For more blurb by PSM3 on their official blog for this link:
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=218912

Anyway, couldn’t care less about the Wii version, I’m more concerned about the lack of info with regard to the other versions. I haven’t, as yet, read one thing that has got me remotely excited. Overall stat = So what! Sliders = So what! Kit textures = get the f@(k outta here!

I’m waiting for some real concrete information on the game engine. At this point, no news, feels like bad news!

Hi, this is my first ever ‘written’ game review so please go easy on me guys with your posts!!  The review is my own personal opinion and nobody else’s. As such you may disagree with what I have written but I hope it offers an unbiased opinion.

Background

Many of you will know me as ‘mn9ajas’ on the threads and in the forums. If you have ever read some of my previous entries you will know that I have been a fan of PES ever since the old SNES days in the shape of ISS.

Having played PES for so long, and being used to all of its AI quirks; it was of great interest when I first heard about PES 08 on Wii, probably about 18mths ago. Upon release I diligently went out and bought it to see just how different it played and whether or not the well hyped ‘new’ control system held up its end of the bargain. To my surprise it did initially offer a very different take on the old PES formula. However, despite this, I couldn’t help feel let down by a large number of things in the Wii’s first attempt. In game, the camera angles and viewing distance were poor (only two angles on offer and the viewing distance was SO far away from the picth), whilst the defensive controls were almost nonexistent (Click on a player and let the AI do the rest for you). At the front end there was no master league or even a half decent edit mode. My initial enjoyment quickly turned to disappointment at such poor omissions even despite new, but ultimately shallow, features such as the Champions Road. Eventually this culminated in me giving up the will to pursue any positives left within the game and with the control system. Ultimately, the combination of poor camera angles, the viewing distance and poor graphics just seemed to hinder the game so much.

Well a year on and PES 09 hits the shelves. “What has really changed in terms of gameplay or graphics?” “Will the additional features make up for the basic issues that plague enjoyment of the previous game?” “Should I buy it or not?”

Thankfully an answer; a competition on PESGaming to win a copy and luckily I did!

So having had chance to play the new version, what are my impressions of PES 09 onWii??

The Game

[Positives]

What’s changed since PES 08?

Well for starters (as anyone who has watched Dan’s video review will see) there are now a plethora of game modes and options. Master league is in. Champions League is in. Full edit mode is in. The Champions road has got more in depth; you can now build your stadiums up to a degree and it has the obligatory traditional exhibition, league and cup modes.

Online actually works now (well to a degree!) as I can actually connect to another Human player; something I couldn’t do in PES 08. (another reason for trading in the previous version)

You can now play it with a classic controller (but not a Gamecube controller) which offers a more traditional game on the Wii, although this does feel watered down to either the PS3 or 360 versions.

Shooting is slightly more accurate; you can now aim at a place in the goal and perform a placed shot, although the ‘swing the nunchuk’ facility is still in there.

Defending has been improved. You can now take control of the defender and press, tackle etc much like traditional PES.

[Negatives]

Ok so I’m thinking to myself “All of these enhancements sound great. Why then do I still not feel completely won over?”

For me it comes down to the following: Graphics, camera angles and viewing distance. Call me potentially shallow and feel free to disagree but these issues crucify this game. Don’t get me wrong, I honestly don’t believe graphics make a game but to have graphics worse than those that resemble a PS2 game is a huge crime. For those of you that don’t know, the Wii is essentially a ‘Zuped up Gamecube’. The cube itself was far superior in terms of capabilities to a PS2 so, to me, there is no excuse. Even Winning Eleven 6 on the Cube (import) has far superior graphics and that game is over 5yrs old!! (Dan’s review doesn’t really show this that well as most of video are simply replays, which look much better than in game)

Now you may feel I am being unfairly harsh but I initially thought this was down to playing the game on my 28inch CRT TV so I bought a (component) lead to plug it into a High def TV to see the difference. To my surprise there was hardly any!! I tried it on both a 32in LCD and 32in Plasma and the improvements were minimal.

The reason that these issues stop my enjoyment of the game is simple. The game requires the player to be a fair distance from the pitch to ‘open it up’. The two camera angles on offer do this and some. Combine this with dodgy in game graphics and not only can you not tell who you are controlling (which real life player) but you also struggle to see what your players and the opponents are actually doing. This is further hindered by a very bland mix of green palette for the pitches. Unfortunately any enjoyment again quickly disappears.

Conclusion

This game COULD be very good. The wide range of game modes on offer isn’t currently rivalled on any other system. However, for me (much like PES 08 on Wii) I still ultimately felt too separated from the action, had no identification with the players that I was controlling and as a result seemed to get easily distracted by other things happening in the room rather than on the pitch!

7/10

Lastly, I would like to thank PESGaming and DD for organising the competition and selecting my entry as the eventual winner. I really hate to sound like an ungrateful winner, as I’m not at all but I hope reading this that you can understand my frustrations with the game and at the very least found my review honest and of interest.

Does anyone own PES 2009 for wii?

I’ve always thought it would be too complicated to play and a major step down in gameplay and graphics since I already own it on xbox/ps3.

Can life be that bad and boring….i certainly hope not…for their sake.

Good news on the wii version Dougie!