If only the Saints hadn't succumbed to a late Cardiff winner yesterday evening would have been perfect. The reason? Pro Evolution Soccer 6 had arrived for the Xbox 360. And guess what? It's good and still plays a great game...but I've been slightly underwhelmed so far. Graphics aside there's nothing that couldn't have been done on PS2 and online in particular looks like a missed opportunity. Yes the refs are far more realistic, allowing play to go on most of the time which will please fans of the pressing game. And yes there seems to be more variety in getting on to the end of crosses in the box - I scored a couple of cracking stooping headers - but there is most definitely an evolution rather than the next-gen revolution that was hoped for. Of course, it takes a while before a new PES reveals itself and I'm expecting to fall in love once I've played more games. But there are more niggles than I expected.
The lack of official licence - Merseyside Reds (Liverpool) vs Hertfordshire (Watford) anyone? - somehow seems worse when you're playing in HD. Not sure why, but it does. Not enough to make me play FIFA, of course, but enough to niggle more than it ever did on PS2. What else then? Well, the graphics are pretty, especially on an HD telly. They won't blow you mind - although a quick look back at say PES 3 will show you how far things have come in such a short time - but the players certainly look realistic with none of FIFA's zombie faces. And they feel good too, as they shield the ball or lay off a pass. I do hate the sprint button being the right shoulder rather than trigger though - the trigger just seems more natural. This can be changed in the settings but makes it harder to do some of the numerous, and to be honest, frivolous special moves. Talking of moves there appear to be more than ever, with what sees like hundreds of different skills available to those who have the patience and dexterity to manage, for example, to retain possession when prodding the directional pod in a 90 degree opposite angle to the ball while holding the left shoulder button down . Hardcore PES fans will love it but I've got a feeling PES6 may be too clever for its own good.
The area I'm most excited about is Live but - bah - it looks like Konami have missed their opportunity. Live was down yesterday so I'm just going by what the manual says, but it appears the online features are basic and no real advancement on PES 5. The real annoyance is the lack of online co-op, a feature that the otherwise dreadful England Football Manager managed on the Xbox a couple of years ago. What's your excuse Konami? (and EA, there's no co-op in FIFA either) Let's hope they've sorted out the lag issue that bugged PES5 - Ill found out later when I finally get on.
Very early days then, but PES 6 looks promising in terms of on-pitch action but is clearly not the online/offline footy revolution that I'd hoped for. More impressions later in the week.
