Review: PES 2008 (Pro Evolution Soccer 7) (360)

Compared to FIFA the PES series was always going to have poorer presentation. This was inevitable, what wasn't cast in stone was the inclusion of songs that would make EA's Trax line-up seem like Mozart. And what also wasn't inevitable was the terrible menu system that shows no design skill, and looks like it was knocked up in a five minute lunch break. Our concerns were slightly eradicated when we actually took to the pitch though. The passing and shooting felt far more fluid than previously before and it's far easier to dribble pass the opposition doing some handy tricks along the way. Animations have also been tweaked and while some are reused there are new additions that make it look like a real game of football. The commentators have finally been changed and we get the fairly decent vocals of Jon Champion and the not so pleasant Mark Lawrenson, a man who doesn’t even try to disguise the fact that he's reading off cue cards.

So it plays better than PES6, but while this may be the diamond encrusted core of the game, what surrounds it can easily described as animal excrement. On the plus side the edit team and save replay options have returned and unfortunately the latter is next to useless when you see the incredible amount of framerate issues that occur during the replays. It’s something we found quite unusual when you see how that this is hardly a graphical powerhouse. Players that look nothing like their real life counterparts are common and graphical glitches that see players ghost through each offer happen frequently during the goal celebrations. Like we said we knew the presentation was going to be lacking compared to Fifa, but it’s like Konami haven't even tried to compete, and that's the problem - playing the game we can’t shake the feeling that the team at Konami aren't even bothered anymore. The PES series has sold loads since it first appeared out of the rotting corpse of International Superstar Soccer and is now almost on level terms with the Fifa series when it comes to sales, PES 2008 just feels like it was quickly put together to cash in on peoples familiarity with the brand. Maybe it’s EA who aren't the money grubbing evil corporation after all?

If you've played the past online PES games then we doubt you'll be surprised when we say that it's a bit of a unplayable mess. Even when you're shown three green connection bars with a ping count of over 4000 players and the ball will constantly teleport across the pitch. The game can often freeze before restarting, as if someone's pressed the fast forward button and goals can seemingly come from out of nowhere as you're left wondering how the host can always out run your own players. You'd think by now that Konami would setup some sort of decent online team, but we guess they prefer to send it unfinished and then patch it at a later date.

Reaching the end of this review we still haven't mentioned the Paul Robinson-like goalkeepers who prefer to parry the ball into the oppositions feet instead of actually catching it. The lack of team AI who like all previous PES releases prefer to just wander aimlessly instead of making a run into open space.

If you're a PES fan then you've already gone and bought the game so our words are meaningless, but hopefully PES 2008 will convince you to hold onto your hard earned before making the purchase next year. The PES brand is currently sinking into shark infested waters and it seems that no matter how loud people shout the problems that have plagued the series since the beginning still aren't being addressed. Konami must try harder because you only have to look at the various message boards across the internet to see that fans are starting to revolt. Even with the faster, more fluid gameplay it still can't detract from the faults that surround it. We can only hope that next year is the true return to form.

Rating: 6 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver