In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)

[RaychelSnr]

It's been an interesting year for Konami's PES team. While EA rushed to harness the power of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with FIFA 14, Konami decided to release PES 2014 on the Xbox 360 & PS3 utilizing the critically acclaimed Fox Engine. Despite receiving numerous gameplay patches throughout the year, PES 2014 often felt more frustrating than fun. Those who stayed the course with PES 2014 were ultimately rewarded with the best gameplay since PES 2011.

As news began to emerge on PES 2015, the community remained cautiously optimistic as Konami boasted that this year, "The Pitch is Ours." It's a claim that the community had heard before and all signs were pointing towards a pivotal year for a franchise that has seen its market share decrease in Europe and the United States over the past few years.

With the release of PES 2015, Konami has attempted to re-embrace its roots, focusing its attention on what it does best: gameplay. Now that kickoff whistle has blown, it's time to take to the pitch and see how successful PES 2015 is this year at replicating the beautiful game.

Read More - In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)

[Battman]

In my opinion you did not emphasize enough on the AI. Every game plays different as the players play different. Thats by far the biggest advantage of PES over FIFA.
About the commentary: The german commentary is much better than in FIFA. Which is not a hard task as the german commentary in FIFA is the worst in the history of sports games.

[Yeats]

I love the "dead air" commentary, been saying for years these games need less of the incessant repetitive yapping that most of these sports games now have.

[KG]

Re: In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)

I love the "dead air" commentary, been saying for years these games need less of the incessant repetitive yapping that most of these sports games now have.

Jon Champion is by far my most favorite footy commentator but his style just doesn't translate well to video games. It also doesn't help that he doesn't have enough lines. I'd imagine the lack of English licenses hurts too. If they had the full EPL-League 2 I'd imagine he'd tell us tales of when Pompey won the FA Cup in 1939, lol.

[BBallcoach]

Re: In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)

I bought PES on steam this past weekend and love it. Every team plays differently, the Goalkeepers are much better than FIFA's and you have to build up to a good shot. It's very rewarding to have to work for a goal.

Edit: And in my ML I had a player score goals in back to back games, and the commentators made a note of it. I thought that was awesome.

[Fedor_52]

one question about the defensive AI

when you succesfully dribble past one opponent in midfield in the demo (superstar difficulty) you can run pretty much untouched into the box and score, all the defensive players stay glued to their position without any sense of urgency, has that changed in the final code?

[jpollack34]

Picked this up on Steam and I have to say, it's the best replication of the sport ever. I would probably give it a 9.5/10.

The reason is that it excels in the areas that matter most when it comes to sports games: gameplay and individuality.

This game has individuality in spades. Every player and every team feels and plays unique. Players are recognizable by their different running styles as well as their talents (dribbling skills etc). It's superb. When you pick up the ball with Robben (Netherlands), for example, it feels like Robben, it looks like Robben, and it moves like Robben. This is what it's all about. The teams play like their real-life counterparts as well.

Licenses don't bother me at all because there is option files for that.

9.5 out of 10.

[BBallcoach]

Picked this up on Steam and I have to say, it's the best replication of the sport ever. I would probably give it a 9.5/10.

The reason is that it excels in the areas that matter most when it comes to sports games: gameplay and individuality.

This game has individuality in spades. Every player and every team feels and plays unique. Players are recognizable by their different running styles as well as their talents (dribbling skills etc). It's superb. When you pick up the ball with Robben (Netherlands), for example, it feels like Robben, it looks like Robben, and it moves like Robben. This is what it's all about. The teams play like their real-life counterparts as well.

Licenses don't bother me at all because there is option files for that.

9.5 out of 10.

Yeah, there are already mods for the PC that include all the leagues and cups. I am not a big stickler on kits, because they are usually just big advertisements. But there are already great mods out there.

[scorpio1018]

Re: In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)

the only thing so far that is bothering me on ps4 are the servers.

once you are on the pitch, online play feels surprisingly smooth, but to get there is such a pain

all the "unable to connect to opponent" or "establishing connections" wears you down...

apart from that, indeed, the old magic seems to be back...

[alabamarob]

Might be the game of the year. Best soccer game I have ever played.

[DBMcGee3]

I bought PES on steam this past weekend and love it. Every team plays differently, the Goalkeepers are much better than FIFA's and you have to build up to a good shot. It's very rewarding to have to work for a goal.

Edit: And in my ML I had a player score goals in back to back games, and the commentators made a note of it. I thought that was awesome.

I agree with you about everything but the keepers. I find them to be one of FIFA's brightest spots, between the varying animations and the AI. The player and team individuality is something PES nails every year though, truly the crown jewel for that franchise.

[nunogomes]

How can FIFA get a 9 score and PES a 8 ? It´s baffling...

[ronnieb]

How can FIFA get a 9 score and PES a 8 ? It´s baffling...

Co sign,fifa's 9 Is a joke, i mean com n the gameplay should have the main impact in graduation, and the PES gameplay Is just better at everything...

[Battman]

As I see OS as my prime source for serious sports gamers I have to say that I am baffled that FIFA got a better score. Other sources are all about the shiny polish, OS is for the core game. And in this area PES excells FIFA by miles.

[DBMcGee3]

Anyone know what's going on with the PS4 online issues? I don't even play online, but I keep getting a message on my dashboard saying that my system data couldn't be uploaded online, or something like that. I've also noticed that "establishing communications" message constantly popping up when navigating the menus, and it will flicker between that and "now loading" at ludicrous speed, like the connection isn't stable or something.

Also, where are we supposed to download the "Live Updates"?