14 DAY TRIAL // Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is the natural competitor for FIFA 15, which has been dominating the charts since it launched in late September, and the development team at Konami has been talking about their new take on football and on the carefully designed simulation mechanics that they are building the new installment on.
I played the demo for PES 2015 when it was first launched and the game made a good impression, although the experience clearly needed more work in certain areas.
Now I managed to spend some time with the MyClub mode of Pro Evolution Soccer 2015, which is positioned as an alternative to the Ultimate Team in FIFA 15.
The core concepts are largely the same, with gamers able to put together a line-up of players that work well together before testing it online.
The interface of PES 2015 makes it easy to understand the core nuances of the mode and there’s a helpful little tutorial included.
In the Konami title, gamers need to use agents to try and sign bigger stars and those, in turn, can be acquired using in-game currency.
Each agent has a clear specialization and a quality setting, and netting the superstars from the major European clubs requires sending a team of them for negotiations.
Once that’s done, gamers can fiddle with the team, registering and dropping players and trying to find the tactical setup that best suits their own style.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is more tactical on the pitch
Fiddling with a team and buying players are activities that appeal to our managerial aspirations, but winning is only done on the pitch, where players can control their entire team.
PES 2015 asks the player to think before moving or passing, with a lot of emphasis placed on good use of stamina, careful defending and build up before a decisive attacking move.
If FIFA 15 is focused on football as spectacle and wants to deliver an impressive mode every time the player moves towards goal, PES 2015 is more interested in the cerebral side of the sport, in the careful preparation that’s required to actually get a goal.
Players are more responsive than in previous installments and the physics are improved, but the Konami product requires more patience, which shows its rewards once the gamer gets a solid hold on the core mechanics.
The Fox Engine looks and moves good, although there were a few moments when the game stuttered, but the quality of the overall presentation could use a little bit of polish.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 will be out on November 13 on the PC, the Xbox One from Microsoft, the PlayStation 4 from Sony, and last-gen devices.
Until the final version of the game is launched, the development team might make changes to the core features of the title.
