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Android tackles Pro Evo 2011

Footie game franchise, Pro Evo Soccer is now out on Android. The latest iteration, PES 2011, features officially licensed teams and players from “many of the best European club teams in the officially licensed UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.”

We’d like to say that all your favourite teams are available- but from our browse, the only ‘real’ team we could find in the English league was Tottenham. Similarly, in Spain you could choose Barcelona- or a bunch of odd-named clubs. There were plenty of Italian teams licenced, but we were banking on being able to choose Liverpool, not ‘Merseyside Red’, who don’t even wear a red kit.

Once you get into the game itself, you can choose from three different controller setups. One is a bizarre tilt-action option, where you swing your phone around wildly, a button-based one more similar to console gaming, and a one touch option, where everything’s done through double taps and swipes. Perhaps it’s our gaming roots, but the button setup worked best for us.

It’s surprisingly playable; back-heels, one-twos and through-balls are all possible, though there are still gaffes from the computer-controlled goalies on both sides- we managed to stand in front of the goal kick and score by deflection.

The game ran okay on our ageing Nexus One, though anything lower would probably struggle. There were times when several players on-screen forced the game into treacle. Compared, perhaps unfairly, to the iPad, the tablet gives a far smoother gaming experience.

Apple’s version also includes multiplayer through wireless or bluetooth, though this is the first Pro Evo release on Android, so we’re hoping that there will be a multi-player update not too far away.

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