In this review, we’ll leave the discussion of PES vs. FIFA behind us. Likers gonna like & haters gonna hate. There’s no goal in comparing those two titles since both are simply too different. The only thing they do have in common is the fact that both games are all about soccer (or football in Europe, which is simply a better name).
It’s a fact that PES pulled the short straw when it comes to licenses. A lot of club names are different in PES, Real Madrid, for example, is called PES MD White. Lucky for the true fans, there are files circulating on the internet to overwrite those club names to the original ones. This means it’s possible to play as Real Madrid after you changed the names. To be clear, this is only the case for clubs, players kept their real names.
For this review, we’ve played the game in offline mode and tested it without going online. We won’t discuss the online experience here but if you’ve played PES before, you know you have nothing to worry about.
Since this is the 2018 edition, things have slightly changed. In this article, we’ll mainly focus on these changes since the core of the game has been strong for years.
We start with a friendly versus game. Next, to the club teams, all national teams of Europe, Africa, America and even Asia are open for selection. We pick a classic match of Classico FC Barcelona vs. MD White (Real Madrid FC). As I said earlier, you can easily change the names by downloading a file or entering the names manually.
The first change we noticed appeared during the selection of our players and the way we want them to appear on the screen. No longer will you see a drawing of the players as a profile picture, this time it comes closer to an actual photo. The developers really put in some effort here since it all looks more realistic than PES 2017. Now, it looks like we’re preparing for an evening filled with soccer and friends. The only difference? We’re in control of our team so we can’t just lean back and relax.
All players received an update based on their skills in real life. This means that the good clubs from last soccer season all have been upgraded while teams who scored fewer points in real life, also received a virtual penalty. This is a weekly update from launch and Konami will continue the support until the season ends. If a team scores less than usual, you’ll also notice it in the game. Konami will put restrictions on that team so you’ll definitely feel the difference in their skills. This also works the other way around. Certain teams can be granted with virtual wings if they win match after match in the real soccer season. This also works for players individually. Players who are out of shape, have less stamina and will make a mistake more easily. Players who are in shape (marked with a green arrow up), will last longer on the field, win more duels and eventually score easier. Keeping a close eye on these updates is crucial to win your virtual soccer match.
Setting up your match is very similar to the older editions. Everything goes very fluently and after a couple of times, you’ll really get familiar with the process. You can always save your settings to save some time for your next match. You really have a lot of options to select, you can, for example, decide if you want to play during the daytime or evening. How should the weather be? It’s all up to you! If you keep these options on automatic, the game will decide for you, resulting in a big surprise before you start! Last, you can select the stadium. PES 2018 has some new stadiums, bringing the total on 37 with 18 unique PES locations.
Alright, enough of the settings, let’s play!
From the moment you leave the dressing rooms and enter the field, it’s clear, PES invested in improved graphics. Konami really went all out to make sure everything looks as realistic as possible. The first time we played it, we were surprised by this amount of realism. Gamers who played PES 2017 frequently will remember the quotes of Jim Beglin and Peter Drury (the commentators) by heart. Konami added new quotes but kept its classic (‘More and more aaaaand more’ or ‘3 without reply, this is becoming a stroll’). Honestly, we were a bit tired of these quotes but with the addition of some new ones, the match can finally start over again!
There’s a lot to say about the playstyle. We – moderate veterans of PES- had to adapt to the sensitivity of the controls during our first moments on the field. It feels even more realistic. It became clear right after, we had to play with precision. The intensity of pushing the buttons is of more importance while finishing a certain shot.
On top of that, the difference of skills between the players really stands out now. When you approach the goal with a good player on the attacking side and he enters a duel with a defender of the other team, you’ll truly notice the difference in strength, both in the game as on the screen.
There are some more tricks added to the game. We scored a world goal with Benzema of Real Madrid by finishing a pass with some precise jumping. Where the player would have taken a dive in PES 2017 to score a goal, this time, the player jumped into the air while running, to shoot the ball directly into the goal. We rewatched this action multiple times and it was one of the best moment of our match. It’s amazing! We’re getting used to the game but the more we play, the more we say our impact on the field. The grass is damaged from our sliding and more, this is also new.
Something we needed to get used to was the moment we had to take a free kick, the guiding lines seem gone. This means it’s almost like gambling in order to aim the ball with precision. You never know where the ball will end up exactly. This mirrors the experience of the real world better where the real players don’t see guiding lines while kicking the ball. It really gets crazy the moment you need to take a corner. No longer is the camera located behind the player, instead, it’s hovering just above the shoulders. No guiding lines here either. You need to get used to it but we liked this more to be honest. In last edition, it was very easy to score if you understood the guiding lines and pressure on the controller. It wasn’t really exciting if you knew every corner ball would eventually end up in the goal. That’s something of the past now and that’s for the better! It’s extremely frustrating to lose a match with a corner that’s been taken the same way each and every time.
Konami really made sure the reality is reflected in the game as close as possible. The luck factor is even part of the game. Luck is real and so it is in this game.
The match advances and it started to rain. Good, since now you can really see the technical abilities of our players. We’re going in attack with two players and are grounded just in front of the goal by the defense of the opponent. Penalty! As it should! At first sight, nothing out of the extraordinary but our player is still down on the field and will be taken away from it. What, is he injured? Yes, you can count on that! We had to replace our player with another one. In the last edition of PES, the injured players always returned to the field after a couple of seconds. This wasn’t that realistic since players can get injured in real matches. Since Konami changed this, it only boosts the tactical aspect of the game. We’re allowed to replace players three times. We already used two, so this forced replacement forced us to finish the match with the team that was on the field at that moment.
PES 2018 also used this stationary phase to show a lot of information like the remaining time and the number of goals in the top left corner. The best passes are highlighted, the number of violations of both teams, the amount of meters you’ve run, ball possession and more. It’s fun to see who is the better player during the game. A fun new gimmick if you ask us! The game ends with a poor 2-1 that cost a lot of effort. More than it used to be. PES is more challenging now and we love it!
Extra: After the game, we see the familiar overview of both teams. Konami picked some outstanding colors in this version. Neon green and neon blue (for example during replays) or during the overview of the game.
I wasn’t the better player but managed to make it anyway. Picking the right team is crucial in this process. It can be rather frustrating as a new player to face a strong team with a weak team. There’s already a difference in skills but the strength of the team and its individual players only enforces this difference.
Aside from playing against each other, you can also play against a team. The training is improved as well. The online aspect isn’t tested for this review but we do hope Konami managed to balance it a bit better. It’s not fun to play as Real Madrid against Real Madrid. We hope we’ll see these scenarios less than before.
