Pro Evolution Soccer has long been the gold standard for football – er, soccer - video games. Although it lacks the complete player and team licensing of the FIFA series by EA, the way it simulates the world’s game is regarded as being the most realistic and challenging in the genre. PES 2008 is Konami’s first soccer game on the Wii. Their standard for quality with this series, combined with the innovative Wii controls, offers a lot of promise for soccer video game fans. And, Konami delivers.
The Wii’s motion-sensing capabilities offer a variety of options for developers when creating the control scheme for sports games. Konami has taken a somewhat creative approach, allowing you to truly orchestra your team’s movements on the field yet still perform a decent variety of ball control moves with individual players. It really bridges the gap between complete player control and “coach mode.” You can actually control the player with the ball, while controlling the runs of teammates at the same time.
Dribbling is accomplished several ways. You can simply point to a spot and click the A button and your player will attempt to dribble there. You can point to a spot in front of the dribbler, keep the A button pressed, and “drag” with the Wiimote to move the player around. You can also use the control stick on the nunchuk to move the player. Or, you can combine both, like “dragging” with the Wiimote while using the control stick or tilting the nunchuk to change directions and make moves.
To pass the ball, all you need to do is simply point to a player or a spot on the pitch and click the B button. If you pass to a spot, the nearest player will attempt to get there to receive the pass. You can even drag a player and tell him to make a run, and then pass to that spot and hopefully catch him in stride. You can make combo passes, where you queue up passes to multiple teammates. And, by combining drag dribbling with the B button, you can execute a 1-2 pass. The pass type (ground or air) is selected automatically by default, but you can change the settings so that the type of passes is selected by the number of times you press the B button.
Defending is accomplished mostly by issuing instructions. If you click on an offensive player, your nearest defender will attempt to man-mark him. You can also double-click the A button while pointing to a spot, and the nearest defender will guard that area. Lastly, you can call two defenders to stop the dribbler by pointing to the dribbler and pressing the A button multiple times. You can attempt to tackle the ball by holding the Z button and shaking the nunchuk. Obviously, your positioning and timing will determine if it’s a success, a failure, or a foul. You also clear the ball by shaking the nunchuk as the ball approaches your defender.
Shooting is also accomplished by shaking the nunchuk. Again, timing, position, the player’s ratings, and the location of the defenders factor in to the success of the shot, including the location on goal.
It takes some time to master the control scheme, but a solid tutorial mode gives you a good overview. Curiously, you can only complete 60% of the tutorial up front. You will access the rest of the training by competing in the Champions Road mode. The game manual also does a great job of illustrating both the basic and the advanced controls. Time spent reviewing these materials will help the big picture come together for you, and it really is almost mandatory to get the most out of the game.
The controls attempt to find balance between controlling individual players and controlling the shape and action of your team. There’s a bit of a sacrifice of individual player control for better field management, but the result is that you have more input and how your team attacks and defends than ever before. It’s very fun and rewarding to execute a build-up by dragging to send your players on runs, executing basic and advanced passes, and finding the open man for a go at the goal. Defensively, it seems that you’re more of a traffic cop than a player, as you really don’t do much with individual defenders, save tackle attempts and making the goalie charge. Also, sometimes your defenders get caught flat-footed, as if they’re awaiting your instructions, which is contrary to the typically very solid AI in this series.
