If FIFA is football’s equivalent of the popular older brother who’s; handsome, gets all the girls and wears the nicest clothes, then Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) is the middle child; smart, gifted but largely forgotten and overlooked by his—and most would say—superior older sibling. However true gamers know that (recently) PES is the only game for those who truly love the beautiful game.
During the PlayStation 2’s heyday it was the far superior football game, PES 5 being the crowning achievement. However the fall was greater than its rise, the quality of its sequels dropped harder than an Ashley Young dive, leaving FIFA to catch up with remarkable pace and assert its dominance on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
However recently, since PES 2015, something started to happen, it started to find its mojo again. Konami (for all their Orwellian shenanigans) reverted to what made the series so popular in the first place, delivering a near-accurate football experience via the gameplay. The latest offering, PES 2017 is the latest indication that they’re finally clipping at FIFA’s heels, when it comes to 'who makes the better game'. While the upcoming FIFA 17 will most likely do record breaking numbers and get more love from the mainstream, there’s no denying that PES will leave you with a fulfilling experience that may lead you to question whether to remain a 'disciple of FIFA' or convert to 'the church of PES'.
Just like the idea of 'total football' or 'tiki-taka', their approach to the beautiful game was to make it exactly 'that'— beautiful. PES 2017’s offering takes the critically acclaimed, seamless style of the last game and injects it with more fluidity. If you’ve ever played an 11-a-side you’ll be instantly familiar with the realistic pace that’s on display in PES 2017. The way the players move on-and-off the ball is mesmerizing, your teammates movement into space and subsequent shift into defense is immaculate too.
Konami also have improved on dribbling and ball control, the physics are much more realistic, deft touches and lobbed balls have a near-realistic speed.
One part of the games’ replay value is the challenging A.I., taking it back to its PS2 days when the computer was tough as nails (word of advice to first timers: do not jack up the difficulty to 'Super star' mode, you’ll instantly regret it). Trying to break down a defense is hard, even when the difficulty mode has been set to 'Regular', but that’s what keeps PES so fun and rewarding. Another major improvement is the goalkeepers, it was one of the biggest criticisms of PES 2016, it was too easy to score against them. Konami have addressed the issue and now goalkeeper reaction times have been jacked-up upped significantly. The new and improved reactions make it harder for you to score, therefore even the most simplest of goals will feel like something that’s been well earned.
The other significant improvement is the graphics, simply put it’s quite amazing. One of the long running jokes about non-fully licensed football games is that the player’s likeness can be a bit of a monstrosity. But that doesn’t appear to be a problem here, while they don’t have the licenses to any of the official leagues (they still have Champions League), the licensed players and teams that they do have look pretty fantastic. They literally get everything down to a 'T', from Paul Pogba’s insane hairstyles to Olivier Grioud’s glorious quiff and beard. Everything has a smooth, glossy finish. It’s what you’d expect from a publisher that delivered the current Metal Gear Solid game.
Perhaps the only draw back is the fact that PES will never have the licensing rights to the majority of the teams (there are ways around that issue). But that honestly shouldn’t be the deciding factor in putting you off a near-perfect football game. Another thing that’s a bit lacking is the commentary, it often serves as complimentary background noise and doesn’t really offer anything to the final product of the game. The crowd noises/fan chanting can be bit hit and miss as well, you never really get that same feeling of authenticity when the Liverpool and Dortmund fans are singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, compared to the spine tingling renditions you hear on FIFA 16 (which will most likely be replicated on FIFA 17).
The debate as to whether PES is better than FIFA has been rendered moot at this point—you’re either one or the other, there’s no two ways about it. But if you’re stuck in the middle, looking for your first football game, or you’re looking to jump ship then PES 2017 is for you. It’s unjust to call it the 'FIFA replacement', because PES 2017 is very much it’s own game, it oozes quality and style that would make the FIFA developers think twice about putting something that’s half-arsed (it’s the reason why FIFA was so redundant during the PS2 and Xbox era). PES 2017's end product is a shining example of how the beautiful game is meant to be played and enjoyed, so if you’re after an illuminating football experience, and not a glossy magazine cover, this is well worth your hard earned cash.
