Screenshots :.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 DS
DS
Matt
12-08-2008
"There are no DS screens for Pro Evo 2008"
"Hence, these are from the PS3 version"
"Not exactly representative, sadly."
Portable football games have always been a slightly curious bunch, harking right back to my days of playing the rather naff World Cup ’94 on the original chunky brick Game Boy. You see, all my memories of the video game version of footy are based around me and a group of chums crowded around a telly screen going through tournaments and matches in a rather raucous social manner, so whilst handheld versions are welcome and can work (Sensi Soccer on the Game Gear rocked), they lack the social appeal that their bigger brothers carry.
Still, a portable version of Pro Evo 2008 on the DS is a rather interesting prospect. Coming packed with a handful of national and international teams, a smattering of modes and a pretty respectable scaled-down version of Pro Evo styled football. Does it all hang together well enough to make it a must-buy for any DS-owning footy fan?
Kind of. At its heart, the DS version of 2008 provides a fairly entertaining game of football, with reasonably believable ball physics and an engine that allows good use of both passing and running games. On the higher difficulty levels the AI puts up a pretty decent fight and leaves you searching for pockets of space and passing opportunities, although it certainly feels rather more rigid and predictable than its bigger brothers.
The problems with the football itself are twofold; the game looks rather akin to the N64 ISS Pro games sans much in the way of identifying features for the players, and that at times it does feel rather sluggish, which means that the recent DS version of FIFA rather puts it to shame on both accounts. The touch screen is left to only minor use as well; there are two buttons that when pressed switch your team between an offensive and a defensive tactic, whilst the camera can be swung around during replays and playback speed can be altered. Konami proved with the Wii version of Pro Evo 2008 that they can think outside of the box a little and come up with something rather unique to suit different kinds of controller input, so you’d have to think that there’s something they could have done with the portable version.
Whilst the footy itself isn’t all that bad, the surrounding options and details fall a little flat. The Holy Grail for all Pro Evo fans, the Master League, is notable by its absence, with the rather barebones World Tour mode offered instead. The gist of this is that you take a basic squad of players through a series of matches against every team in the game, with a win rewarding you with a notch up the rankings list and a game against the next team. When you’ve beaten a team you can head out into an utterly bizarre slot machine affair from which you can spend coins – earned through good play – on having a chance to secure the cream of the opposition’s crop for your own squad.
Whilst this is no doubt novel enough, it does create somewhat of a revolving door of talent in your squad, and as a result you never really feel any particular attachment to them. In addition, merely plugging through a series of matches against teams of gradually increasing ability isn’t exactly thrill-a-minute stuff and quickly becomes rather dull. With no league or cup structure to proceedings it all falls rather flat, which is a shame.
There’s precious little else for you to do, either. Single match and training options are offered for those wanting either a quick fix of footy or the chance to brush up on their match skills, whilst there’s also multiplayer options for single and multi cart play (the former hamstrung by some ridiculous limitations, such as not allowing players to make substitutions etc) and online play, although my short time with that proved it somewhat laggy and unpredictable.
The one thing that stands out having spent some time with the DS version of Pro Evo is that… well, it doesn’t particularly feel like a modern Pro Evo game. The game lacks much in the way of options, feels rather treacly during hectic moments in play, has a rather underwhelming World Tour mode as its centrepiece and features a mere smattering of licensed national league teams (Newcastle and Spurs from the Premiership, in case you wondered) alongside the international squads. It’s a reasonable attempt at a portable footy game, sure, but it hardly stretches itself.
Hence my point earlier regarding the Wii version of Pro Evo, and the missed opportunity that the DS version feels by comparison. The seeds for a motion-based footy game have been well and truly sewn, and with the DS touch screen at their disposal Konami have an opportunity to bring something different to the market rather than giving us something watered down instead. We’ll have to wait to next year to see if they see the light, but until then you have to say that EA and FIFA sit atop the DS football scene.
Still, a portable version of Pro Evo 2008 on the DS is a rather interesting prospect. Coming packed with a handful of national and international teams, a smattering of modes and a pretty respectable scaled-down version of Pro Evo styled football. Does it all hang together well enough to make it a must-buy for any DS-owning footy fan?
Kind of. At its heart, the DS version of 2008 provides a fairly entertaining game of football, with reasonably believable ball physics and an engine that allows good use of both passing and running games. On the higher difficulty levels the AI puts up a pretty decent fight and leaves you searching for pockets of space and passing opportunities, although it certainly feels rather more rigid and predictable than its bigger brothers.
The problems with the football itself are twofold; the game looks rather akin to the N64 ISS Pro games sans much in the way of identifying features for the players, and that at times it does feel rather sluggish, which means that the recent DS version of FIFA rather puts it to shame on both accounts. The touch screen is left to only minor use as well; there are two buttons that when pressed switch your team between an offensive and a defensive tactic, whilst the camera can be swung around during replays and playback speed can be altered. Konami proved with the Wii version of Pro Evo 2008 that they can think outside of the box a little and come up with something rather unique to suit different kinds of controller input, so you’d have to think that there’s something they could have done with the portable version.
Whilst the footy itself isn’t all that bad, the surrounding options and details fall a little flat. The Holy Grail for all Pro Evo fans, the Master League, is notable by its absence, with the rather barebones World Tour mode offered instead. The gist of this is that you take a basic squad of players through a series of matches against every team in the game, with a win rewarding you with a notch up the rankings list and a game against the next team. When you’ve beaten a team you can head out into an utterly bizarre slot machine affair from which you can spend coins – earned through good play – on having a chance to secure the cream of the opposition’s crop for your own squad.
Whilst this is no doubt novel enough, it does create somewhat of a revolving door of talent in your squad, and as a result you never really feel any particular attachment to them. In addition, merely plugging through a series of matches against teams of gradually increasing ability isn’t exactly thrill-a-minute stuff and quickly becomes rather dull. With no league or cup structure to proceedings it all falls rather flat, which is a shame.
There’s precious little else for you to do, either. Single match and training options are offered for those wanting either a quick fix of footy or the chance to brush up on their match skills, whilst there’s also multiplayer options for single and multi cart play (the former hamstrung by some ridiculous limitations, such as not allowing players to make substitutions etc) and online play, although my short time with that proved it somewhat laggy and unpredictable.
The one thing that stands out having spent some time with the DS version of Pro Evo is that… well, it doesn’t particularly feel like a modern Pro Evo game. The game lacks much in the way of options, feels rather treacly during hectic moments in play, has a rather underwhelming World Tour mode as its centrepiece and features a mere smattering of licensed national league teams (Newcastle and Spurs from the Premiership, in case you wondered) alongside the international squads. It’s a reasonable attempt at a portable footy game, sure, but it hardly stretches itself.
Hence my point earlier regarding the Wii version of Pro Evo, and the missed opportunity that the DS version feels by comparison. The seeds for a motion-based footy game have been well and truly sewn, and with the DS touch screen at their disposal Konami have an opportunity to bring something different to the market rather than giving us something watered down instead. We’ll have to wait to next year to see if they see the light, but until then you have to say that EA and FIFA sit atop the DS football scene.
5/10
