Pro Evolution Soccer 5

[Bang]

It's out!
I've played it!
Review coming soon...currently a bit sleepy..

[Drex]

It's out? For PC or consoles? I NEED TO GET IT

[Bang]

Both consoles and PC...but I don't think in the US..I know it's released in Europe. It might be released in other countries that have it as PES. (Not Winning Eleven...) Anyhow, it is out and it's as amazing as ever...not like PES could ever go bad..but every time I get surprised how they make the game more realistic than ever. The animations for this one is so good, I think everything flows all so well now. How is this even possible? I have no clue. Yet Konami always impresses us.
Oh yea, I'd like to also add before the full review that there are more licenses than ever. The most recognizable one being the English league. I don't think all their teams are licensed though...but most are..

[Fitzy]

Is it gonna be on PC? The last ones have only been on PS2

[Jackal_]

I'm still goin for Fifa 06.. I wont even consider the PES series until they do someting about the authenticity..

[J@3]

You can download patches to make it completely authentic. It's nothing really. Even on Xbox if you have a Shark port or whatever it is.

[Bang]

Graphics 9/10
Not much has changed in the overall graphics. Hardly any changes noticeable. However, there are tons of new animations and this is key. The new animations are important since they change gameplay significantly.

Gameplay 10/10
PES 4 was amazing, but after you play PES 5 you will realize that all the PES series behind PES 5 were just unrealistic. What? Unrealistic? Gone are the magical pressure tackle from behind and somehow get the ball, or pushing that doesn't seem to push. Positioning is EVERYTHING. The most noticeable change being you can't get the ball from behind the player that well compared to other games.
Remember how you could mash the X button and keep on pushing the guy until you somehow steal the ball or push him out of the area? Now that button mashing the pressure tackling button (X button) will more often times than not end up making you do stupid mistakes or fouling the opponent. You can now clearly see the physicality of soccer. You FIGHT for the ball. You don't just go in a straight line while pushing for the ball, and it's not just the same animations looped on and on. You push the opponent, change their direction a little, but you could also end up shifting your body too much, or pushing too much resulting in a foul. Once again, it needs to be seen to truly see the difference though...
Also another factor that makes PES 5 so much better is that it's physics engine is a lot better. The momentum shifts are I believe near perfect. I thought PES series had gotten it right a long time ago, but after seeing PES 5 you can see that the physics engine in PES 4 was unrealistic compared to this one. It's harder to change directions and it's harder to try and control the ball. Players accelerate and decelerate way more realistically. I can't explain how really. You need to play the game to see it. One thing is clear...RUN ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. Typically most sports games have you holding the sprint button forever. Do this in PES and the Defense will obviously see through this, and you are much much more liable to make mistakes in comparison with PES4.

Sound 5/10
SUCKS. Commentators say less I think...but that doesn't matter really.


Other Stuff:
More licenses. Notably Chelsea and Arsenal in English league...I think there are other licenses that were added but I have no clue. You can always patch it anyhow. I believe Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Germany all have fully licensed leagues...
Master League Growth Patterns: There are several growth patterns which determine how your player will grow. A player might get better for 2 years and start a decline, or they might grow for longer, or they might just stay steady after a certain time. Player development has improved greatly.
Master League is basically the same: No simulating games? The same old crap points system? Oh well. At least now you can add more than 3 players in your custom team. Yup, you can change your custom team as much as you want...but look at the salaries first! Don't go over your payroll!

Controls 10/10
Control responsiveness has improved so you need to time everything perfectly. The responsiveness is almost flawless. Hardly any FIFA-like "I have to do this animation before I do something else" type things any more. The player will do whatever you ordered him to do at that time. Don't mash. Timing is vital.

Overall 9/10

This is the best and most realistic soccer game ever. Nuff said. Although the lack of changes in Master League are disappointing, the game got revamped significantly and is even more realistic. The game will take a while to get used to though. Your old tactics will not work, but of course it won't. You played a less realistic game last year! Weird. I didn't think PES could improve, but I was proven wrong...again.

