Pro Evolution Soccer 6

International Challenge Mode

PES6 marks the first time the International Challenge Mode has been included on the PES Series. Usually this is seen on the Japanese version - Winning Eleven - where you play as Japan and take them through the qualifiers to the International Cup and then attempt to win it. On PES, however, you have the ability to choose any playable nation on the game. The user can only play the qualifiers from Europe, Asia, South America, and North/Central America. Although the tournament is not licensed, the qualifiers have a lot of similarities to the FIFA World Cup qualification process:

Team selection can be changed before each game and the player can choose from any player with the eligible nationality.

The International Challenge mode is only available in the PlayStation 2 and PC versions of PES6. The Xbox 360 and PSP versions do not include this mode.

Random Selection Match

Also new to PES6 is the Random Selection Match. In this mode, the user can pick up to either four clubs/nations or one region/league. Once selected, the computer picks a random selection of players from the teams or region for the player's squad. The lineup is selected automatically, although players can choose to let the computer to pick another random selection. This was not included in the Xbox 360 version, presumably because of time restrictions.

PES shop

Network

Groups have been introduced on the PES Network. A player can join/create a group that can gain points by playing together. Groups can play each other in rival matches. If a player creates a group, they manage who's in and who's out, the team name, and who else can allow others to join and matches. A player can join a group by applying to join or accepting an invitation from another player. If the leader accepts, they are in the group. Only ten are allowed in one group at first, but there can potentially be 30 in a group at one time. Groups can reach levels with the highest level to progress to is Level 14. When you achieve higher levels, you will unlock different costumes (penguin, dinosaur, and ostrich) and classic national teams. Also, you can achieve extra member spaces in your group when you go up in level.

The Network capabilities have since been relinquished.

Licenses

Ligue 1 were licensed for the first time in series. Game included also several fully licensed national teams that participated in 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Platform differences

It should be noted that though the Xbox 360 version lacks dressing, it is the only version with a fully analogue Manual Pass feature, as well as much more sophisticated ball physics compared to the PS2 version and can therefore be argued to be the ultimate version in terms of gameplay as well as an online community that continues to have matches available all of the time. Even to this very day several years after the release of Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and onwards, Pro Evolution Soccer 6 marks the point where the series underwent significant changes to the gameplay that remain in the series to this day.

Reception

The game was met with positive to mixed reception. For the U.S. port, GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 86.31% and 86 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version; 85.80% for the PC version; 81.36% and 82 out of 100 for the PSP version; 79.13% and 80 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version; and 64% and 64 out of 100 for the DS version. For the European port, Metacritic gave it a score of 89 out of 100 for the PS2 version; 88 out of 100 for the PC version; 81 out of 100 for the PSP version; 79 out of 100 for the X360 version; and 63 out of 100 for the DS version.

The PS2 version got a perfect 10/10 score in Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine, which beat FIFA 07 (9/10 in the same magazine). However, the PSP version of the game ranked beneath the FIFA 07 PSP version due to slow loading times and an incomplete editor. Hyper's Eliot Fish commended the game for its "tighter dribbling [and] refined Master League" but criticised it for its commentary.

The Times gave the PS2, PC, and X360 versions a score of all five stars and stated that "you can make a sliding tackle and come up with the ball, and the AI has been greatly improved. The passing and shooting have been made harder to master and the players’ movement off the ball is better." In The Sydney Morning Herald, Fish gave the X360 version a score of four-and-a-half stars out of five and stated, "Owners of an Xbox 360 have a right to feel a little miffed that their version isn't identical to the PS2 but Pro Evo 6 is still top of the table." However, George Mathis of Detroit Free Press gave the same version a score of three stars out of four and said, "Unlike the PS2 version, team and player names cannot be changed. This is a problem because many of the world's most famous teams and players are not licensed, meaning you'll be stuck playing generic teams such as the London Soccer Club."