Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 Review

Evolution in Progress. 

Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 opens to the strains of Nessun Dorma. It’s an intentionally nostalgic choice, alluding to the undimmed romance of Italia ’90. But the sport has changed – it’s become much bigger, brasher, frequently more concerned with players’ salaries and sponsorship deals than what happens on the pitch. In recent years, it’s fair to say FIFA has done a much better job of embracing those changes. PES has meanwhile always felt a little more rooted in the past.

Last year the series really hit form, creating a soccer/football experience that's composed, challenging, and skill-based. PES 2014 is trying to build upon that success, yet with the shift to a new engine, it also marks arguably the biggest change the series has undergone for a generation. It's trying to move forward. And while that new foundation presents some huge benefits, particularly in terms of visuals, PES 2014 gets very close but never fully capitalises on that potential.

The first thing I noticed about PES 2014 is just how good it looks compared to its predecessors, not to mention its competitor. It’s a major improvement. Some player likenesses

are uncanny, and everything from skin and grass textures to the fabric of kits have been dramatically enhanced. Furthermore, stadiums have been entirely rebuilt – the dreary mausoleums of past seasons is replaced with bustling arenas, strewn with detailed banners and alert crowds which react to the rhythms of individual games. After a nasty tackle, the atmosphere will sour, the baying crowd shouting for the offending player to be dismissed; conversely, when you score, crowd now does a great job of making you feel like a star. The improved lighting within stadiums also gives the experience a much-needed level of polish, too. PES has never felt so alive.

The frame rate occasionally struggles under the weight of those improvements, however. During replays or when a shot goes wide, irritating stutters crop up – while it’s never game-breaking or hugely distracting, it does slightly mar the overall experience. Otherwise it’s smooth, which suits its free-flowing passing style.

Despite these major changes, fans of the series will be pleased to know that PES hasn’t lost its identity. It retains a more realistic, sober colour palette, and the overall presentation isn’t bombastic. The broadcast camera, with its slow zoom-in after the opening whistle, is a lovely touch. Matches, particularly the Champions League, are framed nicely with authentic pre-match buildup.

That being said, it’s really inexcusable that more of an effort hasn’t been made to refresh the wider user interface. The faux mouse pointer on the menu screens feels woefully dated for example. The menus aren't bad per se – they’re really functional – they’re just seem stale by comparison to the modern on-field graphics. Similarly, the commentary is a touch repetitive and sometimes at odds with the action; it’s weird how often seasoned pundit Jim Beglin is astonished by the most mundane goals – he exclaims “It’s gone in!” after every other goal, it seems.

PES 2014 builds closely upon last year’s gameplay, so passing remains crisp and zippy when it’s played on the floor, while lofted balls can be driven or floated to great effect. An expressive passing game remains PES’s primary strength; it really feels like slotting the ball through into space, and that requires genuine vision and skill, not just a well-timed button press.

PES 2014 is so accommodating; some games I played were patient, strategic affairs, with slow build-up play through the centre of the park. The next match was a frantic end-to-end affair, with play occurring mainly down the flanks. It felt unscripted and unpredictable. This is PES at it’s very best.

Shooting is still competent, but not a real strength. It’s always easy to hit the target, but frustratingly difficult to really place a shot. Free kicks are a slightly different matter – set plays on the edge of the box can be easily turned into  dangerous, goal-scoring opportunities. Heading still isn’t quite right, though; I don’t feel like I'm clamouring over my opponent to win the ball.

Two of this year’s biggest innovations – TrueBall Tech and MASS –  aren’t strictly changes to the gameplay, but rather they’re systems that underpin PES 14 itself. While they offer improvements – player animation and interaction greatly benefit – every now and then I found them interfering with the minute-to-minute gameplay.

TrueBall Tech brings “barycentric physics” into play – basically, it transforms how the ball moves and how the players manipulate it. On the most superficial level, it really improves the look and feel, making players move more naturally. When players change direction, they shift their body weight realistically. Isolated, it’s a small change, but throughout the course of the match it really has a cumulative effect, amplifying the improved graphics.

The system also allows for closer control. I found dribbling to be much tighter than before, and the ability to knock the ball ahead while sprinting is an exciting mechanic for when taking on players. The simplified skills of last year also return, but I found a lot of the more complex manoeuvres, involving shifting your body weight or pulling a quick feint, extremely difficult to pull off. You only have to move the two analogue sticks in tandem, but it’s so difficult to pull off the moves with any consistency and the tutorial is little to no help.

Allied to TrueBall Tech is the Motion Animation Stability System (MASS) – essentially, it’s Konami’s attempt to make PES much more physical, a quality in which the series has been deficient. Preset animations are gone in favour of more dynamic interactions between players, factoring in speed and orientation at the moment of contact. It should make PES much more physical, but it actually produces an unnecessary amount of tussling. This is fine when a player finds themselves in a tight corner with their back to goal, but it’s unnatural when they’re clean through yet choose to lock horns. These tussles, which you don’t initiate manually, sometimes prevent you from unleashing that early killer pass. You can use the right analogue for shoulder barging, but a lot of these interactions feel out of your control. I guess ultimately it’s more realistic, but it does slightly slow down the pace. It probably would be better if these tussles were player-initiated.

Following on from last year, the defensive side of PES is still about containment rather than confrontation. MASS really improves these encounters, with players hustling each other on the ball, but tackling hasn’t really been rethought to fully take advantage of this system. The slide tackle remains unexpectedly vicious – it’s frustrating that the art of a well-timed tackle doesn’t have a home in PES. If you go to ground, it’s very rare that you’ll cleanly win the ball, since your player launches himself at the opposition like a madman.

Combination Play is a big tactical innovation this year – it’s the ability to assign specific plays to key areas of the pitch, which can be initiated manually. So for instance, should you find yourself on the right wing and heading towards the corner flag, a quick double-tap of the left trigger can create a dummy run or prompt one of your midfielders to charge into the box. It creates space, moving defenders out of positions. I thought it might feel a bit mechanical, but it didn’t. I didn’t always execute the resulting play correctly, but I was still able to exploit the situation thanks to the freedom PES gives you to control the ball. For many, the ideal is surely to have this kind of play emerging organically, but for the tinkerers and arch-tacticians, it’s a nice addition.

The other notable new feature is Heart; it’s the attempt to incorporate the influence the "12th man" can have on games. Each player has a sense of morale, which can be affected by how a game unfolds. I have to admit I never really noticed it in action, such is its subtlety. It’s probably for the best, though, since the idea of a team coming from behind suddenly receiving a sudden stat boost seems unfair to me.

PES still lacks depth outside of its core gameplay, though. You’ll find the UEFA competitions and the Cope Libertadores are still licensed, as well as the Asian Champions League for the first time, but most of the teams and players aren’t present. For PES fans this is business as usual, but to the newcomer it's a noticeable absence.

PES’s Master League remains, but it’s largely unchanged for another year (you can switch teams and manage a national side this time). Despite visible wrinkles, it’s an enjoyable way to enjoy PES solo, but for me it’s outdated interface and lack of innovation now presents too big an obstacle. It just feels stale, especially compared to advancements FIFA’s Ultimate Team is making year-on-year. Once again, I find it baffling that such elements have been overlooked, when this year is being touted as a "New Dawn" for the series. It feels like a promise half kept.