While the gameplay remains as solid as ever the whole thing lacks innovation and is in need of a major revamp.
It’s apparent from your first kick of the ball that this game is a lot more difficult than anything fans have seen before; it really will take you a good few matches to adapt to its playing style but once that’s overcome you should be more than pleased with the results. The controls are tighter than ever before and while it does take patience you will soon appreciate your new found freedom. Your player will control the ball with astounding precision which makes tasks such as dribbling less of a chore; it also opens up more options in terms of the way you play and allows for more skillful players to show what they can really do.
With these added abilities for the attack-minded players come more resilient defenders who you will find much tougher to beat. Now long balls from one end of the pitch to the other are much tougher prospects, short quick passes reap bigger rewards and ultimately make for a much quicker game. Talking of speed those players with that little bit of added pace now have an advantage, players such as Eto’o and Martins can now burst through defenses and leave them standing in their wake.
If you are caught in this situation however the goalkeepers are now more adept at making those crazy saves and last-ditch parry’s you expect from a world class player. They’re also better equipped at preventing ‘easy’ or ‘default’ goals such as cutbacks and chips, so you will have to work a whole lot harder for your goals this time around. Also free kicks are nothing short of impossible to pull off, not just because the keepers have that added agility but because they’ve completely screwed up the shot system for them.
The single-player portions are relatively unchanged, the Master League has some slight modifications in the way you manage your team but nothing of any great value. Infact the only thing worth mentioning is the new International Challenge mode which allows you to play in a World Cup style event; qualifying rounds and all. While this does appear a pretty cool addition at first it doesn’t stray all that far from other cups that were already at your disposal.
The multiplayer is where the games real strength lies and will keep your interest right up to the release of Pro Evolution Soccer 7; no matter how many matches you play it has that unique ability to tempt you into “just one more game” and that’s something rival titles fail to accomplish. They have thrown in a Random Selection mode this time around which is a pretty neat concept, you choose a country or pick any four teams and a random squad of players are generated; if you’re not happy with your recruits then you can swap them for a complete new line-up. So if you’re a fan of say Liverpool and Barcelona you can now play Gerrard and Ronaldinho side-by-side in devastating fashion.
Alternatively if none of your friends are available you can try your hand online and test your skills against some of the best players the nation has to offer. Unfortunately you get the usual brunt of gamers who have a habit of disconnecting when the chips are down, but you can’t take that away from an enjoyable; lag-free experience.
One huge downside to the proceedings is the lack of a full Premiership licence, this may have been tolerable a few years back but now Konami have more than enough money to splash out and their excuses are running agonizingly low. They dropped Chelsea for reasons unbeknown and added Manchester United, so they now partner Arsenal who has been picked up for a second successive year. Now if you want to play as Chelsea they are known as ‘North London’, have a plain blue kit and a horrendous looking badge to go with it.
Ignoring the general consensus they still have those awful commentators in place, who grate on you after about ten minutes. Perhaps even worse is the fact that they only added about 20 new phrases for us to be annoyed by, at least they could have offered some variety. They haven’t dropped those awful menu screens either; they are still dull and annoying to navigate through. While the gameplay remains as solid as ever the whole thing lacks innovation and is in need of a major revamp. Fifa on the other hand is improving vastly every year and will be hot on Konami’s heals in the race for top spot in 2007.
Gameplay - Primped and polished the formula. Players have more freedom, tighter controls, better defenses and a quicker game overall.
Graphics - Crisp animations, realistic ball physics and superb player interaction makes for a realistic experience. Cut-scenes are still dreadful though.
Sound - Those awful commentators make a return, no recognizable crowd chants and the menu music is uninspired.
Value - Two new modes to dabble with but little else has changed, the multiplayer will keep you going and going and going…