the control system has been altered either massively or minimally. There is a massive amount of detailed moves, i.e. chip shots/ dummies etc that can be mastered. Passing for example has to be a lot more controlled otherwise you’ll end up ceding possession constantly. The AI has been improved, however the refereeing leaves a lot to be desired – especially their definition of the offside rule. It is however highly playable.

The graphics have been improved, as you would expect but still leave room for further improvement. Players such as Frank Lampard and Michael Owen are recognisable but there is the usual monotony for lesser players. The game environment seems a bit lifeless, the usual 2D crowd lets the game down.

The sound is basically rubbish, cheesy and boring. The commentary is just pointless – after 5 games you can almost predict what the commentators are going to say.


Pro’s & cons

Pro’s:
· Playability
· Improved control systems
· Improved player graphics

Cons
· Poor sound
· Poor game environment
· Team labelling methods

I would recommend this game because it compliments Fifa, both of them have different pros and cons. it is retailing from just over £10.