PES 2013 hands-on preview: how it could beat FIFA this year
Here’s a tactical conundrum that would have even Mourinho sweating: how the chuffing hell does Pro Evolution Soccer win back the hordes of fans who have defected to FIFA over the last few years?
A major shake-up of the PES foundations is the first step, and Konami knows it. “(We need) a totally new engine,” says European PES team leader Jon Murphy, at the world first reveal of PES 2013 in Brazil. “We’ll see a lot change when we have the next generation of machines.”
And while we’re unlikely to see PES on PS4 for another couple of years, our in-depth hands on with the series’ latest instalment proves there’s plenty of fight left in Konami’s sleeping giant as we head towards the final whistle on PS3.
For those who have kept the faith, 2013 could well be the year PES rockets back to those dazzling PS2-era highs. That snappy, on-rails feel from 2012? Gone. Players now move smoothly across the playing surface, tilting and weaving with a delicious human roundedness.
PES 2013 PS3 ScreenshotCanned ball animations? Nope. Now it sprays about the place with unpredictable authenticity, pinging off shins, bobbling along the turf, arcing through the air like, you know, a ball, instead of a torpedo.
The overall impression is that PES 2013 has finally, brilliantly, gone back to its simulation roots, ditching the zippy arcade feel of recent instalments and serving up an experience that feels slower, more reactive, and crucially, more like real football.
The slower pace can be attributed to three key gameplay enhancements, which Konami shows off by sticking footage of PES 2013 next to real life footage of Barcelona – a telling juxtaposition proving how confident the team are that PES is bang on form once more.
Number one is PES Full Control, which incorporates a number of improvements to the manual passing and shooting. In practice, the passing model feels much the same as last year (which was already excellent), although that irritating rainbow-coloured power bar has thankfully been killed.
t’s the revamped shooting system that really shakes things up, with the addition of manual shooting resulting in our first few attempts soaring off towards the corner flag. Squeezing L2 as you shape up for a pop on goal sends the ball exactly where you’re aiming it with the left stick, so you can’t just thrust it left or right and hope to make the net bulge.
Additionally you can use the right stick to put swerve on the ball (push it left or right), add backspin (push forward) or execute a lob (pull back). It takes some getting used to, but eventually – somewhere around game seven – we curl in an absolute peach with Ronaldo. It offers a new level of control that sits naturally with the game’s more deliberate pace. “We couldn’t have a really zippy game and still have this level of control,” offers Murphy.
Also improved – ProActive AI, which is Konami’s fancy way of telling us the players don’t have cotton wool stuffed between their ears. Yes, we know we say this every year, but this time team AI really does feel more natural, especially when it comes to positioning.
Swooping down the wing with DiMaria, we notice Benzema pulling away into a pocket of space just behind the 18-yard line, whereas in previous years he’d have bulldozed straight into the box. This opens up room for a neat cut back, and French goal machine has an effort well saved by the opposition keeper.
Defensively things have stepped up even more, especially when it comes to the defensive line, which is to say this year there actually is one. The back four move as one unit; covering each other, filling gaps, pushing up or falling deep depending on the score line and the time of the match.
Konami has also spooned a generous dollop of authenticity into the visuals with ‘Player ID’ – a new system that replicates the running, shooting and passing style of around 50 top players. Arjen Robben, for instance, does that camp, flailing arms thing he does when sprinting and Kaka glides across the pitch with languorous strides; it’s so spot on you’ll recognise players just from their gait.
Technical wizards like Iniesta come with contextual animations just for moving the ball about – the Spanish maestro rolls his foot over the ball, constantly keeping it under control while in possession, just like in real life. Facial likenesses are also eerily lifelike, but the animation still lacks the physicality and fluidity of FIFA’s impact engine.
Our only real concern at this early stage is that all these changes seem geared towards improving the attacking aspect of the game – tackling is still a case of double tap X for a lunge, hit O for a slide. Oh, and the keepers are even more pants than usual, but we’re putting that down to the early stage in development.
Overall PES is looking stronger than ever, and we reckon it’s in with a very real shout of outdoing FIFA this year. Will it be enough to win over the fans? “We just want to produce a game,” says Murphy, when we ask how PES can start its comeback, “that is hands down the best football game.” Your move, EA.
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