And so we get to October 1st, one week to go until Konami launch the latest version of Pro Evolution Soccer and still I have yet to see any adverts. Another flashy, big budget advert for Electronic Art's FIFA 11 comes on, featuring a whole host of international footballers having a good time playing togther and I die a little more inside...
We get to launch day, a full week after FIFA 11 has been made available to the public amid widespread critical acclaim and still, no mention that this game is now on the high street.
I take my copy of FIFA 11 back and swap it for Pro Evo, explaining that it was a gift bought for me and it "just didn't come in cellophane" (I sort of feel guilty, not that I lied to the store, but that I actually purchased a copy of a game I haven't bought since FIFA 99 on the N64). I ask the guy behind the till how many copies of Pro Evo have been sold so far (it's 14:00). "A couple", he shrugs.
Legendary Pro Evolution Soccer Producer Shingo "Seabass" Takatsuka promised this years effort would offer "total control over the ball"...or something like that. The same spiel that has come out of Japan for the last four years, during which, admittedly, Pro Evo has lost some of the magic that made it king of football games back in the halcyon days of 2004.
The switch to HD gaming has not been kind on this once great franchise, and the game has started to look tired and dated. The much needed complete overhaul of the Master League mode has not been forthcoming, the online mode has been clunky and unreliable and Konami are still unable to up their production values and most importantly gain valuble licenses which seems to be the key to sales.
After playing this years version for a solid two weeks now, I have to conclude it is easily the best in the series since Pro Evo 4, and the control the game offers during matches is noticable when you first pick up the game and are spraying passes out for throw-ins with alarming regularity. Persistance is key, like in all previous versions, and patience will inevitably lead to mastery.
On reflection, I'm glad Konami don't crow about the fact the game is out. The series seems to have gone back to it's roots and it's players are now very much in the minority again, just like the good old days.
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