OK, me and a mate had a real good bash at this (12 hours of playing and drinking), so I feel confident in what I'm about to report...........
For newer users, or ones who havn't played the series in the past religiously, the new game will be a great test of patience and much practise/time on the game will be required. I'd compare the difference from PES2/3/4 to PES5 as the same as the shock of playing PES1 on playstation 2 for the first time after playing the series on PS1.
For experienced players who persist in trying to play as you would in PES2/3/4 (ie. passes finding their mark 90% of the time regardless of situation, ball sticking to your feet, end to end "pin ball" effect), you too will find this game almost impossible to play.....
From the PES forums about there are people in both categories that have given up very quickly on the new version due to these issues........
....for the majority of people though this is (and I concur) by far the best in the series, and still light years above the recent FIFA 06 (enough though on that hornets nest
).
Major differences to PES4........
*Ball doesn't stick to your feet, it bounces off players - it gets intercepted alot when you pass carelessly - it skids/stops/slices when under/over hit - ie. it reacts like a real football. However some users may be put off at the begining due to a feeling of being unable to control it.
*More attention required to pass. No longer can you just hit the pass button and produce excellent weighted passes regardless of the passers/pass receivers position on the field. Players are more prone to intercept, passes have to be perfectly weighted by holding down the pass button (long or short), hard passes to close receivers will see the ball "bounce" off the recepient. Crosses are now far quicker and flatter, leading to some awesome headers/goal mouth action. Again first time players may give up in disgust as they continually lose possession due to under/over hitting passes/thru balls, whilst the opposition seem to have all the ball in your half.
*Shooting is different. Heavy fingers on the shoot button will see the ball flying over the bar, major curve is now possible with some of the top players on the field - and improved for all players with shooting ability, Goalies are tougher to beat, shooting chances are harder to come by. No easy goal "hotspots" that I have seen.
*Fouls and collision. Refs are MUCH tougher on contact and more free kicks are awarded as a result. New players may become frustrated by seemingly endless "stop-starting" for somewhat petty infringing (a slight breeze knocks some of these blokes over
). Size of players makes a bigger diference in the contact area with bigger/heavier players pushing around/over smaller ones (you'll often see players being pushed over a lot off the ball as well as in free kick situations).
.....thats the major ones however graphics have improved, cut scenes etc, replays are better, better players in teams stand out far more, advantage implemented better, camera angles more numerous (after having played one certain camera angle for all my time playing the PES series I finally found a better playing angle on PES5!!) - and all the small touches you'd expect from the series are still evident - for instance if an injury occurs whilst play continues, you can kick the ball out and then after you see the injured player being attended to play will continue with the computer controlled player throwing the ball back to you!!
After a certain amount of playing/initial difficulty (this will vary for different players, some will never get there and give up in frustration, some players will get it straight away, most will take anywhere between a few hours to a few days/weeks) the game will suddenly all make sense to you. You'll be passing the ball around with great control, shots of never before seen power will hit their mark 90% of the time, infringements will lessen as you improve/change your defensive technique, free kicks will be more then not successful, tackling cleaner -
GOALSwill happen more frequently......
It is only then that you will be able to see the depth and experience the full enjoyment behind the game. Yes, it is the toughest PES version to "get into", however eventually, with much patience, it is also the most rewarding and enjoyable game of the series.
Rating: 9.5/10
