It’s not everyday I get asked to review a book. Actually in all honesty, this is the first time! I don’t like reading you see. I’d much rather sit down with a pint of beer and watch some football, or crash around my mates house for an “all-nighter” on the Xbox 360.
However, this book is different. It’s about arguably the best football game on any console, past and present – it’s about pro evolution soccer 6! Not only that, but it’s not a novel, it’s a guide – And a very well written and presented one at that.
Understandably, it’s quite difficult to get the ball rolling for a review of an “expert guide” especially because I already view myself as somewhat of an expert on PES6. That being said, I still managed to find one or two nuggets of information about the game that I found useful. For example, there are some very helpful “talent guide” tables half way through the book that give some great information on the best players to pick for your master league team based on price and skill. The best way to go about a review of the book is to actually go through each chapter, with a brief overview of what’s contained within that chapter.
How to play: This one is more for those who have only just ventured into the pro evolution soccer world. Contained within this chapter are things such as the basic controls, how to navigate the menu screen within the game, and what each game mode does. Obviously for someone who has played PES before, this chapter is pretty useless, but for beginners it’s an essential.
Coaching manual: The coaching manual chapter basically contains every major move within PES6. Each move is listed in a rather large table, containing the move, the controls needed to do the move, on both the PS2, Xbox 360 and PC, and also the page in the book where it is covered in detail and the DVD number. Yes i said DVD – I’ll cover that more later on! Each move (I counted 133) is explained in detail, including an overview of how difficult the move is, and how effective it is.
Secret moves and tricks: This chapter is all about the “undocumented” moves within PES6. These moves have been included into the game by Seabass and his team, but they are there for the dedicated and elite players to learn and master. These moves include using the super cancel move to perform a body check or performing the “hidden chip shot”.
Tactics and strategies: Anyone who has played PES6 will know just how important it is to fully utilise the tactics within the game. This chapter is one of the best chapters within the book – everything from formations to individual player tactics is explained in detail, along with the good and bad points of each strategy.
Master league: The master league in PES6 is by far the best feature of the game – as it gives those of us without friends a nearly never-ending supply of single player goodness. That’s why I class this chapter as the best one of them all. It covers the master league in detail, and as mentioned earlier, it even tells you which players are good first-time buys based on skill and price.
Team and player guide: This chapter takes a very in-depth look at the strongest national and club teams within pes6, offering everything from how the team plays, to each individual players abilities and strengths.
Extas: This short chapter basically explains the extras within PES6, mainly those found in the PES shop such as the extra stadiums.
So there you have it, that’s all the chapters explained. As for the book itself, it really is very well written. Each part of the book, whether it be the complicated jargon of PES6 or the simple controls, has been written very clearly – both for beginners and experts. Not only that, but the book comes with a handy DVD showing off the moves explained in the book – but obviously in video form, so you can fully appreciate each move.
Whether you are the world champion of PES6, or an absolute beginner, this book is worth every penny. It’s well written and very well laid out format, along with it’s extremely in-depth information educates even the most experience player. With books like this, this years PES tournament at PESfan, and the one we’ll be holding on 360monster is going to be alot tighter than before.
Russ Clow
Russ Clow not only nearly shares his name with one of the best Gladiators around, but he also has a bundle of experience under his belt. Since a very young age he's been playing video games, and has been working in the video game industry for most of his working career. Russ is a secret Sony Fanboy, although he tries hard to hide it so as to keep his position as Editor-in-Chief. When he's not playing games, Russ likes to play football with the "lads".
