Customer Reviews
Unbelieveable - By: Adam Rust, 04 Jan 2009 
I always used to be a fifa boy, simply because it was less gameplay focused so I found it easier to do well. I converted to PES at number 6 & have never looked back at fifa since.
PES 2008 was not a disappointment. It was a huge step up from PES6, but nevertheless still lacked slightly.
PES 2009, therefore, is a huge success! The gameplay, although not vastly changed, is much better. It is harder to pass the ball & not as easy to run through players.
The graphics have a very noticable difference. On my non-HD tv the pitch looks much less pixelated - & on my friends HD tv it's just astonishing.
The Master League mode has little changed there except for the wayin which players are purchased - many teams putin offers at the same time & you are shown out of the offering teams which the player will choose. If your team is selected you enter the usual negotiation settings.
Become a Legend mode is the real highlight for me. You control a singer player on the pitch & build up their career to reach the top. I'm on my third season & still loving it!
I am yet to try online, I've heard about the lag problems, but this game is a lot more fun playing with matesin the same room to be honest.
The game isn't perfect, far from it, but there is no problem big enough to make it lose a star rating. A wonderful game, I'm baffled as to why it's got so many bad reviews.
Worst Game Ever! - By: John A. W. Wood, 01 Jan 2009 
Do not buy this game it is awful!
Reasons why it is so bad:- (These are when played on professional setting)
1) Why have ratings for players when once you put the game on professional setting they do not matter, you'll have defenders for the cpu with speed rating of about 76 outrunning your team players with speed ratings wellin the high 80-90's & likewise the same at the other end of the pitch with cpu strikers easily outrunning your defenders.
2) Cpu always score by just dinking the ball over your defence at every opportunity & due to the non existent player ratings you have no chance of catching them up.
3) The shoot button also seems to work as an heroic cpu defensive block button as everytime you go to shoot as soon as the player kicks the ball a cpu defender comes from nowhere & blocks it almost everytime even if yourin space.
4) Through ball just does not work once on professional setting, it never goes were you want it & normally ends up going straight to the opposition.
5) AI of players is just poor, it constantly happens when you'll make a run down the wing with a midfielder & your strikers will just stand around the halfway line, its even happened were the striker has ran away from goal as im heading towards it leaving me to have to try & dribble around about 5 men, which is impossible.
Overall this is just a bad game, I gave Pro Evo one more chance despite ignoring poor reviews & have been left disappointed yet again as I didn't like pro evo 2008 much either. I've loved these games since ISS on the SNES but I guess its true, all good things must come to an end, my love for Pro Evo most certainly has.
Stuck in the past - By: Mr. G. Moores, 27 Dec 2008 PES is a game I first started playing back on the PS1 when it was called ISS Pro Evolution. Back then, it was never that great really, but it was probably the best football game there was. I enjoyed it regardless. Fast forward around 10 years or so, & what we have now is a game which has the same basic flaws the game had back on the PS1.
There's still no analog shooting, or passing, there's still no analog movement, & the penalty system is just a case of pointing to a spot on the goal, & HOPING the game lets you score.
Other gamesin other genres have made massive leaps forward. This gaming series has taken tiny steps for the last 10 years. Also, Fifa is now probably the better football game these days.
Stay away from this filth.
Don't make the mistake of buying this just because you love PES or even intrigued by it despite the reviews - By: Celery, 27 Dec 2008 
Firstly, I'm not going to compare this to the FIFA series as I haven't played themin years. I have been a loyal fan of PES for a long time however this latest effort has actually got me realising that PES 2008 was actually ok, not brilliant, but ok. I have to say this is the most frustrating football game I have ever played & I will tell you whyin a moment. However, if you read no further & already own previous versions, then please don't be intrigued by this latest effort. It is not worth your money. Before I also continue to review, I would like to say that I only play this online. I'm just not interestedin playing it offline at all anymore. This game is not enjoyable, it is highly annoying & I guarantee you will spend more time wanting to smash the controller into the floor than really enjoying a fair fight.
The positive improvements are:
-the graphics are better
- the replays are smoother
thats it.
The negatives are:
- online lag is very poor, especially when you consider that you play more graphically demanding games online now with little or no lag.
- the best playersin average/good premiership teams do not have the representative assetsin this game when playing against so called Top Class sides like Man U or Barcelona i.e Agbonlahor from Villa, can be outrun by Wes Brown. Gerrard can be pushed off the ball so easily by Paul Scholes or even Tevez.
- playersin good/average teams will, on moments, just completely forget whey they are & that they should be lookingin the opposite direction where the ball is. It is seriously poor & leads to conceding a lot of play & possession.
- goalkeepers, apart from thosein the top teams make horrendous mistakes
- Ronaldo seems to be able to dribble around everybody, for ever. Granted he is an exceptional playerin real life, but not to this extent. He has to pass to get into positions to scorein real life.
- everybody plays either Man U, Barcelona or Inter online who have been vamped up so much as teams that you don't stand a chance if you choose to play anybody else (including Liverpool).
- if you runningin defence & you last man, heading to a ball going goal wards, trying to outsprint an opposing player & you are ahead - when you press the button to take control of your player, the player runs onside for brief second, thereby losing you your distance advantage & generally putting you behing the attacking player. Incredibly irritating.
- the lack of licensing it still very poor
- they have changed the right hand stick qualities (tricks) on previous PES versions to the directional pad. Why!?! It worked perfectly well on the right hand stick.
I truly hate this game & am very disappointedin it. I've gone back to 2008. Do yourself & favour, don't buy it.
Gash - By: Big Squid, 18 Dec 2008 My 2 cents.
Been playing prev for years, played it religiously. Bought this edition & the new Fifa, &in my opinion Fifa this year is just plain better. Yes it has its flaws, but I actually enjoy playing it.
From where im sitting, it looks like prev is never fixing whats actually wrong with the game, just adding new little features (whoever decided to add new ball effects is a clown).
Pains me to switch, but try them both & see what you reckon.
