Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (PS2)

Some would say that Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is the best football game out, others argue that fifa still had the edge but one things for sure that if Pro evo 4 had better graphics and more licensing it would beet Fifa 10-0 - pro evolution soccer is miles above Fifa and as it continues to evolve it moves higher and higher above Fifa each time.

The problem this time around after 3 is that it has not been updated enough, Pro evolution soccer's problem is licensing - everyone that plays this game will know how annoying it is to get the game and have to update it or, sit there and play with teams where players names are so daft that they make no sense what so ever, however some people use this as a plus point to the game, I know people that can sit there hours on end and edit the game fully until it's maxed out.

In my answer to the licensing problem I would say create your own team, this way you get the excitement of playing in the master league with players that you know personally or ones you have just made up!

I think the master league is a great feature because you get to train players to make them better, you can also make it in to your own team by editing features, that means you can have yourself scoring the goal that wins the league, it brings a management side to the game, I love management games as well so combining the two was a great idea however pro evolution soccer management was a poor game and a waste of time, so don't bother!

In a master league you start off in division 2, and have to work your way up which is hard because you have a bad team but you do pick up some points then you can negotiate with other teams for their players, and improve your own, if you are new to the game then it will take you a while to progress up the leagues unless your playing one star!

Before starting a master league I recommend that you play some exhibition matches, just to get into the swing of things, even if you have already played the pro evo series because it does have a different game play to Pro Evolution Soccer 3.

Here's one problem with the whole pro evolution series, if you play a match against the computer 1 star or 2 stars is very basic however when you move on to 3 4 5 and now 6 stars the game gets a lot harder so if you are trying to pick up the game I recommend you play with a friend so they can tell you the basics and maybe even let you win a few times!!

New skills can be mastered in this game, and also one thing I love about this game is the training mode, you can do challenges to get up to 5 stars which is fun in itself but this also improves your skill on the pitch as well.

This game is a big party game, I would not recommend playing alone for a long time as it sometimes gets boring and repetitive and can put you off a great game.

A game that is relatively simple has a long lasting effect, and it's value for money as you always come back to play it and as you can not complete the game there is no end.

It is good in many ways, and it is very enjoyable. You can have good fun playing master leagues, cups and other things, but it has a one big flaw.

The bad thing is that you won't have much fun on your own, and it gets repetitive very quickly, and without friends this would be just a decent football game. It's very good, but Pro Evolution Soccer 3 is much better.

There is little doubt in my mind that this is the best football game to be released. The realism that is standard in the series, returns, and is improved upon, both with game physics, and graphical touches. The fact that some of the players will wear gloves in the winter, is a nice example of the graphical improvements.

The editing function is also expanded upon, to allow for more varied reproduction of kits, emblems and flags. Upon starting the 'Master League', you are even given the chance to create a completely original team, to play through the game mode as.

The 'Master League', while still not perfect, is expanded upon, allowing more teams to participate. There are more teams, more licenses, more players, more stadiums, new animations, new commentary (albeit rather poor), and a number of options added to the game.

Overall it is a big improvement on Pro Evolution Soccer 3, however the gap is smaller than that, between Pro Evolution Soccer 2 and Pro Evolution soccer 3. Most of the problems from Pro Evolution 3, have been ironed out, but a few small nuances still remian.

Overall, PES4 is a great improvement compared to PES3. The graphics are much better, the replays are quite cool, the commentary is not that bad, and the stadiums and fans look quite real. However, I still do not like the Master League, because it is quite boring, just like its Asian Counterpart Winning Eleven 8. Well, I guess Konami has to change this a bit. But Overall, I think Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is a better game than Fifa Football 2005, and I also think is so far is the best PS2 Soccer Game in Europe.

How Konami (makers of Pro Evolution Soccer 4) do it I'll never know! Everytime you think they've made a game as perfect as it could be, they release a sequel that makes the predecessor look very poor! Pro Evolution Soccer 4 though, must be as perfect as a computer game could possibly be! The way the players move is exceptional, how players run into space automatically, the well utilised advantage rule, and there is nothing more satisfying than doing a triple stepover and pushing it past that poor right back! This game is one you cannot miss out on, there is probably one flaw in the game, and that is the goalkeeping, it can be brilliant in one instance, then terrible a moment later. You can't miss out on this game though, it's too good to be true, FIFA is for kids, this is for the big boys!

I, like many others was desperate to get my hands on Pro Evolution Soccer 4. PES1 and 2 were excellent games. PES3 was fantastic in so many ways. PES4 is disappointing.

The main problem is that in every possible way it is just TOO EASY!! Having earned enough points to buy an additional difficulty level I thought it would be ok. But scoring is just so simple. Just pass the ball around until you have an open goal then tap it in! You'll also find that you get loads of penalties from computer teams.

The master league set-up is improved so that you can choose who you want in your league and even create your own team. Player training has been changed slighlty but young players now get too good too quick. Old players are also retired and then reborn as young versions of themselves. Training these players from youngsters leaves you with players with skills in the 90s across the board.

If it's your first game in the PES series then you're in for a treat. It's still an enjoyable game to PES veterans, and if you're after updated teams and players then it may well be worth the money. Just don't be surprised if after a couple of months you're tempted to slip PES3 into the PS2 and get back to playing proper football!

