Pro Evolution 2015 ( 2 DVD )
Sadly, most of those players migrated to FIFA,
thanks to the quality of the football on offer being, quite simply,
superior. Wonderful it is, then, that the PES vs. FIFA question is once
again one worth raising without a hint of satire or cynicism. PES 2015
is not only the best game the series has delivered for many years, it
promotes and prioritises a form of football that is, welcomingly, very
different to that of FIFA 15--and variety across games is never a bad
thing.
PES
promotes a tactical and technical approach to football. If FIFA 15 is
the embodiment of the Premier League, all action, speed, and ferocity,
then PES 15 is the Spanish La Liga, more considered, subtle and
delicate. Success is less about bursting through the midfield and
delivering a killer through ball to your striker, and more about using
the ball's movement to disrupt the opposition's shape, and create space
for your teammates to work in. As such, it pays to have a basic
understanding of how different formations create unique passing lanes,
and set up situations in which you outnumber the other team in certain
areas of the pitch.
Not that you need to have the
footballing brain of Jose Mourinho to succeed, but some degree of
knowledge is of undeniable benefit. Primarily, it's the quality of the
defensive players that makes life difficult; the AI, especially on
higher difficulties, is very adept at positioning itself in a way that
limits your options. This applies not only to the defenders themselves,
but also to midfielders that drop deeper when their team is without the
ball. That means quickly getting used to attacking two disciplined lines
of defenders, making it essential that you retain possession long
enough to make an impact.
This makes PES 2015 a
slower brand of football, which, predictably, results in fewer goals
being scored in matches. This can be frustrating, especially if you're
playing in a league or cup competition and consistently find that games
are ending 0-0 or 1-0. Raising the match time from the default
10-minutes to 15-minutes helps immensely in this regard. Not only does
this give you more time to score, but it allows you to express yourself
calmly and methodically; there's far less panicking and resorting to
hopeful shots from 35 yards, or forever pinging the ball to Ronaldo,
Messi or whichever star you happen to have (if any).
Giving
possession to Ballon D'Or contenders such as these can still work
wonders, though. While the core of the game this year is about using
space efficiently, the top players still perform like top players. The
difference is that you have to make better use of their entire suite of
abilities. Simply dribbling or pulling off long strings of tricks
doesn't lead to many goal scoring opportunities, the feints and spins
linked to the right stick not acting as some kind of magic wand with
which to win games. Using your best players as a pivot around which the
rest of your team flows is fine, but success doesn't come from the
ability of an individual.
PES
used to be perfect for those late, hazy nights where everyone is a
little too jolly and looking for something simple to play. That isn't
the case anymore. While not entirely inaccessible--lower difficulty
settings remain terribly easy--PES does require more concentration than
the vast majority of football games past and present; it's not a party
game.
Further highlighting the idea that PES is aimed
more at football nerds than casual fans are the included game modes,
with the official licenses for the UEFA Champions League, Copa
Libertadores, Asian Champions Leaguem, and various minor league
competitions present. This is not a game for those only interested in
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, or Arsenal vs. Chelsea; this is a game set on
trying to represent football as it exists around the world.
The
contradiction to that, of course, comes the fact that huge swathes of
official licenses are missing. While this doesn't negatively impact the
gameplay, it does dampen the overarching levels of excitement and charm.
Manchester Utd, for instance, are the only officially licensed team
from the Premier League. They're joined by the likes of Merseyside Red
(Liverpool), London FC (Chelsea) and West Midlands Village (Aston
Villa).
All of the players have the correct names and, in
most cases, accurately modeled faces, but playing with a licensed team
versus an unlicensed team disrupts your suspension of disbelief. Most
destructive is the complete absence of the German Bundesliga, with
Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke unceremoniously included in
the Other European Teams category. Borussia Dortmund are not here at
all, with the likes of Marco Reus showing up only in the German national
team.
The
Master League career mode remains the primary time sink for
single-player games, although it will be interesting to see how well the
Ultimate Team-like myClub performs after a couple of months of play,
and whether it even comes close to becoming the go-to option. More
interesting than those, though, is the Role Control idea, which can be
optionally assigned to a multiplayer game. This allows players on the
same team to take control of entire defensive, midfield, or attacking
units, rather than randomly switch to whichever player is closest to the
ball. The result is a greater sense of involvement in the bigger
picture; the fact that you're in control of a specific group allows you
to work with your co-op partner in a much more meaningful and controlled
manner. You still control only one player at a time, but only those
that are part of your unit. It's an idea all football games should
include.
Other details work less well. Menus remain ugly
and dull, which is a problem that this series has never properly
addressed, with predictable grey boxes and boorish black text doing
little to get you excited or engaged. English commentary is similarly
sleep-inducing, comprised mainly of reeling off player names and
repeating the same descriptions of actions that you heard in previous
matches. In keeping with the lack of licenses, the frills and
accessories adorning the core game are workmanlike at best.
The
answer, then: FIFA or PES? If you're looking for something fast-paced,
exciting and guaranteed to give you goals, then FIFA is for you. If
you're looking to delve more deeply into passing, movement and working
out how to break teams down, plump for PES. If football games are the
only thing you play, it's worth owning both in a bid to satisfy every
mood. Most importantly, though, is knowing that PES 2015 is not inferior
to FIFA 15. That in itself represents a huge step forward for a series
that, for a time, looked as though it had no chance whatsoever of
getting back to digital football's elite table.