As PES struggles to establish its current-gen credentials on rival consoles in the face of an ever-improving FIFA (this year’s being probably the best yet), the Wii game is clearly the best the franchise has to offer this generation.
Until now, that is. Because PES 2009 looks set to improve on the Wii original in numerous ways, one of which I particularly like the sound of.
So what do we get? Well, on top of the ‘point and click’ style system used last time around for guiding your current player and his team-mates into space and controlling passes much more accurately, Konami has introduced a more traditional control scheme for those struggling to get their heads round the new mechanics.
More significantly, you’ll now be able to better close down attacking players by holding down the Z button, while ’shake to shoot’ is out, replaced by a targeting system which allows you to position your shots much more accurately. There’s also a wider range of set-pieces, which is good news, while opponent AI is improved, making for a faster-paced game than before.
However, arguably the most exciting addition of the lot is the new co-operative play mode - which sees one player orchestrating tactics with the new Wii control scheme with a second player adopting more traditional PES control with the remote on its side. Think of the opportunities - you’ll be able to guide your player with the remote while your team-mate runs into space, ready to receive an instant pass when you highlight him with your cursor. It’s highly unusual to have a co-operative mode with two entirely different control schemes and good players will really have to work as a team to play quality football.
It sounds like a terrific idea to me, and it seems that the game’s producer, Akiyoshi ‘Greyhound’ Chosogabe (why do they all need animal nicknames?) has overtaken Seabass as the master of Konami’s footy division.
Unfortunately we’ll have to wait longer for the Wii version than its HD counterparts, with the game not due for release until Spring. But if that’s the price we have to pay for a much better game, then it’ll be worth it.
