Back to the field!
First an online beta, then the demo released at the end of August and now the full game. We therefore had a lot of time to get a precise idea of the new Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 and we can then tell you what we think of Konami's work. The foundations had already been laid in 2016 thanks to a radical change in the style of play, abandoning those annoying tracks, even if not completely, which have always characterized the series, in favor of "greater" freedom of maneuver and setting game action. Instead, with the 2017 chapter, the house made in Japan, as we had illustrated in our review, reached maturity thanks to the introduction of the Real Touch Control, the Advanced Collision System, the adaptive artificial intelligence, an improved myClub mode. and more “in step with the times” and so on.
We had therefore praised Konami's effort in proposing a product of excellent workmanship and which finally brought the series back to the levels it deserves. Of course, we are now far from the glories of PES 6 and Roberto Larcos center forward, which caused the end of many friendships, but with Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, Konami has shown that after the abyss there is always the possibility of going back to the fund and learn from mistakes. Do not expect upheavals or "miracles" of some kind, PES 2018, although convincing, does not differ much from the previous chapter and we will explain why in our review.
Beware of tactics
"Realism"
This year Konami has decided to focus everything on realism. That's right, this term has been used very often in recent months. Why? Simple, the goal was to create a less arcade game and closer to a real simulation. With this we do not mean that PES 2018 is in effect a simulation but it comes very close to being one, more than we could have foreseen.
Okay the graphics "pumped", super realistic to remain almost dry for the graphic detail achieved thanks to the maturity of the FOX Engine, but what interests us, and the direct rival is the demonstration, is the playability. Here on this, the series, for several years now, has always limped and we cannot but admit it, but the steps forward are really evident.
After introducing the Real Touch Control, this year the evolution is called Real Touch +. Very nice words, but in practical terms what changes? This upgrade has led to a consistent improvement in the quality of the matches, that is, unlikely, unless you have Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Neymar on duty, you will be able to reach the opponent's goal, dribbling the opponents ball and chain or with games worthy of a show. circus. The latter continue to be there, as it should be, but they will never give the impression of being really effective.
"Concreteness"
What you will have to do instead is try to strike up an action taking advantage of the characteristics of your players. Here is the real news, each player has specific characteristics that must be understood and used to the fullest. All this therefore translates into different movements and above all on a different physicality. Shooting with Cristiano Ronaldo will of course not be the same as doing it with Suso and of course also trying to physically face more gifted players like David Luiz, with Papu Gomez on duty certainly won't be easy if not impossible. Not to mention, even if in a not very evident way, our players could make small mistakes in the stops or miss an almost elementary pass. Ultimately, depending on the specific characteristics, the final results could be uncertain and surprising.
Many coaches say that the game is won in midfield; with this we want to tell you that tactics count as well as the characteristics of their players. Before each game we will be able to decide whether to be more offensive or defensive or look for a more balanced system between the two, but be careful not to throw yourself at random, trying to change the "set-up" will always and in any case affect your performance. So try to understand the behaviors of the players, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. It is useless to give defensive instructions to Nani if it turns out to be sterile in the attack phase. The new set pieces could, if well exploited, represent the extra weapon. When you get one, you can take advantage of a convenient menu, using the arrow keys to decide four specific actions to use. The team will then adapt to your choice and it goes without saying that if you get the evaluation wrong, you could suffer the consequences.
Furthermore, the new ball control system, reducing the frenzy of gameplay, will lead us to think more about the schemes to use. An important role is also played by the ball physics, rewritten from scratch and definitely more credible than in the past. The trajectories in particular, at times seem real, thanks to an improved cross system, which allows us to choose between various available options that you can learn from the appropriate tutorial; shots and passes are no less, they can be calibrated as you wish. However, during the games you will get used to it more and more and you will be able to understand how to best deal with the various situations that will arise before you, making the right changes to your style of play.
Already last year, thanks to the adaptive artificial intelligence system, the improvements had been evident. This year, the AI has been further refined and not a little, it goes without saying that the difference will be felt at the higher difficulty levels. Don't think about playing the same way with any opponent; paradoxically, with the big players it will seem easier to build actions and get to the "big" target, with the small ones it will not be difficult to find yourself in front of real dams, almost insuperable, with a large number of midfielders closing the passing lines and off the counter at the first useful opportunity, perhaps taking advantage of a gross setting error.
So try to "adapt" and do not get stuck in wanting to force down the opposing defense. Not to mention the extreme defenders, Benji Price really gives him a mustache, here we are faced with real shutters, which especially at the Champion or Superstar levels, will make you pass the ugliest 90 ° of your life because even a few meters will not be discounted bagging the ball. The gameplay, although the novelties are not many, turns out to be well done and enjoyable like never before. Everything was also made possible by the fact of having rewritten the animations, the movements of the players, the physics and the trajectories, which in addition to definitely improving the overall fluidity of the game, makes everything more realistic and beautiful to see.
