Football or Soccer as you would call it in the US is becoming popular and recognizable by all countries.  Owen? Cristiano Ronaldo? Or even David Beckham who now plays for LA Galaxy.  My point is as Football/Soccer becomes popular so are the computer games in that genre and that only mean one thing, good for the franchises.

Can Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 take the crown once again…You decide for yourselves…

Have you played or heard of the PES Series? And you get gamers telling you “Yes, and the gameplay is splendid”…We are not talking about a game which change the face of gameplay in that apartment but has become a well known franchise, yes we are talking about Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 or Winning Eleven 2008…

The first thing you will notice about PES2008 is the new menu layout, which to my surprise looks very next gen and thank god the background music is so much better then before.  PES2008 still lacks Licence teams but for these who played the franchise before is not really too bothered about it because the heart of PES2008 is about the gameplay and that is exactly what you will be getting…

I can tell you the graphics department is not a big improvement to last year’s, none the less it’s a improvement.  It makes me wonder did Konami actually spend more time on the menu itself then the in-game graphics! But it’s not a big deal right? Or is it…but the highly realistic gameplay is where it’s at.

                You decide graphics over gameplay? now don’t think so...

Gameplay wise “wow” yes you heard me “wow” it plays ever so well, near perfect? Not really but it sure has its feels much like last years but with the loose controls tightened up and much more responsive, giving you greater control.  The AI is very good indeed, which if played from difficulty Professional and above gives you better challenge and can make you scream at the screen!  The AI will make moves which you won’t expect from playing with a computer control opponent.  Each player feels perfect for example Cristiano Ronaldo will give you nightmares with his forward trick runs or Rooney with his shots on target which never really fails me.  Teams play as if you were watching a match on your screen, seen how Real Madrid plays in real live? A little messy teamplay but forwards are excellent and that’s what you will be getting as or play as Man U and you get a solid teamplay, but of course you get to plan your own tactics/strategies  but doesn’t take away the fact that the teams play so real to its real life counterparts.

Now everyone’s talking about the “Dive” should it or should it not be featured…I can honestly say it don’t make a whole lot difference, if you thinking of cheating your way through the match with dives then you’re mistaking.  You won’t get away with it much and you be rewarded with a yellow card instead of the opposite.

Online Play what can I say get it fix Konami please ASAP!  I won’t get into the online play because it really is terrible but Konami is working on the problem and will get it fix soon...This is not the only problem the game is having but it sure has issues with in-game play for example when playing in a match you will get some little buggy with the frame-rate when the screen gets really busy, usually during replay, but you won’t really be bothered with this as you be busy winning to notice or even care.  Even with the issue’s it’s no big deal if you want the most realistic and fun experience football game to date.