As a japanese backwards compatible ps3 owner i have had the luxury of playing j league winning eleven club championship 2008 which is a ps2 club version of PES 2009.Judging by this game this years pes 2009 is going to be something special,forget your champions league mode although it is a nice touch and i cant wait,gameplay is what it is all about and PES 2009 is going to leave us all breathless.Genuine
aftertouch,backheels,players that seek out and look for space off the ball,a manual long pass mode off the left thumbstick or d-pad which gives you full control of elevation and placement if the game is set to type 5,headers that work,instant return passes,bone crunching tackles,through balls that you can curve with the left thumbstick or d-pad and teamates run onto,a auto,semi,auto-manual cursor allowing instant overides and is intelligent and at its best in semi auto mode.These are all the new refinements that will feature in pes 2009 as well as stunning ball friction effects and ramped up ai and teamvision behold pes fans are time has come!!!!!!!!!!!!!I have had the ps2 version for a week and a half and have not enjoyed my football this much since ISS on the n64.The game is more fluid and seamless everything works and everything is just refined to perfection,passing triangles are essential for victory and opening stubborn defences and you now have more control of the players feet making striking less contrived and more skillfull.Gone is thhe pass and go replaced by your teamates instinctively making the wright movement or runs.You now have total control of direction on goal kicks as well as the long ball which gives you the option of direct long ball football plus backspin can be put on the ball by pulling the left thumstick or d-pad back.Players in the box on crosses move towards the ball and backheels are fluid and you can create lay offs in wide areas for instant crosses into the box with aftertouch produced by the left thumbstick or d-pad.Through balls are sublime and work and again like the long pass changes in the balls direction can be applied using the left thumbstck or d-pad.Feints and taking the ball from the outside to the inside of your boot or vice versa is now performed as is the marseille roulette on the left thumstick or d-pad and tevez uses only one foot unlike zidane who always used two and works wonderfully and is a superb touch.What is also worth a mention is the way the ai for the match works making the game slow and speed up making it feel quite real and frenetic depending on how you and the opposition are playing and at times happily feels faster then pes 2008,theres nothing like chasing a game and your teamates are raising there arms for a pass.I know the version i am playing is on the ps2 but this game was only released 4 weeks ago features the become a legend mode and looking at the videos and reading previews of pes 2009 both these game are indentical the only difference being the graphics which are stunning on the ps3 and 360 and the extra month testing konami has done with the next generation versions plus the ps2 japanese version has no champions league or international teams as it is a club prelude version.The new weather effects especially rain which really effects the improved ball physics in this new pes are outstandig with the ground becoming soggy and heavy and rain stopping and getting worse in a match.Konami have really spent most of the developement time in refineing the gameplay and improving the ball physics rather then focusing on lots of new options and some people may at first find the striking seems a little innacurate.Everything in this new pes centres around the trap button R2 which you use a lot for pin point passing and shooting but accurate shooting requires skill gentle hands and correct placement of the ball and the players feet and is sublime once mastered and the way players like messi dash now is superb certainly feeling very fast and you will score some fine goals.I must also mention heading which is now perfect and accurate with players changing position and movement in the box rather then like pes 2008 where they dont move plus it is possible to trap the ball on your chest with R2 and strike a instant volley.You will also find yourself playing bolton style or wimbledon direct football as now you have freedom of control on the long pass and when you spray the ball around you can play head tennis with your teamates making the whole experience a accurate simulation of the beatifall game.........