I've been playing Pro Evo 5 on the PSP for the last week. I still can't make my mind up, but at the moment it seems to be very much like Liberty City Stories - i.e. technically marvellous, but hampered by the PSP itself. The nub and shoulder buttons just don't offer the same feeling of control or potential moves that seasoned players will need. And it's a shame because the game has enough bright points to encourage perserverance.
The action is still as realistic as ever - possibly too much so. Retaining possession is a struggle and the way the ball bobbles around makes it hard to create passing moves. There are other flaws too - the widest camera angle doesn't offer quite enough view to fully measure your through-balls, while loading times and occasional slowdown are a pain. Also, criminally, there isn't a master league option, which will disappoint the die-hards.
But it's the controls that annoy the most, with many promising situations thwarted by the stodgy controller or shoulder buttons rather than the opposition. Using the d-pad helps, but the sublime feeling of control engendered by the PS2 and Xbox versions is often absent on PSP.
But you know, despite all this, the thing still works. It retains the essence of Pro Evo - namely that football is as much about perspiration as inspiration - and, despite the flaws, is still the best handheld footy game around.
The staccato pace resembles the real sport and scoring even the scrappiest goal is a proper punch the air moment. Hell, I even scored a free kick last night - only ever scored one on the console version - though that was after a few drinks on the train home (maybe that's the key?) Pro Evo 5 is satisfying to play and a great technical achievement, but don't expect perfection - like most PSP games this is very much a work-in-progress.
