PlayStation 3
Released in 2011 by Konami
Grade: B+
With intuitive controls, solid AI, and fast action, this game offers tactical depth without trying to truly recreate the sport.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the fifth on PS3. The series made the leap to PS4 for the 2015 edition, but PS3 versions are still going today, with 2018 being the latest. The series goes way back to 1994’s International Superstar Soccer on SNES.
Praises and gripes
The key to a good soccer game, which Pro Evolution nailed down years before this game, is giving you lots of controls that are easy to use. And you’ve got plenty of variations of passes, shots, dribbling moves, and defensive commands here. The buttons are mapped nicely and very similarly to FIFA, so it’s easy to transition from one game to the other.
You’ve also got some strong AI that keeps the game moving naturally, like a slightly sped up, superhuman version of soccer. Both FIFA and PES don’t try to be a genuine recreation of soccer action — if they did, you wouldn’t play 20-minute games with 3-2 final scores — but PES seems like a slightly further stretch from realism than FIFA.
In comparison to FIFA, there’s less chaos happening, fewer loose balls. You have to hone your strategy around the game’s crisp passing. Making a reckless run up the field doesn’t ever work out. Players have an unrealistic ability to head and volley the ball directly to a teammate, but not many goals are scored this way. Most goals come after a crafty, patient series of passes that get you closer and closer to the goal. That’s fine, but terribly fluky goals are scored too, which isn’t fine.
With five difficulty levels and a gazillion teams (some real, some knockoff), there’s a lot of depth gameplay-wise, but a surprising lack of options. For example, the game insists on showing replays frequently, a feature that can’t be turned off. While the replays showcase some really impressive graphics, they also highlight occasional lapses in AI.
I’m surprised to find that I don’t have the same fun with this game as I do with FIFA from the same timeframe. It just gets a bit repetitive. It may be easier to string together precision passes, but it comes with the price of predictability. With the way that video games were recreating lifelike physics in 2011, they seem lacking here.