This is what it feels like playing Pro Evolution Soccer 4 - I stand there breathing into my cupped hands and rubbing them together. It's bitingly cold. The crowd begin incessant chanting; the fate of the team lies in my hands. Staring at the ball, I contemplate what will happen if I miss. Not an option. I step back, blood coursing through my veins as I twitch my foot. I run, retract my leg with tremendous power when smack, "you idiot, how could you knock the joy pad out of my hand!" "Erm, you're only playing Pro Evo 4"

That's how immersive and unnervingly authentic Konami's latest footballing masterpiece is; It will make you squeal with delight and takes the whole experience of virtual football to near intoxicating levels. It oozes with such exuberance that you'll be convinced that 11 tiny men are squirming around inside your telly. Here's the deal: Almost everything has undergone the refinement treatment, especially that licensing issue, finally! Rejoice, footy fans, as Konami now have the rights to the Spanish, Italian and Dutch football leagues. While the English, French and German leagues are all in there, the team names still lack licence. Do not fret however since the teams are all instantly recognisable; Man Utd have now suitably been named 'Man Reds' instead of 'Trad Bricks' like in the previous installment.

Remarkably, Konami have been able to build on their extremely popular series, even though the standard of its prequel was so far advanced, it almost outsmarted itself. However subtle and apparently cosmetic these improvements seem, they create a digital depiction of footballing brilliance second to none. This year, the main improvements are focused on the individual players since each have been created with separate dimensions to reflect their real life counterparts. For example, Ronaldo has a blinding-fast pace and is able to tear through defences, while Gerrard prefers to stick to the flanks and provide the strikers with deadly through balls. The formation settings also play a much bigger part in the action than in previous offerings. Careful and meticulous planning and subliminal managerial inclinations all aid in leading your team to glory, so the strategic element is no longer a superfluous extra, it could be considered as necessary.

Most excitingly, however, is the new and improved Master League mode. For the uninitiated, this is the heart of the Pro Evolution series. Comprised of four divisions, it is your job to manage your team through transfers and training regimes and get them shipped into shape for each and every match. Starting out in the lower divisions, your only chance of promotion is success on the field. Doing this not only puts your team on the road to cup stardom, but also gives you the financial flexibility to acquire new players.

As another new inclusion for this year's Master league, Konami have thrown in a new training mode. The purpose of this is to slowly increase your players' abilities over time. Want to perfect Beckham's free kick accuracy or upgrade Rooney's ball control? Get down on the training pitch and see what you can do.

Whilst this next addition is not really 'new', it was so criminally underused in the last game that it may as well warrant a fresh aspect. Scouting for youth talent was never really that necessary, since all you had to do was purchase some of the top, A-list players like Raul or Owen. Impressively, though, this is now a genuinely mandatory job, in view of the fact that your individual players will now retire-either through injury or age. Their stats will gradually deteriorate over a period of seasons and so what you must do, as your responsibility of manager, is put your heart and soul into looking for fresh young talent. During our play, Van Nistelrooy dropped considerably in his performance through age and built-up fatigue. Our only choice was to browse through the market in search of an up-and-coming young star. Luckily, we found a 16 year old Portuguese lad who seemed to have good shooting skills. We took him under our wing, trained him painstakingly in every department for a couple of seasons until eventually, he was good enough to play on the pitch just in time for Van Nistelrooy to hand in his resignation.

But of course, we can never undermine the importance of the meat of the game; the football itself. It's good having all of these sparkly new features, but they mean diddly squat if the gameplay on the pitch isn't up to scratch. And, just as we expected, PES4 is yet another triumph. The sheer fluidity of the in-game action is astounding and every pass, throw-in and corner kick blend together almost poetically to literally challenge your senses as if to whether or not you're actually playing a live fixture on the telly.

The way the goals are scored is equally compelling. Scoring is almost like a Picasso painting - beautiful, flawless and teetering on priceless. Not only this, but the daunting prospect of being 1-0 down in stoppage time of the second half beguiles you to play a harsher, more attacking game. Imagine our ecstasy when we were 3-2 down, the seconds gradually ticking down to the final whistle, when suddenly, from a well-placed cross into the box, we nab in a cunning header. GOOOAAALLL! We'd scream and almost psychotically run around the room as if our backsides were on fire. It is the bedazzling random and haphazard nature of the scoring of goals that makes this game glisten like a Dentist's teeth and ultimately why the game is what it is: magnificent.

Yet another important issue that has undergone the retina-pleasing treatment for PES4 is the graphics. Likenesses in the previous instalments of PES were, at best, underwhelming. Thankfully, this years PES has been monumentally changed. In fact, PES4 puts the 'like' in likeness. Beckham has his squinty eyes and Rooney has his spud-like face structure and ears.

And while we're on the mention of likenesses, the player edit mode has been updated also. It is now possible to insert text onto your players' kits - for example "we are the best". But, naturally, you'll surely produce a better line than that pathetic effort.

Overall, this is a dazzling game. With a brand new myriad of streamlined features, it is the most responsive, fluid, realistic football game available on planet earth. The bewildering influx of impeccable style and proficiency wedged into Pro Evo 4 is wholly astounding and the sheer haphazard nature of the on-pitch action quite simply puts Konami's magnum opus on the number one podium for the fourth year running, and as a result, you're pretty much obliged to own it. Experience the joy, now...

Pro Evolution Soccer 4 - This is the best game in the whole Pro Evo series. The whole game has been re-developed. The ball used in the game is not the Champion's League ball but it's the roteiro ball which looks much nicer. There is now a referee on the pitch. There is now dirt on the players' shorts when they slide around, the players can now wear gloves and the free kicks can either be layed off or dummied. You can create your own style of penalty kicks like Figo-style and there are loads of others too. There are now also loads of new boots in the game which you're going have to find out what they are! There is also something new when the subs come on??? There are also on-pitch arguments and the tackles look very real. And also have fully licensed French, Spanish, Italian and Ddutch teams and kits. This game is much better than FIFA 2005!!! One more thing, try to score a goal when you're offside and see what happens????????