Pro Evolution Soccer is back for another year following last year’s somewhat disappointing effort from the team at Konami, so what improvements have been made this year and have they made the game good enough to challenge the might of FIFA 09 which at the time of writing has sold over 1 million copies in Europe and also achieved a Metacritic average of 90%?

Let’s get things straight, until last year I was always on the Pro Evolution Soccer camp when it came to getting my football fix, while I tend to own both games every year anyway only one of them usually has a permanent place in my console, and last year it wasn’t Pro Evolution Soccer, it was FIFA. While the latter seems to have been improving year in and year out the problem I had with last year’s version of Pro Evolution Soccer was that it was sluggish, ugly and in general nowhere near as fun as it’s main rival, which is why I grudgingly turned to FIFA. This year having already played FIFA for quite a long time before Pro Evolution Soccer came through the door, I was quite worried that I may not take to this years version of Komani’s soccer game, after all both games are quite different beasts and once you are used to one it does take a while to become accustomed to the other again.

Anyway it seems that my worries were quite unfounded, although it did take me a few games to get used to the pace of Pro Evolution Soccer 09 I was soon back into the swing of things and into the territory of the Masters League, with the familiar players such as Minanda and Castolo who have accompanied me throughout the years of the series.

Once onto the pitch, Pro Evo certainly plays a more patient game of football than FIFA, in fact I would go as far to say that it is more realistic when compared to real football than EA’s approach, play always runs at a decent pace and you certainly have to be patient when looking for an opening, players will run for space and look for the ball, although they do lack the style of FIFA where players point to where they want the ball played or physically call for it by putting their hands in the air.

The gameplay is always what has set the Pro Evo series apart from FIFA and in that respect this year’s version is certainly a return to form for Konami. Passing feels more realistic than ever, press the button longer to pass further, and if you misjudge then you players will be tripping over themselves trying to get to the ball. Another great thing about the game play is that you have the ability to control your player in anyway you wish, from dribbling, sidesteps, shimmy’s, lofted balls, feint’s, you name it and you can do it, in fact it is quite incredible the amount you can do with the ball at your feet and it’s all fairly easy to pull off too thanks to the simple controls. One of the things I have always loved about the series is the unscripted nature of it, just missing that vital goal you need always brings out the frustration in you, tense 0-0 draws always get you excited and hoping to pull off a last minute goal and hitting the bar always makes you jump from your seat, all of this returns this year, by the barrel load.

This year’s game includes all the usual suspects as far as features go, the Master’s League, Cup, Online, Exhibition and Edit modes are all present, with the edit mode in particular being much improved, especially in terms of being able to alter strips and make players to look more realistic. The main changes this year though come in the form of new modes to play, for one there is now a fully licensed Champions League (complete with THAT music), this allows you to choose your favourite team, starting in the group section and eventually working your way through to become the Champions of Europe, it’s a just pity really that unlike the support for the Xbox 360 version’s achievements, there is no trophy support included in the PS3 version, because a trophy for winning the Champions League would have been nice.

As well as the Champions League mode, this year’s Pro Evo includes the all new Become a Legend mode, this allows you to create a player using the edit system (you can even use your own face if you have a camera), choose his position and then play through his career by playing his role on the park in each of your teams games. This is actually really fun and it does make you feel like you are in the mind of a footballer during a game as you try to make the right runs and passes and find space to receive the ball. It also works incredibly well as if you are in space your teammates will usually pass the ball to you without fail. Be warned though you must perform well because just like in real football, a dip in form will probably see you on the bench or dropping to a lower level of club. Once you have created your player you will then be able to make use of the games other new mode, Legends. This mode allows you to take your player online and play in a team with up to four players against a CPU team.

The online mode doesn’t seems to have changed much from last year, when online you are presented with a lobby system, here you can play in a ranked or unranked match, or you can create your own. Connecting to other players does seem straight forward though and I personally had no major issues when playing online.

Presentation has never been Pro Evo’s strong point and yet again FIFA easily wins hands down this year, though that’s not to say that the game looks bad, in fact quite the opposite. When you first enter the menus you will notice that they have been very much improved, everything actually looks quite nice instead of the tacky look we are usually presented with, this also extends in game with everything from the advertising boards to what’s on the pitch looking great, it’s just a pity that the stadiums and the fans lack the same detail, the players look great though, well most of them.

The sound is the usual hit and miss, while the commentary is solid enough apart from the odd blip here and there, elsewhere the noise coming from the crowds is pretty awful, it just doesn’t sound realistic at all, resulting in little atmosphere on the park, again not a major flaw when you are immersed in a game, but still a little more effort here would have went a long way.

There is just something about Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 that shines, sure it lacks FIFA’s obvious polish but once you are immersed in the gameplay it is still the best football game where it counts and that’s why it’s the champion once more.

Overall Rating 9.4/10