The Gaming Experience
Shaun InguanzoPro Evolution Soccer Wii Review
April 28th 2008 00:44
A soccer gaming Wii-volution awaits
ABOUT 10 minutes into my first game of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the Wii, I was struck by a revelation.
Why on earth had I settled for an comparibly inferrior and inprecise standard controller when using the Wii remote and Nunchuck offers a far better, and tactically superior experience?
The Pro Evo series has a strong reputation regardless of how you play it, and given its superiority to EA Sports' FIFA series, it may strike you as odd that Konami would want to tinker with a winning formula by adding Wii remote support.
But slowly, over six years of Pro Evo gaming, soccer nuts have discovered that there are limits to an analogue stick-based soccer game.
Passes, for one, never go where you want them to, and response time can seem sluggish.
Then there's the fact that on-the-fly tactics are incredibly difficult to perform for newer gamers, isolating them to noob-ville difficulty settings as they try and master complex shooting controls while changing to either an attacking or defensive mentality.
And above all else, with a standard controller you can only control one player at a time, which has its advantages over the Wii version, but never truly gives you the feeling of a team sport.
All of this has changed, for better or worse, with Pro Evo 2008 for the Wii.
Using the Wii remote and nunchuck you'll use the Wii the way it was meant to be. In fact, this is perhaps the first game since Wii Sports that illustrates the potential of the Wii with conviction.
Once your player has the ball, you point to where you want him to run to using the Wii remote's pointer feature, and hold the A button.
To pass, you move the pointer over a player, or into a vacant space and press the B trigger - and the ball goes where you want it to.
Everytime you point a player to do something, a coloured arrow appears on screen, giving the game a tactics-board look when you begin performing multiple moves at a time.
It's impressive to look at, but more so to watch your players carry out their actions.
The Nunchuck offers analogue movement if you wish, while not holding down the A button - but you'll be schooled by the computer AI if you use last generation controls in this game.
Instead, while holding the A button, the analogue stick acts as a method for performing feigns, stops, tap-aheads and other cool moves.
Get into scoring position, hold down the A button and point the arrow that appears on screen to the corner of goal you want to shoot, then swing the Nunchcuk and voila, you have a goal!
In defense, the emphasis is on team play. You don't actually control a player - ever.
Instead, you control the whole team and can point and click on an area you want players to run to to shut down an attacking play, or you can click on the opponent with the ball to make players run out and attack him.
If that's not precise enough, then you can grab players and drag them into position - tricky to do at first, but most rewarding once you figure it out.
The controls take a little getting used to, and fortunately the manual and in-game tutorial are helpful.
But the game is truly rewarding once you start experimenting with the controls and creating some unreal, and previously unseen plays in Pro Evo.
Say you're flying down the right wing and have a clear path to the top of the box. Instead of having to hold the A button you can also point to where you want your player with the ball to run, and tap A.
While he's running there, move the pointer to an attacker just outside the box, press and hold B (your pass button) but instead of letting it go, drag it into the box and release it.
As soon as you let go of the B button, you player at the top of the box, still running, immediately lobs the ball to position and your attacker times his run to meet the ball.
Swing the Nunchuck at the right time and a blistering header or volley goal awaits.
Why is it so rewarding? Because it wasn't computer AI that moved that player into position - it was your own soccer mind.
The controls are revolutionary - no doubt - but just be warned that Pro Evo 2008 on the Wii feels different to its Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 brothers.
The emphasis on team control in the Wii version gives it a Command and Conquer style of gameplay where you feel you're pointing and clicking more than controlling the ball.
As a result, shooting for goal and defense seem to suffer in the scheme of things, with the more powerful consoles offeringshooting meters to gauge power, as well as spin controls.
Defense also suffers because your men never seem to attack the ball carrier as they do in the standard Pro Evo games.
But after a while you'll learn that this is because the game requires you to set-up your defense to block an attacking play, rather than go one on one all of the time.
Yes, it's different, but I would die a happy man if all soccer games were this much fun to play. For all of its shortcomings - including the graphics, which are decidedly last generation - Pro Evo 2008 on the Wii is the most enjoyable virtual representation of the Beautiful Game I've played in years.
It makes you realise just how stale soccer sims have become after years of the same-old control method. It also opens your eyes to how powerful the Wii controller can be - and why if developers spend decide to become as creative as Konami, the Wii remote will turn from gimmick into necessity.