The CHAMPION'S
PES 2018 offers, like every year, various ways in which to try your hand. First of all, the presence of the Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, both completely licensed and sponsored, and of the AFC Asian Champions League should also be underlined. The presence of the historic Master League is inevitable, improved thanks to a better management of the market, completely customizable that provides a whole series of parameters that must be taken into consideration to buy and / or borrow a player that we would like in the squad. First of all you will have to decide whether to start in the classic mode, that is more relaxing and practically without major hitches or that challenge in which our players will be more tempted to leave if we do not satisfy their specific requests.
Having created our coach, you can choose whether to start with a real team or with PES players, unknown and hungry for victories, at least hopefully. Remember to keep an eye on the transfer budget and the salary budget and not to go "red". At the beginning of the season you will be given a series of objectives and challenges, based on the potential of your team, it will be important to achieve these results in order not to lose your job. For the rest it is the usual and at the same time exciting Master mode that has characterized the PES series for years. If, on the other hand, you want to reach glory with your virtual alter ego, try your hand at Become a Myth mode.
Create your player and try to reach the most important stages in the world. MyClub mode (alter ego of the Electronic Arts Ultimate Team), the mode Konami focuses on the most. Create your team, also helped by the different tutorials that will guide you step by step to get the best players in the world. This year among the legends there is a certain Maradona, does anyone know him? Once you have created the team of your dreams, it will be up to you to decide, whether to challenge the CPU or search for opponents online, in order to gain additional experience or valuable currency to spend to buy scouts, agents or items to improve the fitness of the players or renew their contract. Finally, there are traditional Championships and Cups, in which we will be able to bring a particular team to glory.
The main addition is Co-op Online mode which allows you to challenge other players with a friend. As for the Online mode, it maintains its characteristics unchanged, allowing us to face the Divisions online, in a series of 10 games, the Quick Matches online, Lobby match online with 11 vs. 11 and the new CO-OP Online mode, which allows you to face 2 or 3 players with 1 or 2 friends. Regarding the stability of the system, nothing to report, on PS4 there were no problems of any kind and even the matchmaking, it almost always worked without uncertainty allowing us to find "almost immediately" an opponent to play against.
Licenses, we are not there yet!
Licensing is now a problem that we hardly see as a problem anymore. The distance from the direct rival is now light years. Even PES 2018 despite having a certain weight from its exclusives such as the aforementioned Champions League and UEFA Europa League continues to maintain the "traditional" absence of licenses. Except, important partnerships, with Valencia, Barcelona, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, here is that, one of the most important teams in the world, or Juventus is once again transformed into PM Black White, while Sansangiulo, fortunately, finds his real name of Sassuolo. Same thing for the cadet championship, with very imaginative names such as: Alvegiaro, Bagnaroni and Brutie, very funny to read. Among other weight absences, in the English league or rather the English league apart from Arsenal and Liverpool the other teams are not sacked. It is no better for the Spanish league, with only three fully licensed teams and with Real Madrid instead becoming MD White. The Bundesliga, on the other hand, does not exist, the only two teams present, Shalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund are bound in the "Others" section. Fully fired, the Brazilian, Argentine, Chilean and Dutch league. Good additions but they certainly do not have a significant weight if the player lives in Europe.
FOX Engine and that I tell you to do.
The FOX Engine is a breathtaking engine behind titles like Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain. In recent years it never seemed to adapt perfectly to a title like Pro Evolution Soccer and instead, the improvements made this year were also possible thanks to the potential of the graphics engine. The engine has allowed not only to maintain a level of detail that is nothing short of astounding, it seems to be inside the stadium, with an overall level of care that is truly breathtaking; but also to create animations and physics. To underline the good work of motion capture made on the most famous athletes, such as CR7, Neymar, Messi, with lots of movements and celebrations. Less attention has been paid to the less "famous" players, there is certainly a choice of this type and we can only share it. Menus still dated but still acceptable and normal loads that could be optimized better. We conclude by saying what perhaps many think, but can a decent commentary be had? By now I refuse to believe that the Caressa-Marchegiani duo cannot be improved, we are in 2017, actually almost 2018 and we still have to put up with a repetitive commentary, with 7-year-old phrases or not getting the right word in reference to action in progress. Bad, really bad, immediately to set the commentary in English, not perfect but at least more catchy.
Final comment:
PES 2018 is a real evolution of the past chapter of the series. It manages to be appreciated almost in everything and although that bit of freedom of movement that we hope will arrive in the next chapters is still missing, we feel we can promote it. Graphically it is no longer a surprise, the FOX Engine is the real "spearhead" of Konami and thanks to the progress made, it has also made it possible to rewrite movements, animations, physics and trajectories that are now far more realistic. The amount of content present is good, myClub is now a good confirmation and the Master League, well, there are no words to describe it. Sorry for the skimpy licenses that lead clubs like Juventus, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United to take on fictitious names. We're sure this won't be a problem for longtime fans.
