Where Liverpool were once the untouchable
champions of Europe and England, Manchester United stepped up to take
their place. PES, whose releases throughout the PS2 era saw it revolutionize the game of digital soccer, dropped the ball with the onset of the PS3 and Xbox 360 and allowed EA Sports' FIFA run away with title after title.
Thanks to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, however, and the masterful outing that was last year's PES 2016, the outlook for these two former champions is looking brighter than it has in a decade.
PES 2017 is setting out to offer its players a more realistic form of play, rather than relying on incorporating new game modes
Both
club and game are seeking to build on recent gains in confidence by
focusing on the style of soccer on the pitch, rather than the elements
surrounding it. In the case of PES 2017, its dev team is setting out to
offer its players a more realistic form of soccer, rather than focusing
on new game modes or official player and team licences.
Presumably in an effort to galvanize itself an ever stronger and more committed niche within the sports gaming space, PES 2017
is wholeheartedly dedicating itself to realism. Virtually every change
between last season and the upcoming one is explicitly focused on
creating a closer resemblance with what you see on TV, even if that
means the learning curve and volume of options is, for some, going to be
difficult to comprehend.While FIFA appears more interested in providing a flash, fantastical interpretation of the game (with its abundance of skill moves and predilection for attacking players), PES 2017 is more grounded in replicating the fundamental building blocks of team play.
For
instance, a new advanced tactics system allows you to define how you
want your team to act, with options for both when in possession and when
chasing it. Prior to kick-off, you can assign defensive and attacking
systems to the D-pad that can be cycled through whenever you see cause
to do so.
If you want your fullbacks to be responsible
for creating all of the width in your team, then you can employ the
“attacking full backs” approach, triggering your forward players to drop
inside in order to be ready to receive the ball from wide.
Alternatively, the “false fullbacks” option brings your wide players to
the middle and help dominate the battle through the central areas.
In
defense it could be that you want to fill your own penalty area with as
many players as possible to prevent goals being conceded from crosses,
or play a high line to catch that aggressive striker offside. There are
many options to choose from, and it’s wise to practice with all of them
in order to both be ready to face opponents of all dispositions and to
give yourself as many routes as possible to recover from a losing
position.
PES 2017's revamped AI, I'm told, actively
learns player patterns, which compounds the need to educate yourself on
how tactical approaches can ideally operate in different situations. If
you consistently seek to load up in the middle of the park then you can
expect your digital counterpart to either bring in more midfielders or
seek to play the ball out wide as quickly as possible to make use of the
space you've vacated. With only about ten games under my belt, it's
difficult to tell how intelligent PES 2017's AI is at this point.
However, the focus on implementing adaptive AI highlights just how
seriously Konami wants you to think about the “why” of your actions as
opposed to simply the “how”.
Such
details carry over into even the simplest of actions, such as
controlling the ball. Players are noticeably better at using their first
touch to direct where the ball will end up after receiving a pass.
Think fast and you can immediately tap the ball in a direction that will
embarrass the opposing defender as he skids past you, giving you time
to consider your options. A skillful striker can swivel and take the
ball on his chest in one motion, potentially leading to a shooting
opportunity that wouldn't otherwise have arisen. On the other side of
the coin, a keeper who is good with his feet, such as Manuel Neuer, can
overcome a poor back pass from a defender by neatly using the outside of
his foot to trick a rushing attacker into guessing the wrong angle to
attempt a tackle.
Indeed, goalkeepers seem to have
undergone several key improvements. They react much more quickly to
shots, positioning themselves more intelligently before the ball is
fired towards them, and get up off of the floor with more urgency if the
ball is still in play after their initial save. Keeper quality, or lack
thereof, was one of the major disappointments with PES 2016, so it's
nice to see the problem being addressed.
It is important
to state here, though, that we've only played with the world class
goalkeepers that guard the sticks for Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Germany,
and France. To continue with the Liverpool analogy, it's difficult to
believe Simon Mignolet (or is it Karius now?) is going to be quite so
impressive.
PES 2016 suffered for not keeping the game up to date with the latest transfers--the plan is to fix that.
Should
Mignolet somehow surprise us all next season and become the player that
he hinted he might be in his younger years, then that upgrade should be
represented through weekly updates. PES 2016 suffered for not providing
regular tweaks to player ability, and failing to keep the game up to
date with the latest transfers, but the plan is to fix that.
A
patch will be rolled out on launch day that updates rosters to take
into account the latest transfer activity, and that is to be followed up
with weekly player stat alterations that reflect recent performances.
Whoever turns out to be next season's surprise hit, in the vein of
Marcus Rashford or N'Golo Kante this past season, can be expected to
enjoy a significant stat boost.
As welcomed as such
boosts are, the most important progression here concerns the series
itself. PES 2016 provided ample evidence of Konami's ability to continue
to create a soccer game that can compete with FIFA on the pitch, and
it's vital that that momentum isn't lost next season.
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