In a way not overly dissimilar to a fighting game sequel, PES 2018 feels like an exercise in not wanting to undermine or distort the sublime balance the previous incarnation managed to achieve. With Real Touch+, the core concept remains but now the whole body is brought into play. Players use thighs, shoulders, stomach, chest and the entire foot — front, side and back — to control the ball, and the result is imperfect passes have a better chance of finding their target, as players have more ways to interact with passes coming towards them. It also ups the spectacle, and passing combinations such knocks and flicks, with body parts other than a foot, are flattering for even a beginner. It might not sound like much on paper, but the effect in the heat of the game is genuinely exciting to see. This greater ability to bring the ball under control feeds into improvements to how players move both their body and the ball when dribbling, especially at lower speeds. Players visibly shift their weight to change direction more suddenly and tempt defenders into making a wrong move, while a range of feints and delicate touches help make space for a shot in crowded penalty areas. Again, the better the player, the more impact these kinds of dribbling options have, but the real skill rests in how creative you are in stringing together the available moves. March 10, 2003 I've come to the conclusion, actually I came to it a while back, that the Winning Eleven series isn't for everybody. It's a great game to be sure, and in my opinion, the best soccer game on PS2 hands-down, but it takes time to learn and master its subtleties. It's not quite as open and easy as other soccer games are. February 10, 2004 WSWE7I a major step for Konami. KCET has started the mammoth process of widening and bolstering the already great gameplay with extra features that are more than just ornamental. I don't like the menus much, but persistent gamers who must rename all their players will get to grips with the Master League's acquisition system and use it to enhance and grow a team that can genuinely contend with the best of them. Still, there is plenty of room for improvement in terms of visuals, audio and presentation. October 25, 2006 The controls are still delightfully responsive and tight, and there's no doubt it's still the most accurate football game on PS2 - so much so, anyone who plays or watches football regularly is likely to be a better player because they understand how to create chances. You just won't be blown away by it, instead feeling happily content that Konami has taken your favourite football game and made it slightly better. In our book that's definitely a good thing. October 25, 2006 That's always been part of PES's charm, though. It's not a goal-fest like FIFA but a much more tactical, realistic game. Admittedly, the online mode isn't fantastic and - while it's perfectly playable over Live - it only supports one-on-one matches, which is a huge step backwards considering the online PS2 game is much more substantial. March 17, 2008 The offering of modes may not have a standout or one feature that was obviously the focus of development, but it has more than enough to satiate the appetite of the many rabid football junkies of the world. For this year's best virtual football and a return to form for one of the staples of our industry, look no further than Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. March 19, 2008 Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on PS2 is a very impressive soccer game, mainly because it mimics the current-gen versions so well. While it would have been nice to see a few specialized PS2 modes, the fact that we can play through years in Master League with a created player and watch him develop is cool enough. March 17, 2008 Ever since the curtain was pulled back on Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for Wii, we knew it was going to be something special. The integration of IR into a sports game has been extremely minimal so far, but is absolutely ideal in this situation, allowing players to not only play the ball specifically, but direct traffic and precisely move every player on the field in tandem, making for the most realistic, strategic, and intuitive soccer experiences we've ever seen. November 26, 2008 Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 makes a valiant effort at keeping pace with FIFA 09, and there are some improvements and good ideas under the strange gameplay changes that were made, it's just tough to see them if youve played FIFA. As with most beleaguered franchises, it seems like PES 2009 could use a bit of a reboot with a new engine and improved visuals and presentation values. If not, I'd be willing to bet that FIFA will be the king of the pitch for years to come. December 10, 2008 It's too bad that more wasn't put into the PSP version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. The players on the pitch are very rigid in their movements and the overall speed feels like it's capped so the PSP can keep up. Still threading passes through the aggressive AI's defense and burying one in the corner of the goal is very well done and feels realistic for a handheld. November 10, 2009 I don't mean to make Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 sound like a bad soccer game, because it isn't. It's just a disappointing one. Just about everything except the visuals feels a bit stale, even the new Become A Legend mode which feels like it's from an '08 edition. The gameplay is solid; it just isn't able to keep pace with FIFA 10 in most regards. It's tough to recommend