The Pro Evo Thread

[The Bossman]

pro evo is the best football game on a console, because it just FEELS like football. even though fifa has the licenses, it doesnt mean its the better game. Anyway, you can chat about the latest pro evo (6), previous editions, or just pro evo history generally.

heres some info of the history of it on ps2 courtesy of wikipedia:

Pro Evolution Soccer

Pro Evolution Soccer was released in October 2001 and was well received, scoring a 9/10 from the Official UK PlayStation 2 magazine. Many new stadia were created, much enhanced graphics, plus a refined sprinting and dribbling engine. Commentary is provided by Chris James and Terry Butcher. Licensing is provided by FIFPro, but a large number of players are unlicensed still, plus no clubs are licensed either, although player names are editable. A PlayStation version was released, but was little more than a roster update of ISS PE2.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2

Pro Evolution Soccer 2 was released in October 2002 and some felt that it was a slight backwards step from the original Pro Evolution Soccer. Others opined that it had improved. The pace of gameplay was much faster than in the game's older sibling, with sharper turns and quicker reactions to tackles. It also included a training session mode. Extra clubs were added, with an extra Master League division. There were two new commentators, Peter Brackley and Trevor Brooking, but this aspect of the game was criticised for the commentators' inaccuracies and tendency to speak over each other. The licensing was much the same, but infamously all Dutch players were called ‘Oranges’, because Konami does not hold the rights from the Royal Netherlands Football Association, for use from dutch players. Also, unlike in the original game, the "unofficial" club names stopped using obvious city names (eg. Manchester United was Manchester in PES1, Real Madrid was Madrid etc.), and instead used very ambiguous names (e.g. Manchester United were now Aragon). The edit mode included a club editor which offset this problem to some extent, with editable kits and logos as well as club and player names. The game notably included tracks from Queen: “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions”. A Playstation version was also released, which was again a minor update of its predecessor, and was the last Pro Evolution Soccer release for the original Playstation.

Pro Evolution Soccer 3

PES3 featured the Italian referee Pierluigi Collina on the cover (although bizzarely he is not present as an in-game referee) and was released in 2003. The most significant update was the overhaul in the graphics engine, with more life like players and much improved likeness. The gameplay was changed to accompany this, with less of the fast-paced action of PES2, but a much better physics engine, additions such as the advantage rule (although often failed to work), improved passing and long-ball functions, while as per usual, more licenses (with the infamous Dutch Oranges removed), more club teams and the Master League is now split into regional divisions, with competitions equivalent to the Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

Pro Evolution Soccer 3 was the first in the series to be released for Microsoft Windows and was well received by the PC games magazines but criticized by fans for its lack of online mode and bloated system requirements at its time, particularly not supporting the common Geforce MX series. Its rival, FIFA 2004, had online functions and had more modest system requirements in comparison. The game was essentially a direct conversion of the PlayStation 2 code, albeit with sharper graphics and is easier to download fan made mods for the game.

Pro Evolution Soccer 4

Pro Evolution Soccer 4 was released in 2004; featuring referee Pierluigi Collina, Thierry Henry and Francesco Totti on the cover; this was the first Pro Evolution Soccer game to feature full leagues, including French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch top divisions, with full league licenses for the latter three, although it’s pale in comparison to FIFA’s lower division licenses. The gameplay has improved from Pro Evolution Soccer 3,(though not as not as much of a significant leap as its predecessor) with improved AI, tweaked play-on advantages and better throughballs. Dribbling is tighter with the players, plus free-kicks have been changed to allow lay-offs. The gameplay was criticised for it’s easy scoring opportunities, commonly pasing along in the area usually gave way a clear cut chance. A new 6-star difficulty was added as an unlockable in the shop, as well as the previous items, while the Master League included enhancements such as player development, so many players over 30 would see certain attributes decline as the gameprogresses. The edit mode has been enhanced rapidly, with the options to add text and logos to shirts (essentially sponsors) and pixel logo editing as well as the traditional preset shapes, thus making it easier to replicate a team.

One feature that sets this game apart from EA Sports' FIFA series is the fact that the player can lock the cursor on a single player and control him for the entire game. This alows better control over goalkeepers by allowing free movement that is not restricted to just charging out of the box at the press of a button.

This was the first to be released on the Xbox, with slightly better graphics and online play on Xbox Live. Online play was also featured in the PC version but was not included in the Playstation 2 version from technical restrictions. The conversion was successful on the Xbox, but certain gamers prefer the Dual-Shock 2 controller for the gameplay.

Pro Evolution Soccer 5

Pro Evolution Soccer 5 was released in October 2005 and featured Thierry Henry and John Terry on the cover. The improvements are mainly tweaks to the gameplay engine, while online play finally made it to the PlayStation 2 version. The game was perceived as much harder by fans, with a very punishing defence AI making it harder to score. Players have pointed out inconsistencies in the start difficulty rating, such as 3 star mode being harder to beat than 6 star due to its more defensive nature, but in general scoring is harder, although is easier to score from long distances than from short. Referees are very fussy over decisions, awarding free kicks for very negligible challenges. There are various new club licenses present, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Celtic, Rangers and a few other European clubs, as well as the full Dutch, Spanish and Italian Leagues. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 was victim of the very infamous empty stadium glitch, in which when playing a game, no crowds are present in the stands although are present in cut-scenes. There are fan-made mods which address this in the PC version, although no official patch was made. Official PlayStation 2 Magazine UK gave it a perfect 10/10 score.

