PES 2014 review

(Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC)

The new football season is upon us, and Konami rolls out it’s star player in the shape of PES 2014.  Let’s see how the new signing shapes up…

There are two schools of thought when it comes to football video games. In the blue corner you have the delights of FIFA, with all its licensed thrills and fancy cut-scenes, and in the red you have Pro Evo, which sports some very strange team names yet offers arguably more fluid gameplay. Personally I think both games have their place and offer their own unique take on the sport.

This year’s Pro Evo does score points by featuring the official UEFA Champions League and Europa League accreditation, but that’s about it. This means that the famous signature tune of Nessun Dorma plays out as soon as you boot it up, yet most of the teams that play within these competitions are not fully licensed.

Pro Evo games have always been much faster when compared to the FIFA series, and this time around a whole new game engine has been introduced to tweak playability even further. This also mean the graphics have been given an overall upgrade, with kits, stadiums and players faces all given a might boost.

The art of kicking the ball around the pitch has always been a strong point for Pro Evo, and the passing game continues this fine tradition. It is not just a case of pressing a button at the right time, and once you get to grips with the games finer points, you can really set up some beautiful moves.

Thanks to the new Motion Animation Stability System here are no more preset animations, and the games physics are much more dynamic. This means tackles and ball hustles are more realistic due to the improved physics engine.

Adding to the realism is a more dynamic crowd, who really get into the game and react to goals, tackles as and when they occur. Shame the commentators are a tad on the wooden side, but you can’t have everything.

All in all it makes for a great, if slightly flawed game of footy; it’s just a shame the lack of licenses make it feel like an unfinished product.

Mark Pilkington