It's worth mentioning that you can adjust players' mentality between attacking and defense on the fly, using the digital cross pad on the Wii remote.
Left or right will change the mentality between numbers 1 (all out defense) to 5 (all out attack). Up and down will change between left, right, and centre attacks.
A waggle of the Wii remote while in defense triggers the offside trap - a handy defense against opponents trying to burst through defense with long passes.
I've spent a lot of time on the controls, and that's because they're the major difference between the three console versions of Pro Evo 2008.
But in making a unique Wii experience, Konami has also taken a gamble on changing a few game modes, notably the Master League.
That mode is out, and in its place is the Champion's Road, a similar experience in which you take a division two team and acquire players that will turn it into a championship winning side.
The players you don't trade will slowly increase to their potential with game experience.
I'm not sure why Konami changed the mode, but it has a more user friendly interface and feel, and does lack some of the depth that Master League offers in terms of researching players.
But it's still great fun, and if the novelty of building your own championship team wears thin, then there's always online multiplayer to consider.
I found it difficult to find any local players in Australia using the Free game mode, where the game searches for a random opponent.
I relaxed my performance quality settings and soon found an opponent based in Europe, and was impressed that in-game the lag wasn't too bad.
The game was playable, albeit with some lag spikes, and I suffered a narrow defeat, 2 to 1.
The game also includes a training mode, and edit player or team mode, a standard cup or league mode, and exhibition mode with two-player multiplayer supported.
Pro Evo 2008 for the Wii is the perfect blend of regular soccer and tactics manager games. It offers you full control over your players actions with an emphasis on how the team moves the ball around as a whole - not just individuals.
Personally, I fell in love all over again with soccer games. I also play Pro Evo 2008 on the Playstation 3, but can now say that the Wii version is my favourite of the two purely because of the impressive control scheme.
If Konami can improve the shooting method, and give defensive players a greater hunger for the ball in next year's edition, then the Wii version of Pro Evolution could well become the preferred choice of soccer gamers everywhere.
Defensive players stand little chance against precision passing
ABOUT 10 minutes into my first game of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the Wii, I was struck by a revelation.
Why on earth had I settled for an comparibly inferrior and inprecise standard controller when using the Wii remote and Nunchuck offers a far better, and tactically superior experience?
The Pro Evo series has a strong reputation regardless of how you play it, and given its superiority to EA Sports' FIFA series, it may strike you as odd that Konami would want to tinker with a winning formula by adding Wii remote support.
But slowly, over six years of Pro Evo gaming, soccer nuts have discovered that there are limits to an analogue stick-based soccer game.
Passes, for one, never go where you want them to, and response time can seem sluggish.
Then there's the fact that on-the-fly tactics are incredibly difficult to perform for newer gamers, isolating them to noob-ville difficulty settings as they try and master complex shooting controls while changing to either an attacking or defensive mentality.
And above all else, with a standard controller you can only control one player at a time, which has its advantages over the Wii version, but never truly gives you the feeling of a team sport.
All of this has changed, for better or worse, with Pro Evo 2008 for the Wii.
Using the Wii remote and nunchuck you'll use the Wii the way it was meant to be. In fact, this is perhaps the first game since Wii Sports that illustrates the potential of the Wii with conviction.
Once your player has the ball, you point to where you want him to run to using the Wii remote's pointer feature, and hold the A button.
The thin blue line is a comon sight at soccer games these days. Crazy crowds.
To pass, you move the pointer over a player, or into a vacant space and press the B trigger - and the ball goes where you want it to.
Everytime you point a player to do something, a coloured arrow appears on screen, giving the game a tactics-board look when you begin performing multiple moves at a time.
It's impressive to look at, but more so to watch your players carry out their actions.
The Nunchuck offers analogue movement if you wish, while not holding down the A button - but you'll be schooled by the computer AI if you use last generation controls in this game.
Instead, while holding the A button, the analogue stick acts as a method for performing feigns, stops, tap-aheads and other cool moves.
Get into scoring position, hold down the A button and point the arrow that appears on screen to the corner of goal you want to shoot, then swing the Nunchcuk and voila, you have a goal!
In defense, the emphasis is on team play. You don't actually control a player - ever.