Pro Evolution Soccer 5 was released for Xbox, Windows and PS2, all online enabled. A PSP version was released, but with stripped down features, such as no Master League, no commentary, only one stadium and limitations in the editor. The PSP version featured Wi-fi play, and the gameplay was faster and more “pin-ball like” in comparison to its console siblings, but didn’t receive the acclaim it’s mainstream console siblings have had.

Pro Evolution Soccer 6

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 was officially released in the U.K. on Friday the 27th of October 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PC platforms. The PC version does not utilise the Xbox 360 engine but is a conversion of the PS2 edition. The PSP version is similar in many ways to its PS2 brother, while the DS version will have graphics and gameplay reminiscent to the older PES series on PSone. The DS and PSP versions were originally targeted for release on the 3rd November, but have been delayed to 10th December and 1st December respectively.

A criticism of the previous version was that the game was too unforgiving and so suppressed fluid attacking football. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 promises to 'embrace the beautiful game' with more tricks and an overall more attacking mentality, making it easier to take on defenders and get forward. More licenses are included, including fully licensed international kits with England, Spain and Italy to name a few (as well as the ever present Japan license). The French Ligue 1 is now included as fully licensed league, as well as the Spanish, Italian and Dutch leagues, plus several other individual clubs, however due to a lawsuit Konami were forced to drop the Bundesliga license and is not be present in PES6, not even as a series of unlicensed teams, only Bayern Munich survive.

The Xbox 360 version features next-generation, Hi-Definition graphics and more animations, but gameplay similar to the console versions, according to a recent interview with Seabass. Suprising though in PES6, close-up replay detail of the players (especially of the face and hair detail) is not as good as the previous version, PES5. The Xbox 360 version also finally introduces the Pro Evolution series to widescreen gaming, a feature that was sorely missing from its PS2 and Xbox versions of the game. Some of the gameplay and editing options have been severely stripped down for the 360 release (not even team or stadium names can be edited in PES6, although an option file has been released with changed team names, proving team names can be change with a hack citation needed In addition it is not possible to save replays on the Xbox 360 version despite the manual claiming that it can be done. Whether or not Konami will release a fix for this on the popular Xbox Live service remains to be seen. A new DS version is set, with gameplay and graphics reminiscent to the Playstation Pro Evolution Soccer games.

Although players retire in the game, the players reincarnate later, available as 17-year olds in the "Newcomers" section.

The UK version of PES 6 has Adriano alongside England and Chelsea captain John Terry (who, together with Arsenal's Thierry Henry poses on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 5) as its cover stars. Terry is actually a huge fan of the PES series. He is known to arrange PES tournaments for his teammates at Chelsea, as well as bringing copies of the game with him when on international duty.

The French version of PES 6 has Didier Drogba and Thierry Henry as cover stars.[1]

The Australian version of PES 6 has John Aloisi as its cover star. Aloisi is a huge fan of the series.

The German version of PES 6 has Adriano and Roque Santa Cruz on the cover.

The Swedish version of PES 6 has Adriano and Kim Källström on the cover.

The Polish version of PES 6 has Adriano and Maciej Zurawski on the cover.

The Spanish version of PES 6 has Adriano and Cesc Fàbregas on the cover.

The Portuguese version of PES 6 has Adriano and Deco on the cover.

The Italian version of PES 6 has Adriano and Luca Toni on the cover.

Game leaked in French 11th of October, 2006

Game leaked in English 24th of October, 2006

[zimoo]

Yeah PES pwns Fifa. Fifa used to be amazing, but then they focused more and more on graphics, and less and less on gameplay, which allowed PES to take the lead.

I have the first 3 games in this series, although I doubt I'll buy more. It's basically paying £30 extra for a few improved graphics and gameplay features I'll never use, so I'm happy with what I've got.

[Slayer]

Although I don't play sport games at all, I have PES5. So it's a nice game, the gameplay is good, but many many things are badly done. Like licences, soundtrack, and horrible controls. Those are some elementary things and it's really sad they're so bad.

[The Bossman]

yeah there are things that sometimes completely ruin a match eg petty refereeing. the controls arent bad once u get used to them. pes5 is mainly a passing game, you have to be slow and precise, making sure every pass counts. most of the goals are either tap-ins or brilliant goals, never in between.

A very good friend of mine has given me every license for pes6 today, he has done it before for pes5 as well. i cant reveal what site because an admin will delete it, but its a BIG pro evo site that many people visit. he d-led it to a usb stick, then into the ps2 usb slot, then copy onto memory card, and voila!

[Slayer]

yeah there are things that sometimes completely ruin a match eg petty refereeing. the controls arent bad once u get used to them. pes5 is mainly a passing game, you have to be slow and precise, making sure every pass counts. most of the goals are either tap-ins or brilliant goals, never in between.

Yeah, I got used to them, but configuring them is real hell. It just says what PS2 button it is refering to, not what it actually does. And it often happens that when using a joystick you select a wrong preference and can't undo it simply because you need to press a key you can't configure.

[The Bossman]

it is a real problem that cant be fixed easily, and its a shame for pc owners who like it as it means they are left annoyed and frustrated. maybe theres a ps2 controller that has been made for pc, or something similar? i dont know, i havent checked, but it would be much easier.

[Slayer]

Nah, I'm best with the keyboard. But they could pull their finger out of their arse and change a little thing, not just make a direct port. All I want is controls for PC.