1UP writes: "I've never been the franchise-mode type. Though I recognize the entertainment value and respect those who put in the time to create custom teams, modify the roster lists of entire leagues to reflect their current situations, trade and sign those players for various contracts, and then take their carefully tuned teams through seasons and tournaments...that's just not me. I'm much more of a pick-up-and-play guy when it comes to sports games -- especially soccer -- and I guess I blame that on being born in a country that thinks "football" should be something else entirely. So if you're looking for that management perspective on Pro Evolution 2008, you won't find it here. But what you will find is someone who actually played the sport for quite some time in his younger days and frequently enjoys friendly matches of what was once called Winning Eleven. And from that perspective, I don't see much in Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 that's worth this year's annual investment.
Superficially, there's absolutely no reason to upgrade from the stable and refined PS2 version of the game. Here we are, more than two years into a console lifecycle, and the Pro Evo series doesn't seem at all interested in making a serious attempt at impressive visuals. The resolution is higher, but the opportunity to improve player models, field textures, and general lighting is wasted. If you run a side-by-side comparison between the PS2 and PS3 versions of the game, you would probably notice some differences, but the overall look of the game still feels old because it doesn't make the graphical "jump" that it's overdue for. There's even a little visual regression; frequent (and unacceptable) slowdown saps the energy out of what should be exciting replays, and it even affects in-game action from time to time".
