Pro Evolution Soccer Management

Chelsea or Chester, Andrew decides...

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If there's one genre where the PC has always had an upper hand over its console counterparts, it's in football management simulations. Whether it's the issue of memory, needed to host the vast amount of information required for such games, or the ease of navigation throughout their huge array of menus, the PC's hard drive and mouse combination has always been far superior to a console and its joypad. Despite this, Konami have developed Pro Evolution Soccer Management, a game based on the bestselling series of the same name. Considering the advances they have made in delivering near-perfect football-playing simulation on consoles, if you were to task anyone to do the same for management sims, it'd be them. Unfortunately, though, Pro Evolution Soccer Management is, to use a footballing metaphor, an own goal of a game almost from the start.

One of the most important requirements of a management simulation is authenticity - as well as being essential to identify players and clubs, it just adds that sprinkle of realism that sets the scene for the season ahead. That's all well and good here if you fancy managing some of the larger clubs (for which the game has acquired licenses for real names and players), but for the majority of clubs it's a case of putting up with an inventive sound-a-like team and surnames. Every name can be edited by your good self to its correct spelling of course, but it's not really something you want to be messing about with before you've even begun.

Once you've assigned yourself a club, you'll be introduced to various people who you can choose to be part of your team, including your secretary, talent scouts and a coach. Throughout your time in management it is possible to both hire and fire new groups of staff with better qualities for the job. Depending on your financial situation, that is. Your task as manager begins at the training ground where you can decide to work on all manner of tactics and abilities before the impending match. Your training schedule is assisted by your coach who will provide you with information on the upcoming game, (key players, strengths, weaknesses, etc.), so that you can adjust your preparation accordingly. Of course, there's also the opportunity to scrutinise every aspect of your own team, from formation to the tasks of individual players, (aggressiveness, defensiveness, channels of the pitch you'd like to see them patrol, ad infinitum). It's all there in the level of detail you'd expect from any decent simulation.

When you eventually get around to playing the game, that's when Pro Evolution Management really starts to annoy. The matches are played out using the Pro Evolution 5 graphics engine, which might have been a marked addition to the game and a reason to buy it over any of the PC sims, except as we've seen with FIFA Manager, they're moving into the 3D real-time realm, too. Instead you're forced to sit through ten minutes of CPU players act out what you've ordered them to do, and it soon becomes apparent that watching Pro Evolution Soccer is desperately less fun than playing it is. If you're a fan of the Pro Evo games, you'll know potentially how skilful certain players can be when you're in control of them, but seeing them amble around in an almost daydream-like fashion is nearly as dull as watching a League Two mid-table 0-0 draw in the real world. You can tell that the changes you've made are being played out on the pitch to an extent, but it really isn't going to have you reacting to any of the events unfolding as your team plays.

At half time your 'happy to help'/intrusive coach is ready with some more helpful tips, though sometimes his advice isn't very helpful at all - actually, it's just wrong. If then you decide to disagree, he'll not be pleased at all, but you probably won't care. It's like you're an outsider, managing someone else who in turn is managing the team you're manager of and supposed to be managing. All very wrong, like the construction of my previous sentence.

Aside from the football matches themselves there's the obvious consideration needed in both buying and selling players, though the muddle of fake names and out of date listings will probably get to you before you can be bothered too much with that, except for essential purchases and sales. Other notable additions include post-match interviews which are predictably scripted and a test of how rhythmically you can press the X button before it all ends. You can also have pep talks with your players to see how they're feeling or have a chat with the chairman to demand changes - none of the options in the latter meetings actually allow you to take direct control over the team you're employed to manage, which is a great shame.

One last gripe is the amount of leagues. You're restricted to the top leagues of Europe's footballing nations, (England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Holland) which means that the competitive element of promotion or the dog fighting, nail biting struggles of relegation are totally removed.

Pro Evolution Soccer Management is by no means the most atrocious game you will ever play. In fact, it's far from that, there are plenty of titles that are more unworthy of your time. It makes a brave attempt at extending a phenomenally popular franchise, there's a fair amount of depth and a couple of fresh game play elements, but it nevertheless under whelms on too many of the basic foundations of the genre to be anywhere near worth recommending outright. Gamers want accuracy, genuine control and, let's face it, a mouse and a workable, easy to navigate interface on which to oversee proceedings. Pro Evolution Soccer Management doesn't offer any of these to any great extent, but it's on sale at a budget price... so if you're desperate. Sigh.

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By Andrew Macarthy