Pro Evolution Soccer 6 Xbox 360 Review

It’s always obvious when love and passion has been poured into a game, and the Pro Evolution Soccer series is one of the prime examples of one that has always received tender care and attention from its crafters. This is one of the reasons that the series has become a favourite fixture amongst gamers, you can basically feel the love.

As a next generation version of the series, it was quite a shock for us to learn that the game isn’t really what we have come to expect from such a powerful machine. There’s missing content and few upgrades to compensate for these omissions. Simply put, PES6 on Xbox 360 is a lazy port and its difficult to see where the effort has been spent, bar the very slightly upgraded visuals. FIFA 07 on the other hand makes Pro Evo look a little dated in comparison, with it’s improved player animations and the general amount of effort that went into the game during its development.

Fans of the annual football feast need not worry as this is still the series that you fell in love with, although for some it may be too similar to the fifth game. There’s no monumental changes to speak of as perhaps Konami sat back on their reclining chair and decided that perfection has already been met, something which many would find difficult to argue with. The improvements to the game are therefore mere tweaks, but they should delight the fans who buy the game each and every year, although as a next-gen debut it still disappoints.

Something which the series was pulled back for by many critics last year was its lack of fluent football, with the referee constantly blowing his whistle and stopping the game for the merest of things. Those critics will be glad to hear that this is no longer the case, whilst the ref unfortunately hasn’t swallowed and choked on his whistle yet, matches are once again returned to a fast and flowing pace.

The numerous tweaks include improved AI, which sees your men intelligently moving into position to receive the ball. The slide tackle has also been kicked into shape, and now allows you to slide into a tackle and come right back out with the ball under your spell (or your feet at least!). Whilst small tweaks to the shooting system, which takes into account the position and balance of the man in posession, should please any budding strikers. Perhaps the hardiest of fans would be the only people to notice these additions without the signposts, but little things do add a surprising amount to a game at times. Even the quick free kicks feel like an addition that is worth talking about, and it’s another feature which accentuates a more fluid and attacking game of football.

There’s a basic online mode, with no leagues or tournaments to be found, which is excusable, but what isn’t so acceptable is the server problems that results in difficulty finding opponents to play against, and freezing and lag during matches. It’s certainly an online mode that is in need of Konami’s immediate attention, as at the time of writing it’s just not worth your time.

Lazy and rushed Pro Evolution Soccer 6 may be, but there’s no denying that Konami’s footy game is still a class act. A revamp for the seventh game in the series is a certainty, although if EA could knock up a startling different version for the 360 this early on, then we can’t see why Konami couldn’t have done the self same thing with next-gen Pro Evo.

8/10