this to anyone when EA Sports' superior product is on the market, but if you're a diehard PES lover, you'll feel right at home with this one. December 8, 2009 Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is a very impressive soccer game for the Wii, especially if you've never played the series on Nintendo's system. It doesn't bring the same wow factor as the first go-round thanks to its general lack of innovation, but at least the soccer is still very solid and the few changes are most definitely for the better. December 11, 2009 Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is a solid game of soccer that could've been improved with just a bit of innovation. It's tough to expect developers to invest resources in the aging system, but then one has to wonder why they're still releasing games on the hardware at all. PES 2010 on PlayStation 2 will suit you if you haven't played the series in several years, but if you have any other option available, you'll enjoy yourself more elsewhere. October 1, 2010 After the promising strides made by last year's reboot, PES 2011 feels very much a realisation of that potential. With its emphasis on fun still apparent, the added realism provided by control, animation and AI enhancements improve and broaden the package's appeal no end. Factor in the added tactical flexibility and the addition of the online Master League, and it's easy to see why PES' return to form will be widely celebrated. Some may prefer FIFA's more studied approach to football realism, but when it comes to pick-up-and-play fun and intensity, PES 2011 gets my vote this year. March 23, 2011 Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D makes a strong debut on the 3DS, and of all the launch titles available it puts forward one of the strongest arguments for Nintendo's brave new vision of the future. It's a couple of features short of being a classic, but its compelling game of football has found a comfortable home on the handheld. October 12, 2011 But for all of its glaring eccentricities, PES 2012's emphasis on fast-flowing attacking football over stodgy defensive play is still capable of winning us over. It might not provide the degree of true simulation that some players hanker after, and some of its tweaks merely throw up new problems - but PES fans have had a long time to get used to frustrating inconsistency. Too often though, they make poor decisions and fumble weak shots. Timid strikes from long range are fumbled too frequently, especially when the keeper has a clean line of sight and plenty of time to position himself. They also have a tendency to spill seemingly simple saves back out towards the penalty spot, leaving for an easy tap in. Random Selection Match is arguably the star of the new game modes over last year, giving you the option of playing with a team made of up of randomly assigned players, based on set parameters determined before the match. You can set up to three categories from which your team will be chosen: teams, leagues and nationality. For instance, if you want to give yourself the best chance of using a team of superstars then you might want to limit your random players to being selected only from Real Madrid and Barcelona. Once your players have been assigned to you there exists the option to trade personnel with your opponent, turning Random Selection into a draft mode of sorts. Depending on their performance in real-life, players receive live stat updates inline with their form. This adds further interest to Random Selection, and other exhibition game modes, in that a player you previously discarded might have a blinding week for their club and is now forcing themselves into consideration for your PES team. Keep an eye on those stat changes before making any final lineup and formation decisions. The new addition of Online Co-op is also worth spending serious time mastering, with teams of three players facing off against one another. Elsewhere, multiplayer modes include the returning Online Divisions; a competition in which you face off against other real players in short seasons, with you being relegated or promoted depending on your match results. MyClub straddles both online and offline arenas. The idea - much like FIFA Ultimate Team - is to acquire new players and build the squad of your dreams. Challenge mode is hardly akin to a Football Manager experience, but it does force you to think about the makeup of your squad over the longer term and that influences your overall approach accordingly. Elsewhere the usual selection of individual cup and league competitions are available for you to win and lose, as is Become A Legend, in which you control a single player and try to make it to the top and achieve glory. There are also a few minor issues with server quality in online matches, predominantly when going through the matchmaking process. It can take some time to find an opponent, an issue that is made worse if playing in co-op and seeking multiple players to join your match. Matches themselves have been more stable than previous PES releases on launch, with only a small percentage of fixtures affected by lag. Hopefully any and all issues will be ironed out as Konami reacts to server load. PES 2018 is not without its faults then, but many are easy to forgive because it does a wonderful job of consolidating and evolving on the fantastic groundwork laid by its predecessor. The improvements may not make headlines, but they do make for one of the most complete and satisfying football games. Once again, PES has set an incredibly high level of quality for other sports games to try and match.
