Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 - Boxed - PS3

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 continues the football franchise’s yearly instalments and comes with up-to-date player transfers for the 2009/2010 season. The game offers many new moves, and players move more slowly and realistically. Even an average player can now pull off a lucky strike and score from 40 metres out. Most of the graphical improvements affect the detail of the players’ faces and shadows. Although there are still five difficulty levels, the computer AI now behaves differently than before, opening up new ways to play.

There are game modes familiar from earlier titles in the series, such as Exhibition or Master League, as well as some new ones like the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The “Become a Legend” mode introduced in PES 2009 is also available. Besides the graphics, plenty of detail has gone into tactics and strategy, allowing players to be positioned more precisely according to their talent. A completely new feature is the card system, which is tied to the unique abilities of certain players, giving that player an edge over their opponent. In earlier titles, certain star players could pull off breathtaking moves without the player having any control over them. With the card system in PES 2010, you can control this directly.

The Master League mode is more detailed and offers sponsors, youth teams and real-world currencies (including euros, British pounds, US dollars or Japanese yen). Money can also be used to pay a scout who handles negotiations, physical aspects, the coach and other staff. The Premier League, Spanish league, Italian league, Eredivisie and others are still included, as are the World Cup, the Konami Cup and others, with national and league teams largely kept up to date.

Unlike previous instalments, individual graphical likenesses of players are gone. It’s still possible to see them as part of a whole team, but no longer as individuals. That means you need time to get to know them, either by going through their numerical stats or checking how well a player’s peak performance suits the position they’re playing.

Co-op play is on par with the rest of the franchise, offering assisted, semi-assisted and manual player switching. Manual means the player is only switched when the user decides to, while semi-automatic switches to whichever player is being passed to.