Another great game from Konami and still plays great on the PS2.
X-box. Then I got my hands on the old WE 8 and fell in love with that but not at first...it grew on me. From that point on I played nothing but WE 8, the following editions of WE/PES just were not good enough did not improve enough in my eyes. Until now.
Now the game is not perfect but it plays a realistic game of soccer. A sports game that has been out this long can only improve in the little things and that is what PES 2009 does.
Pros: real game play, great animations like players fighting for position...winning 50/50's are a treat, quick kicks are effective unlike FIFA's, crossing system is not overly hard, presentation has been ramped up but of course not to FIFA' level, player affection model is good so you can't just load up your squad with superstars and everyone remains happy they want match time! PES is a game that gets better the longer you play it. Players really improve their skills and you can see/feel the difference. Team popularity is nice so you know the rating of your team and this affects who wants to play for you and going along with the player affection, too many players at the same position will make a number of them unhappy.
Cons: Free kicks are still very difficult, there is no bend/curl shot like FIFA, seasons are longer than WE 8 and it takes longer to progress through(a con for me), difficulty can be steep or just right, it depends if you play with match mode(real squad) or default players. I like the default players and forming my own squat from scratch. Default players are bad on 3 star and up level and you will want to break your controller! Holding up the ball can be hard at times. Training, to me, is not as good as WE 8 where you could train the whole squad in all drills but not in PES 2009 where you pick one area per week so your team does not advance as fast. Player affection is good but I have players that are in the starting 11 and leading the league in goals and assists and are still not happy, what gives?
Overall this is a great game for the PS2 and is more than worth a look. I will post a follow up review later as I get further in the game and try the Be a Legend mode.