Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 review

Last year’s Pro Evo was a big disappointment, so much so that I didn’t play it once after I finished reviewing it. FIFA was my footy game of choice last year so what can Pro Evo do this time to win my affections once again?

The first thing you’ll notice before you get into the actual game is the way the stats are displayed. Gone is the graphical representation and numbers up to 100 are back. So far, at least for me, so good. Presentation, at least in terms of player looks has taken a big leap too. Liverpool’s my team and players such as Gerrard, Torres and even Kuyt and Carragher look great. They look less ‘waxy’ than the FIFA games and far more photo-realistic. Player animations are a bit hit and miss though. Standard running and walking still looks a bit awkward but some of the animations when players poke out a toe to score a goal or fall over to get a cross in are sublime.

Like FIFA, Pro Evo also has full 360’ movement but the game still feels a lot more like an arcade game and therefore it’s easier to try to follow a set strategy for getting balls into the penalty area and score. It’s also worth upping the difficulty because I’ve been banging goals in against the AI left right and centre.

The Champions League is back and this time it’s a lot slicker and you can also take part in that, and the new Europa League in the Master League mode. You also have the ability to play as an individual but to be honest this feels like a blatant copy of what FIFA introduced a couple of years back (and since then of course, EA have expanded on it with Game Face and the like).

Commentary’s still a sore point and not much better than last year, and some of the chants from the fans are once again non-authentic and off-putting.

If you’re a fan of one of the licensed teams it won’t really bother you that the game’s not fully licensed, however, if you support a team that’s not in there you can always edit your own teams if you’ve got enough time in the edit mode.

Sorry Konami but despite a good effort, FIFA 10 is still very much in the lead. If you want a footy game where it’s easier to score that feels more immediate, I would definitely recommend this over last year’s effort. PES 2010 gets a very good 7 out of 10.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 review pics

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 review screenshots

Related: FIFA 10, Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 lineup, Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 review

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