Pro Evolution Soccer 4 revealed

News - Number four in the series dribbles into shooting distance...

As surely as night follows day, Konami have today officially confirmed the latest instalment of the best-selling Pro Evolution Soccer, marking numero four in the venerable series, held by many as the finest example of virtual football. Coming later this year, the biggest news for the series has to be that as well as debuts on the PS2 and PC, the Xbox will also be getting Pro Evo 4, something which will no doubt please the console's owners and the house of Gates in equal measure.

Of course, better visuals, controls and heightened realism are all touted, and we've no reason to feel this will be any worse than previous outings with Shingo 'Seabass' Takatsuka and his team at Konami Tokyo once again in charge. New moves and tricks as part of fluid, realistic football are promised in this "quantum leap forward for both the Pro Evolution franchise and the football genre as a whole."

A new indirect free-kick move has been implemented to spice-up set-piece action, whilst new free kick and penalty techniques will be implemented. Sadly, I think we're once again going to miss out on many real player and team names, but Konami have offered something in the way of compensation through more accurate and individualised player looks and animations. Likewise, more detailed player statistics will now have a greater impact in match situations: "how well players can bring a high or fast ball under control, hit it first time past an encroaching defender, or flick the ball on to a team-mate," being examples mooted.

Crosses and cut-backs will be more accurate now, with a new dribbling system being introduced also allowing more control in one-on-one situations. International and club players featured are said to bare an almost photo-realistic likeness to their real-world counterparts too, and kits which get dirtier as matches progress will no doubt heighten immersion further.

A referee will be present on screen for the first time in the series too, and our little 'friend' in black will be stepping-in to break up trouble, though hopefully not to disallow perfectly legitimate goals. Ahem. Different refs will also include varying temperaments, which will impact the flow of play, especially as the new dynamics will include playing the advantage in certain circumstances.

Fortunately, an 'expanded' roster of clubs and international sides will be available in Pro Evo 4 (though we've no specifics on this at the moment), and new formation options will also add greater tactical depth to the experience. The Master League has also been expanded with the ability to save world-beating sides as 'My Best Eleven' and new player retirements through injury during the league. This will force players to find replacements and work around star retirements in a more realistic fashion.

We'll bring you more on this game as it nears release on the PC, Xbox and PS2 later this year - in fact, the only question we're really dieing to know the answer to concerns the multiplayer side of the title on which Konami have been strangely quiet. Perhaps online multiplayer all-round? We hope to find out soon.