It's been sci-fi and soccer the last few days. And no, sadly that doesn't mean Speedball. Most of my time was spent on Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force for Game Boy Advance, my Online review this week. After watching the DVDs I was in the mood for all things Star Wars, even a generic 2D platform game. Elsewhere I revisited the weightier adventuring of Deus Ex: Invisible War and had the lads round for some Pro Evolution Soccer 4. Deus Ex, in particular, was a treat. Much maligned on release earlier this year for being a dumbed-down sequel, Invisible War's atmosphere and tightly focussed environments were a pleasure to return to. Yes, excessive signposting takes away some of the freedom, but is that a bad thing? I loved the original Deus Ex, but it was certainly bloated in places. It's a shame that Warren Spector, head of developers ION Storm, has left the company. Deus Ex: Directors Cut – taking the graphics and focus of Invisible War – would do very nicely. Away from the sci-fi there was Pro Evolution Soccer…
Four player, two versus two, Pro Evolution Soccer 4 on the PlayStation 2. Some day all Saturday nights will be like this. Even yet another defeat for the Saints couldn't dampen the atmosphere. While only preview code, it's clear that Pro Evo 4 is shaping up to be a winner. The pace is faster than before, but the control and feel of the players is tighter than ever. It is still delightful to flick a header into the path of a striker or play triangles on the wing. My concern over new player tricks – a step too far into FIFA territory – seems to be misplaced. Yes the top players can pull off some silky trickery but it is hard to do and rare to see – much like real life. The only real issues at this stage are a hint of slowdown when the penalty area gets crowded, although Konami assure me it will be sorted before release. Even free kicks and the menu interface – the main gripes of previous games in the series – have been semi-fixed.
Finally my review game – Star Wars: Apprentice of the Force on Game Boy Advance. I won't spoil your undoubted anticipation for the review, but don't expect, as I optimistically did, a game as good as the Super Star Wars trilogy on the SNES. These games would be fantastic on GBA – or is it just rose-tinted spectacles? Where they as good as I remember?