[Bang]

Is it gonna be on PC? The last ones have only been on PS2

Yes, I have it on PC. So yes, it's on the PC. I also had PES 3 and 4 for the PC as well?!

[Jackal_]

Thanks for the review bang.. that made me want to try it.. but I dont believe its released in north america yet..

[J@3]

Hey Bang what specs do you reckon would be needed to run it? Is it very graphic intensive? I really really want the game, but I've got to decide between buying it on Xbox or "buying" it on PC.

[Fitzy]

Is it gonna be on PC? The last ones have only been on PS2

Yes, I have it on PC. So yes, it's on the PC. I also had PES 3 and 4 for the PC as well?!

Hmm i didnt know that

[J@3]

I also have PES4 on Xbox so yeah, only on PS2.

[Jugs]

Dang, this game sounds awesome, i've only got the demo and i havent played it yet, sounds like im missing out on some fun

[kibaxx7]

I have to get it now, I play like 5 games every day in the demo.

[Bang]

Hey Bang what specs do you reckon would be needed to run it? Is it very graphic intensive? I really really want the game, but I've got to decide between buying it on Xbox or "buying" it on PC.

If you could run PES 4 you can run PES 5 since the graphics didn't change too much. I don't really know what are the requirements.

[Bang]

System Requirements:

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP
Intel Pentium III 800MGHz or equivalent processor (Athlon/Duron/Celeron)
128 MB RAM
4X DVD-ROM Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 video card
DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
DirectX 8.1 or higher (included on Disc 1)
*Network(TCP/IP 128kbps or higher)
800MB free hard disk space

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows 2000/XPIntel Pentium IV 1.4GHz processor
256 MB RAM
8X DVD-ROM Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti, ATI Radeon 9600, or higher
DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
DirectX 8.1 or higher (included on Disc 1)
*Network(TCP/IP 1.5Mbps or higher)
3GB free hard disk space

SUPPORTED CHIPSETS:
NVIDIA - GeForce 6800, GeForce FX (5950, 5900, 5800, 5600, 5200), GeForce4 Ti, GeForce3
ATI - Radeon x800, 9800, 9700, 9600, 9500, 9200, 9000, 8500

* Only needed for Network play

Taken from Konami of Europe...

[jeff119]

I got this game today...must say fun fun fun!!!!


This game kill fifa 06..

[Chris.]

just got it yesterday and it is so good and way better than fifa, harder to score and more fouls but that makes it more realistic and challenging

[J@3]

I finally got it but my graphics card is shit so it's pretty laggy. It seems good, not too much different from PES4.

[shadowgrin]

I've got to decide between buying it on Xbox or "buying" it on PC.

This game kill fifa 06..

Fifa 06 can't hold a candle to PES 5 even PES 4.

[Bang]

I've got to decide between buying it on Xbox or "buying" it on PC.

This game kill fifa 06..

Fifa 06 can't hold a candle to PES 5 even PES 4.

I'd say even PES 2 is superior. or around the same level. Is it just me or does it seem like FIFA just copies PES? It's like they're making a game 3 steps behind again and again. Oh yea, they add stupid gimmicks that add nothing to the game. What's with EA Sports and it's love for gimmicks?

[shadowgrin]

I wasn't that much aware of the PES series before PES3. I wasn't even aware then that PES is the same is Winning 11.

[Jowe]

look out for fifa 2007 with their new superstar moves, where u can fire a ball out of teh goal keepers arse.

[shadowgrin]

Hold the Superstar trigger button and press all available buttons to make your very own superhooligans appear from the crowd and beat the crap out of the opposing team!

[Bang]

It would be funny if they made all those shots in Captain Tsubasa. It would be hilarious. Actually, why don't they just do that. Forget the attempts at making a sim, since they're too far behind. Make a super arcade game with like crazy super shots and stuff.
Superstar Scorer, Shooter, Stopper, Playmaker and Header??...I could see that coming..