Moments into Pro Evo 5 you'll realize that this 'holding X' mentality needs to be thrown out the window, in favor of a more restrained defensive approach. Pressuring your opponent by using the 'X' tackle ('A' on Xbox) has been a technique used by Pro Evo players for some years, and while not perfect, did exactly what you wanted it to do: put pressure on the opponent. The biggest difference, and the area that you'll notice straight away, is in tackling. What's more important are the reasons why this is the best game in the series to date and just how it differs from the four games that have gone before it. It's really rather pointless for me to gush about how brilliant Pro Evo 5 is to play, or go on for five paragraphs about how it once again plays a better game of football than FIFA. It may be as regular as clockwork, but it's no simple cash-in. What is surprising is that each year Konami deliver a game that appears to be so similar, yet feels so different to the game that preceded it. World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 (Pro Evolution Soccer 5 in Europe) is a great game, and there's nothing surprising about that.
The ranking system is based on the entire network of players, and is renewed periodically as games are won or lost. Winning games and collecting points will increase your rank and eventually enter you into a new division. There are five divisions in "Network" mode and you will begin as an Amateur. Online play allows you to upload your "Master League" teams and pit them against other players and their squads. In "Cup" mode, pick from four different tournaments such as the "International Cup," "European Cup," "Africa/America/Asia-Oceana Cup," and the "Konami Cup," then battle to win the trophy. In "League" mode, you pick the team you wish to join and play through a full season on that squad. "Match" mode allows you to pick two teams and play a single match, and there is an option to record games against friends for bragging rights. In "Master League" mode, create and manage your team and compete in four leagues to become the greatest lineup in the game.
This title features online play for the first time in the series and is intended to unite soccer fans all over the world.įive modes of play include a "Training" mode, "Master League" mode, "Cup" mode, "League" mode, and "Match" mode. World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 brings 57 national teams, 138 licensed European club teams such as the Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, and the Dutch Eredivisie, and over 1,000 players to your fingertips.