So Pro Evolution Soccer has finally come to the Wii and instead of Konami going for a normal conversion, they’ve been very brave and opted to completely remake the game with a revolutionary control system. Being a Pro Evo nut I was sceptical and when I first played the game I was very confused with the control method.
The first shock is you don’t even use the analogue stick on the nunchuck to make your player run – the nunchuck is only waved to shoot and clear balls and the C and Z buttons are used as modifiers. All the running on and off the ball, passing, player selection and so on is controlled using a cursor on screen with the remote. To make a player run with the ball you either drag what equates to an on-screen elastic band attached to the player. The further away you move it the faster he runs, the closer it is to him, the more closely he dribbles. Click B over another player to pass to them or click B in space to accurately kick a through ball.
Even better is you can click where you want your dribbler to run, then drag other players into position in attack and defence to tell them where to go.
It’s a bit like Subbuteo, and it completely changes the way you play the game. Instead of thinking about the player on the ball and getting frustrated about other players not getting into space, this time you control the whole team which makes the game more tactical.
Sure, the game assists you here and there and shooting is more about player stats than where you aim, but once the control method clicks you’ll love it.
You can play cup, leagues and tournaments and of course play against others over Wi-Fi, and the game’s presented in a Wii-friendly way. When selecting players and positions you pick them up like you would a Mii and put your big-headed players where you want them to go. You can even import Miis to play the game which is a nice touch.
PES 08 on the Wii really works but I don’t think it will replace other versions. In-fact, it’s a very different game and I think a football fan can make room for both formats if you have a Wii and another console in your living room. OK, it doesn’t look to hot compared to the 360 version but this is more about the controls than the graphics. PES 2008 on Wii gets a whopping 9 out of 10.
Related: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Wii event – your questions answered
