The next-gen below-par games continue For PES. (Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (PS3))

Member Name: revert

Product:	Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (PS3)
Date:	28/06/09 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Master League, Champions League License, Graphics

Disadvantages: The pathetic excuse for a referee, abysmal online play, lack of team licenses.

I'll start by telling you that PES 2009 is not the best in the series, and that if you are looking for the best football simulation out there this year, FIFA 09 is definitely the way to go.

That being said however, there are a lot of positives to look out for when playing the game. The graphics, as always, are the best-in-show for a football (soccer) game, and the fluidity of the gameplay is also excellent. Goals can be scored in an infinite number of different ways (for those of us who remember FIFA 07 in which there were only about 4 different variants to the way in which the ball could be struck into the net). The master league structure has made a welcome return to form, and with it comes some great new features.

The UEFA Champions League license that Konami had fought so hard for is a step forward for the series in the way of including an actual real tournament in the game, however it has not been incorperated into the master league which is a shame, as it would have improved it tenfold.

The negatives are, unfortunately, common and reoccurring, not to mention very, very annoying. The obvious initial drawback when considering whether to buy this or FIFA is Pro Evo's lack of licenses. Only two teams from the Premiership (Manchester United and Liverpool) have official kits and badges. This can be easily fixed after a trip to PESGaming.com and a few downloads though, so this isn't really a big issue as far as I'm concerned.

My main gripe is this: A totally ridiculous refereeing mechanic, involving stupidly large amounts of red cards. Ugh. It's enough to drive you to sodomise a dog. In almost every single game, a player from the opposition team is sent off for a seemingly innocuous challenge which takes place within 10 meters of the box. Other smaller issues include the difficulty of finishing one-on-ones and for some reason the AI occasionally takes control of the selected player for you. The online mode is as poorly conceived as ever, and is filled to the brim with tasty, delicious lag. Mmm, yummy.

Despite these drawbacks, however, I've enjoyed playing PES 2009 for the last few months or so, and despite the amount of times I've wanted to scream because of the faults, I've carried on playing none-the-less. 7/10

Summary: Despite the amount of times I've wanted to scream, I've carried on playing none-the-less.