Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1755 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Konami
• Released on: 2007-10-26
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platform: PlayStation2
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
Key to PES 2008 is a proprietary adaptive AI system entitled Teamvision. Unique to the Konami game, Teamvision is a sophisticated AI programming that learns and adapts according to an individual’s style of play. As such, it will learn new ways to build attacks and to counter specific movements and previous attacking or defensive errors, ensuring games are more in line with the tactical but flowing nature of the real thing.

With the Pro Evolution Soccer series renowned for its fluid, realistic gameplay, the new game builds on the implementation of Teamvision with additional key advances. As with previous releases since its inception in 1996, the ball is again treated as a separate entity, with the timing of shots entirely down to the player, while the new AI ensures that defenders work to close down space and block efforts on goal. Similarly, distribution of passes works along the same lines, with players using the space available to them to switch the ball. Close control has also been enhanced with more control when dribbling the ball, and a number of subtle moves added to bypass defenders and move the ball into space.

Working in conjunction with the Teamvision system, every aspect of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008’s on-field play has been reworked and fine-tuned to create the balanced and strategic play of a high stakes match. Set-pieces have been improved, with full control given over the number of players and the position of the defensive wall. A wider range of set piece options are also available to make use of specific talents within the team.

Customer Reviews

Pro Evo - Still the purists choice, no matter what people say !
I have been playing Pro Evolution Soccer for as long as most reviewers on this site and, for the life of me, I really don't understand what all this griping is about. Admittedly, I was very disappointed by the licensing, but then us PES fans always are but the gameplay (which is surely more important??) always wins us over. As a United fan I was twice as disappointed by the removal of Old Trafford and the fact that Konami had the license for the United team/kit last year, which unfortunately has also become a victim of the licensing wars. However, you can edit until your hearts content (which you CANNOT do on the PS3 version, Mr Smug Next Generation Console Man who slated this version) or you can pay somebody a small fee to do the dirty work for you.

Anyway, the gameplay (for who really cares about the rubbish menus and the rubbish music - don't you realise you can switch the menu music off ?? Or do you not possess a mute button ??!). The gameplay is absolutely fantastic ! The match itself is faster this time around, the passing is smooth, the throughballs are twice as effective, the shooting still a million miles better than the 'hit and hope' Fifa system and the direct free kicks are much improved. The players DO react differently too, you DO get defenders lunging in at the last moment to block your shots, you DO get more tricky centre forwards running at you and you DO get more intelligent computer opponents running oh so cunningly off the ball in order to ruin your evening. Yes, the game still can have that effect on you, leaving you distraught at that last minute equaliser or punching the air as you spank one into the top corner.

If you add to this the fact that (those without mute buttons) will notice a marked improvement in the commentary which is actually reactive to the game now, at least when Jon Champion speaks anyway, the game has definitely got better. I admit that when Mark Lawrenson chips in, he does speak a load of rubbish, but pray tell me what is unrealistic about that !!

Overall, I love this game and I know if you look into your hearts, the true fans will do too. It could be improved 'off the pitch' to justify the price tag (Konami - that is directed at you), but PES 2008 is better in most aspects than it's predecessors and worth adding to your collection, despite lacking the 'cosmetic' touches.

So, if you like cosmetics, I suggest Fifa or Maybeline whilst us gritty football fans will pick the style, panache and playability of Evo every single time.

Lazy Reissue
Hands up if you love new menus!!!! Turgid "Lift Music"!!! Players names in Capital Letters!!!

Then Pro Evolution 2008 is the game for you!

Essentially Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the PS2 is exactly the same as Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on the PS2. The game mechanics are exactly the same, and they were pretty fantastic before, but that doesn't justify Konami slapping a glorified paint job on PES6 and charging £30 for it.

So what do you get for your ca$h:

Gone is the repetetive International Challenge (a.k.a. World Cup Qualifying), replaced by the equally turgid World Tour mode.

Rooney has freckles! But Ronaldinho, Terry and Totti (now ginger?!?) are unconvicing and there seems to have been little effort to widen coverage, with sides like AS Roma (my team, you'll be hearing more about them later)still only boasting a handful of face captured players.

More rubbish teams! That's right now when setting up Master League, instead of leaving out the likes of Kobenhavn, you can now leave out HJK Helsinki, Dinamo Zagreb and more Swedish teams than you can shake an IKEA catalogue at. A cheap attempt by Konami to boost their marketablility in other nations.

Master League now features a pointless "popularity" rating, which luckily reveals the startling news that teams and players who are better than yours are...erm...more popular. Apart from that its the same as it has been for a million years. Seriously to all you cavemen out there, Minanda is still playing behind the front two, and he's still one paced.

Have I mentioned the lift music? There's like a million tracks.

Diving! Shirtpulling! Oh, not in the PS2 version, my bad!

Kits actually look worse than before. Roma's keeper kit is bizarrely inaccurate, not only have Konami gone for the third choice kit, they have got the colour wrong.

Club badges resemble a splodge of paint and the default English kits are offensively lazy, all the kits are the same pattern in different colours. The kit editor uses the exact same patterns as before, so gone are the days when Konami sneaked in official kits by overlapping other designs.

No seriously the lift music. It's got all different genres and everything, and you can pick which ones you listen to while you change every English clubs name for the millionth year in a row. I mean if you don't have a stereo or, y'know, taste.

Different commentators, same phrases repeated over and over.

NEWSFLASH: Apart from a few Werder Bremen players PES Shop is EXACTLY the same. The same Brazil '94 goal celebration, dog heads and penguin costumes.

Take it from a PES Veteran. This game ain't worth a dime, in fact its a insult to the intelligence of consumers and a great advert for FIFA. Unless you're a massive HJK Helsinki fan that is.

Oh and btw...the lift music!!! My mind genuinly boggles at how they found so much spectacularly bad lift music.

Pro Evo 6 vs. Pro Evo 2008 - spot the difference?
Having been a keen follower of the pro evo series ever since Pro Evo 4 I have been on edge, waiting for this game to appear on my doorstep for well over a month! I got home from work last night and there it was!! I could hardly wait to get it out of the box and into the PS2, the suspense was killing me as the game was loading!! And now, having played for a good 3 hours last night, I can honestly say that the excitement and suspense has been replaced with the bitter taste of disappointment!

Pro Evo 2008 is exactly the same as Pro Evo 6, it hardly feels like anything has been changed! I was excited to hear about the all new diving buttons, and brand new, redeveloped AI, however I find it hard to believe that any of this has been included in the PS2 version! I understand that next-gen consoles are the way forward, and maybe the PS3 version and Xbox 360 version are better and more improved, however I feel that Konami have let down their original PS2 fans by selling us an almost exact replica of Pro Evo 6. The only positives I can see are that the commentary has been improved!!! Other than that I feel let down konami, and face the expensive reality that perhaps it is time to upgrade to next-gen console....