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Pro Evolution Soccer for PlayStation 2
Pro Evolution Soccer for PlayStation 2 is about finding space on the football pitch. You move the ball through short combinations, look for an unmarked attacker and decide when a through ball offers more than another dribble. Pass direction and power require attention, so an attack begins with how you find a teammate. You remain involved off the ball too: committing a defender too early can open the route to your goal.
Alongside individual matches, there are leagues, cup tournaments and the Master League. There you build a squad over several seasons and use match results to improve it. Your formation and individual players' qualities determine which approach works. A strong striker can make use of a cross, while an agile attacker benefits from a pass between defenders. The training section gives you room to practise the controls and set pieces before trying them in a full match.
You can play football against the computer or locally with other players on the same console. Two participants use two controllers. With extra controllers and PS2 Multitaps, up to eight people can take part simultaneously; eight participants require two Multitaps. This also lets you cooperate within the same team. Agreeing who presses, tracks back or moves into space then becomes part of every attack. This original PS2 release has no online matches.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Pro Evolution Soccer for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Pro Evolution Soccer
Konami released Pro Evolution Soccer for PlayStation 2 in Europe in 2001. The game came from Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, with Shingo Takatsuka as a key creative figure. The name was new, but its football built on the ISS Pro Evolution and Winning Eleven series. That distinction matters within Konami's range at the time: International Superstar Soccer for PS2 belonged to a different development line. Pro Evolution Soccer instead continued the Tokyo team's approach on the new console.
The move allowed more elaborate movements and more recognisable differences between footballers. Konami also worked with Sports Interactive on player data. This helped prevent players from being merely interchangeable figures: their attributes mattered when assembling and using a team. A player licence did not mean every club name and kit was official, however. The game therefore reflects both the ambition to recreate real football and the licensing situation of the period.
The Master League linked individual results to the longer-term development of your team. This gave even an evening against the computer a purpose beyond the next kick-off. Meanwhile, support for eight local participants made football with a large group possible. Sequels would expand the career structure and adjust the controls further, but the focus here is the first European Pro Evolution Soccer on PS2: the edition that established this name on the platform.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 retains the emphasis on passing, formations and building a team. Its Master League gains a third division and places more attention on contracts and cup fixtures. Planning between matches consequently becomes more extensive. The first Pro Evolution Soccer keeps that development smaller in scope. Both link performances on the pitch to a better squad; the difference is most apparent when you continue playing across several seasons.
Pro Evolution Soccer 3 reworks movement and ball behaviour and introduces a PES Shop with unlockable extras. There too, you need to construct an attack carefully and exploit your players' qualities. The first game lacks that shop and offers an earlier form of the Master League. Here, matches and team building therefore provide the reasons to keep playing, without the additional reward structure of the third game.
This Is Football 2002 also combines direct control of a team with competitions and adjustable tactics. It additionally offers historic club teams and special competitions, letting you organise different kinds of encounters. Through the Master League, Pro Evolution Soccer links successive matches and squad improvements in a different way. Formations and player selection change your approach in both games, but their range of competitions and the way you shape a season differ.
This Is Football 2003 adds a Career in which you can start low down and work towards professional leagues. Transfers and available funds support that development. This resembles the pleasure of making a weak team stronger in Pro Evolution Soccer's Master League. Sony, however, connects progress to a different career structure. Both games let you play the matches yourself, keeping team building directly connected to your actions on the pitch.
RedCard also uses full teams and gives you direct control of the player on the ball. Heavy collisions, exaggerated moves and temporary boosts pull its football towards a physical arcade match. In Pro Evolution Soccer, decisive choices more often concern pass direction, positioning and the right moment to intervene. The same route to goal therefore creates a different kind of tension: controlled combinations versus deliberately exaggerated physical play.