Instead, you control the whole team and can point and click on an area you want players to run to to shut down an attacking play, or you can click on the opponent with the ball to make players run out and attack him.
If that's not precise enough, then you can grab players and drag them into position - tricky to do at first, but most rewarding once you figure it out.
The controls take a little getting used to, and fortunately the manual and in-game tutorial are helpful.
But the game is truly rewarding once you start experimenting with the controls and creating some unreal, and previously unseen plays in Pro Evo.
Say you're flying down the right wing and have a clear path to the top of the box. Instead of having to hold the A button you can also point to where you want your player with the ball to run, and tap A.
While he's running there, move the pointer to an attacker just outside the box, press and hold B (your pass button) but instead of letting it go, drag it into the box and release it.
As soon as you let go of the B button, you player at the top of the box, still running, immediately lobs the ball to position and your attacker times his run to meet the ball.
Swing the Nunchuck at the right time and a blistering header or volley goal awaits.
Why is it so rewarding? Because it wasn't computer AI that moved that player into position - it was your own soccer mind.
The controls are revolutionary - no doubt - but just be warned that Pro Evo 2008 on the Wii feels different to its Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 brothers.
The emphasis on team control in the Wii version gives it a Command and Conquer style of gameplay where you feel you're pointing and clicking more than controlling the ball.
Got the idea yet? Point it to where you want the ball to go, and pray that it gets there safely. It's a cinch...
As a result, shooting for goal and defense seem to suffer in the scheme of things, with the more powerful consoles offeringshooting meters to gauge power, as well as spin controls.
Defense also suffers because your men never seem to attack the ball carrier as they do in the standard Pro Evo games.
But after a while you'll learn that this is because the game requires you to set-up your defense to block an attacking play, rather than go one on one all of the time.
Yes, it's different, but I would die a happy man if all soccer games were this much fun to play. For all of its shortcomings - including the graphics, which are decidedly last generation - Pro Evo 2008 on the Wii is the most enjoyable virtual representation of the Beautiful Game I've played in years.
It makes you realise just how stale soccer sims have become after years of the same-old control method. It also opens your eyes to how powerful the Wii controller can be - and why if developers spend decide to become as creative as Konami, the Wii remote will turn from gimmick into necessity.
It's worth mentioning that you can adjust players' mentality between attacking and defense on the fly, using the digital cross pad on the Wii remote.
Left or right will change the mentality between numbers 1 (all out defense) to 5 (all out attack). Up and down will change between left, right, and centre attacks.
A waggle of the Wii remote while in defense triggers the offside trap - a handy defense against opponents trying to burst through defense with long passes.
I've spent a lot of time on the controls, and that's because they're the major difference between the three console versions of Pro Evo 2008.
But in making a unique Wii experience, Konami has also taken a gamble on changing a few game modes, notably the Master League.
That mode is out, and in its place is the Champion's Road, a similar experience in which you take a division two team and acquire players that will turn it into a championship winning side.
The players you don't trade will slowly increase to their potential with game experience.
I'm not sure why Konami changed the mode, but it has a more user friendly interface and feel, and does lack some of the depth that Master League offers in terms of researching players.
But it's still great fun, and if the novelty of building your own championship team wears thin, then there's always online multiplayer to consider.
I found it difficult to find any local players in Australia using the Free game mode, where the game searches for a random opponent.
I relaxed my performance quality settings and soon found an opponent based in Europe, and was impressed that in-game the lag wasn't too bad.
The game was playable, albeit with some lag spikes, and I suffered a narrow defeat, 2 to 1.
The game also includes a training mode, and edit player or team mode, a standard cup or league mode, and exhibition mode with two-player multiplayer supported.
Pro Evo 2008 for the Wii is the perfect blend of regular soccer and tactics manager games. It offers you full control over your players actions with an emphasis on how the team moves the ball around as a whole - not just individuals.
Personally, I fell in love all over again with soccer games. I also play Pro Evo 2008 on the Playstation 3, but can now say that the Wii version is my favourite of the two purely because of the impressive control scheme.
If Konami can improve the shooting method, and give defensive players a greater hunger for the ball in next year's edition, then the Wii version of Pro Evolution could well become the preferred choice of soccer gamers everywhere.
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Comment by Glen Atwell
screenshots look salivating!