Test carried out from the PlayStation 2 version
A page in video game football is turning. PES may have chained humiliations on the green rectangle, but the time has now come for him to leave his kindergarten, which has become too narrow, to embark on a conquest on a 1080p background. But before going to tame these still hostile grounds, the kaiser of video game football offers himself a final lap of honor. At a time when Electronic Arts is sweating blood and water to catch up with the finesse of a PES, Konami allows itself to take a small leap back in an area where it still has a lot to learn. This 2008 version is unfortunately marked by the pure and simple disappearance of two legendary Premiership licenses: Arsenal and Manchester United. Although replaced numerically by Tottenham Spurs and Newcastle Magpies, one can only be disappointed to lose the official dressing of these extremely popular teams. Added to this is a Bundesliga still confined to the sole presence of Bayern Munich, and it is an entire European championship that is stripped here. Still no Werder Bremen, nor Stuttgart to reconstruct the victory of our friends from Lyon. Fortunately, Konami was able to secure a number of new licenses regardless of their respective league. We think in particular of Internacional Porto Alegre, victorious in the Club World Cup, or of more obscure teams like the Swedes of Helsingborgs IF - with the immense Henrik Larsson appearing in the workforce -, or of the IFK Gothenburg which, for once, is composed only of illustrious strangers. An effort as exotic as it is useless on the part of Konami, some will think. Of course, a little more high-sounding names come and go to garnish the cake - FC Porto, Benfica Lisbon, River Plate… -, but the lack of exhaustiveness of this Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 hurts the competition.
Expiry date: August 2007
As usual, the numbers have not been fully updated, and it is no surprise that we will find Lassana Diarra on the Chelsea bench - or rather London FC -, Carlos Bueno and Christian Rodriguez at PSG . We will still note a lower number of aberrations than the previous season and, overall, the time spent in Edit mode will be shortened compared to other years. Konami proves to us once again that in Tôkyô, reading L'Equipe is not totally part of daily habits. As for the statistics, no surprise, the developers have missed a train. It is with perplexity that OM supporters will discover, for example, the young Ayew in the position of defensive midfielder! Ligue 1 players also suffer from this eternal lack of recognition; and without lapsing into chauvinism, we can be sure that from next year, the players who set sail this summer will have a physique inflated with steroids and nandrolone, while their technique will have been refined by the magic of million euros received abroad. Yoann Gourcuff is a good illustration of this, despite his intensive bench polishing at AC Milan; his stats have increased significantly. In short, once again, Pro Evolution Soccer offers us its shortcomings, and it is high time that this state of affairs changed.
Marseille Globe Trotters
Before attacking the concrete with the gameplay, it is always good to take a little detour through the game modes. As already mentioned above, Edit mode is of course back. Fanatics will once again be able to modify the look of a player disfigured by polygons and other failed textures, and create the emblems of teams without a license. The other modes are logically returning, with a Master League refined by the appearance of a coast, both for players and for clubs. It is therefore difficult to transfer a class A player, from a category B team, when our foals are still crossing the iron of their crampons with small fry classified C. The negotiations now promise to be tighter than usual, which was not really a necessity. Note also some differences in this mode compared to the next gen versions, which are less lax when creating a team. Dipping into Inter Milan and Real Madrid squads will be possible, but will take away much – if not all – of the interest of this mode. Similarly, the salaries to be filled are lower than on the high definition versions. Strange. Online play, Leagues and other usual Cups are back here. About cup, Euro 2008 obliges, KCET allowed itself to add a mode equivalent to the Nippon Challenge of Winning Eleven 9, where it was necessary to compose its selection before each qualifying match. What is the difference with the International Challenge? First of all, the latter disappeared, then this new mode accessible through the European Cup allows you to pass real qualifications for the final tournament. So get ready to face the terrible Cypriots and other Icelanders who are unfortunately not playable. Not necessarily original, this mode was amputated from the front pages of newspapers that followed the performance of the Rising Sun team in Winning Eleven 9. Damage. Other new features include World Tour, Community and Draft Match modes. The first offers you to travel the world with your favorite team to meet the great football nations. Each of them will set you one or more objectives that you will have to achieve to move on to the next meeting. Winning with a difference of more than two goals, shaking the net thanks to an individual feat, not conceding a single goal, attempting a certain number of shots on target... The challenges are numerous and varied, but this mode takes on its full meaning in orders from an average team. It is sure that with the Fantastic 4 of Barça, the challenge is immediately less raised. The Community mode, meanwhile, offers the possibility of creating a small group of friends. This mode allows the setting up of matches, tournaments and other championships; and since the figures never lie, a statistical follow-up will be proposed to nail the beak of the patented mythomaniacs. Selection Matches have replaced Random Selection Matches here.
Golden ball
After talking about the content of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, let's now tackle the heart of the game: its gameplay. Playing the card of continuity, this new edition seeks to erase the shortcomings perceived here and there last year, starting with the lethal weapon that are the centers in the background. More solid, the defenders are no longer so easily fooled by small feints and other hooks usually so devastating. They also had the good idea to be more reactive, and therefore quicker to cut the trajectories of a ball on the ground; which is not necessarily the case for aerial play. Far too lax in their marking, defenders often leave the attacker alone when the ball falls. Of course, a cross is not equivalent to a goal, but it is enough to be slightly ahead of the defensive replacement to have his vis-à-vis free of any marking ready to make the powder speak. Powder which has not finished exploding with the readjustment made in the strikes. As rare as last year, they also saw their accuracy increase as they approached the penalty area. Both in a tight angle and in a pivot, they will catch the frame with more ease, which will result in a certain number of goal gags. Between the slippery gloves of a goalkeeper who prefers to push back a shot rather than slam it, or sometimes clumsy defenders approaching their goal line, the proportion of individual error sees its curve increase in this episode. However, don't believe that Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 turns into a mess simulation; we are still very far from it. Overall, the game seems to have gained in difficulty, and the computer surprisingly combines with its teammates. Short game, long game, personal initiatives, it will not fail to eliminate you by a few changes of direction whose effectiveness is a certainty. The gameplay is much finer and collective even if the game is once again full of ultra-cracked players. We are used to it after all. The only real downside that some will be able to emit on this gameplay always closer to perfection is the animation speed. Not annoying in the game, it may however shock when the word realism is whispered. A bit higher than its big brother, the speed will give the uninformed spectator an arcade feel which is obviously not the reflection of the sensations, controller in hand.
Concretely, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 does not offer any fundamental differences in its gameplay, but the small alterations made manage to renew the pleasure of the game. Still, Konami is struggling to get rid of its usual shortcomings, with in particular a skin that borders on bad taste. The colors of certain menus attack the eye, and the large number of menus and sub-menus are enough to disconcert the neophyte. The arrival of Paganelli to the comments was synonymous with hope to change us from the mediocrity of the comments. Unfortunately, the troublemaker of Canal + does not use his usual humor, and is content to fit into the indigestible mold of Christian Jeanpierre. Linguistic possibilities have also diminished. Players, who relied on English or Spanish to circumvent the silliness of our consultants, will now have to make do with German. Less sexy isn't it? Since the music is also unworthy, the most logical choice will be to mute the sound. Regarding the purely technical aspect, Konami seems to have reached a ceiling for two years, which prevents any graphic evolution. Some stars have had a facelift, but nothing too obvious, especially since they are not necessarily more successful. The animation remains on top and gives a good lesson to the next gen versions that are scandalously flawed at this level.
