PES 2018 Review: It's Defective, But Is It As Funny As FIFA?

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Curiously, because of decisions made at each iteration, FIFA and PES ended up where the other was, ten years ago. Just look at PES 6 and FIFA 07, which released in 2006. At the time, EA was more focused on providing a nice moment, and it showed in the impossible cross and half the line of goals that were an integral part of the game. Konami's PES 6, by contrast, was much more realistic.

Fast forward to today, and it's FIFA that holds the crown of realism. Konami has chosen to adopt the fluidity and beauty of one-touch-football, making it one of the most elegant of the experience. PES 2018 is another step in this direction, but that does not mean that he is not interested in realism. There are multiple improvements on this front in 2018, he dribbles, body moves, opposition awareness, ball physics, and goalkeeper record animations.

PES 2018 is also an important year for the PC fans franchise, who have the feeling of abandonment in recent years. This time, Konami has introduced the game of PC version online with the press console. It offers entirely on this promise, and we saw that in detail separately. There is Nvidia Ansel PC support, which is great news for the game of photographers.

But despite these improvements, the PES is all about high octane fun, where you can link great long air balloons and through the passes to create wonderful goals, with barely a worry for the first accuracy of touch . PES 2018 continues the infallibility of the cross, with balls lurching and soaking in a fashion ideal, nine times out of ten. The game is built in such a way that a high percentage of moves always lead to goals.

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And that's what Konami wants from his football sim to be, obviously. While EA Sports has pushed FIFA tactical realism more, every year, which leads to gritty, but corresponds to a draw and blank against an AI that is much better to defend than to attack, PES is more than just happy to turn in his goals driven by a cousin. The AI ​in PES 2018, like its predecessors, bows aggressively against attack as directly as possible, launching long balls as soon as it wins the ball.

All of this helps to make an exciting and fun game, which continues to be goal-heavy, even when you push the difficulty of the ladder. But there are problems with such a configuration. Given the way that is transmitted easily can unlock defenses, speed of play (which has been slowed, but not enough), and the speed of the attackers with the ball, it is difficult to be tactical when you defend, with the whole thing coming down for a split second of the differences.

In addition, utopia cross delivery, with a defense that fails to track the ball without your help will regularly put you in the worst of situations against the computer. For what it's worth, it's also true for AI defense, so crossing an integral part of the game is almost a must. That said, PES 2018, it's a little better to play tiki-taka, thanks to additions of gameplay, but the game of armor, blocking, and dealing with mechanics still need reinforcement.

Unlike FIFA, PES still does not cover the mechanic defense, with defenders still charging towards the ball (and the striker, in turn) as a homing missile. But since they are still chasing where the ball was the moment before, the charge tends to be lacking, and let the attackers go through a schoolboy's fashion. It makes you look silly despite the fact that controls say so, and it's frustrating to admit when you know there is a better system.

This is not the only aspect of the PSE feels like he is lagging behind, though. For what it's worth, Konami used to be the first in offering new gameplay mechanics. As an example, PES has made advanced shooting options for a few years before FIFA set up last year. But now it's down behind the pace. For one, there is still no balloon-driven or optional ball (introduced in FIFA 17) in PES 2018, which are very useful tools to keep possession of the ball.

Even with pieces of choice, PES 2018 was left behind. FIFA's separation of power and pitch added a whole new dynamic to how you could build free kicks and corners since last year. PES have the ability to decrease and increase the lift with the left stick, but nowhere near the amplitude of the EA variation now allows.

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New ways to play

One of the biggest additions to PES 2018 is its co-op mode, which allows you to play in 2v2 and 3v3 matches in a variety of formats: exhibition, myclub, and the PES league . You can have up to two people on the same machine, making it perfect for inviting a few friends over the weekend, and clashing with the AI ​​computer, or finding other people on the Internet.

For what it's worth, the co-op option has been technically around since ever since you could have two to four controllers on the same team. But with PES 2018 co-op offers, Konami now tracks how each controller (read: the player), and provides detailed statistics at the end of each semester. In this way, you can determine who is best at what, and also glean the areas to improve.

Speaking of playing on the internet, linking was a bit of a pain to update one and two. It took a while for us to find a game in Quick Match and Online Co-op, and things were a lot better on the myClub before. It was much worse for PC players, with a bug of not letting players even log. We tested PES 2018 on PC, and were unable to update the squads or create user data until Konami released an early patch on Friday.

The other big novelty of this year is actually the return of a fan-loved feature: Random Match Selection. First introduced in 2006 PES 6 - also the last time Konami used a number instead of the year - it allowed you to choose four clubs or nations, from which the computer will randomly pick a squad . Now he's back, with some sheen and polish.

For the most part, it works the same way. You choose a team as the "base", which will serve as the name and logo. Then you choose one of the four categories that you set the team selection, which now extends to club, nation, league or region. You can also choose to go completely randomly, without any criteria. PES 2018 will then choose a full team, keeping in mind the formation of the core team.

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In addition, you can even specify one to three business cycles that allow you to target an opposing player for a switch, while protecting one of your own players. Once everything is figured out, you'll be left in the same menu match where you can tweak to your game plan, match settings, color scheme, and more.

Beyond that, there are several small improvements for the League Master, including Scout Behavior changes, release of transfer fees, Goal Manager, Pre-Season Tournament, Pre-Season match interviews, and even brief, locker room behind the scenes. Essentially, it brings PES 2018 until the date of FIFA's own investment manager, and nothing more. PES fans will be happy to know that the transfer of negotiations are much easier.

There is nothing here anywhere on the FIFA level is The Journey. PES only player in career mode, the equivalent of FIFA's Being A Pro, have no visible changes. While EA is placing more emphasis with its story mode - travel with Alex Hunter is a part of the FIFA 18 demo too - Konami does not seem to be bothered on this front. Admittedly, the first season of FIFA Travel was not good, so he does not miss much to be honest. Again.

Nice, but needs more work

The end-to-end gameplay of Pro Evolution Soccer is a double-edged sword. That's why it's so exciting to play - goal parties are, by their very nature - but it also helps make a game that feels unrealistic at best. And then there is Konami and his licensing problems, which seems to be getting worse every year.

It's a well-known fact for PES fans, and something that has little elegant solutions, which is why we do not do much of it. But while PES got exclusive access to FC Barcelona at Camp Nou, and keeps the UEFA Champions League, it has lost big names to Manchester United, Juventus, FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Of course, this does not detract from the gameplay, which will continue to be his fans. PES 2018 has some remarks to make on this end of understanding, or it risks taking , even more, e ground compared to its top-selling rival.

For:

• Look big on PC
• One-touch utopia
• High octane rating of gameplay
• Dedicated co-op mode

disadvantages:

• Turns into a goal-fest too easily
• More powered crosses
• Down on tactical defense
• Lack of defense mechanic's cover
• Passes, pieces of reinforcement need

Rating (out of 10) : 7

Gadgets 360 played a copy of PES 2018 on PC. The game is available at Rs. 3,499 for PS4 and Xbox One, Rs. 1,999 for PC, and Rs. 2,499 on PS3 and Xbox One ($ 60 in the US). At the time of writing, the digital version via Steam is not available in India.