GameCentral’s resident football expert offers the last word on the
surprisingly close title match between EA’s FIFA and Konami’s Pro
Evolution Soccer.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 – back on form?
GameCentral’s resident football expert offers the last word on the
surprisingly close title match between EA’s FIFA and Konami’s Pro
Evolution Soccer.
Manchester United vs Liverpool and Rangers vs Celtic are great
rivalries that have kept football fans entertained through the years.
Pro Evolution Soccer vs FIFA is the equivalent of these titanic clashes
in the football video game world.
These two heavyweights have gone head to head over the past two
decades, with both enjoying spells of domination, but lately one has
been much better than the other, just like United and Celtic are
currently better than Liverpool and Rangers.
At the moment we live in the FIFA era, with the EA game having been
superior over the past few years. But for the first time in a long
while, PES seems to be catching up, and the latest Konami football sim
may have positioned itself perfectly for an assault against its rival
next year.For a long time PES was said to have better gameplay than
FIFA. Konami’s dominance in this field was so strong that it negated any
criticisms of the game.
Yes, FIFA had a better user interface, most of the licences and great
music but because PES had better gameplay it was considered the best.
Well that changed a while ago and now, FIFA has an advantage in this
area but it’s not as significant as it was last year.
FIFA 13 has added First Touch Control and improved off the ball
artificial intelligence in order to maintain its status as most
realistic game.
These were welcome introductions and certainly added to the
experience. First Touch Control tries to mimic the real life quality of
each player, making someone’s ability to control the ball first time
round dependant on the quality of the footballer. This also applies to
passing and shooting so it’s not a good idea to try a Hollywood pass
with Chelsea’s Jon Obi Mikel.PES 2013 gives FIFA 13 something to think
about in terms of gameplay, although it falls short of actually beating
its rival.
The game’s new Full Control system, which includes full manual
passing and shooting, improves the mechanics by giving you ultimate
control over the most important parts of the beautiful game.You are
better able to determine shot accuracy and where a pass lands. If you
master the new system, you will be able spray the ball around more
confidently and score more consistently.EA normally wins the
presentation battle and this is the case again this year.
FIFA 13′s overall package of graphics, user interface and music is
impressive. It’s also the most authentic in terms of licenses, with
nearly all of the top players, leagues and stadiums.But PES 2013 doesn’t
just lay down and take it. Konami has again secured the rights to the
Champions League, a competition that has a certain magic.
PES’s character models are also markedly better than FIFA 13′s. The
game’s cover star Cristiano Ronaldo is recreated to perfection, as well
as other world stars including Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi and
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
Video:Check out the PES 2013 TV ad
In conclusion
We could finish up by talking about the vast array of modes available
on both games, which are impressive (FIFA 13 probably pips PES 2013 in
this area). But we’d prefer to talk about the enjoyment we felt when
playing the sims with friends.Here at GameCentral we long for the
feeling we had when playing the PES games of the last generation. Every
match was aggressively contested.
If we lost it got to us, we weren’t able to move on until we had
exacted revenge on the person that had inflicted the defeat (in the game
not physically).At times the contests would get overheated and we could
be accused of taking it a bit too seriously but that was why we loved
it.We’ve never truly felt that way with FIFA. Yes it’s realistic, yes it
has all the licenses but does it have the heart?
It’s the same case this year. Although EA’s new game is better than
Konami’s, when we play it it feels just a bit too mechanical and doesn’t
seem to have much soul.That’s not to say PES 13 does, we long ago fell
out of love with Konami’s sim, partly because the last few PES games
have not been very good.
If the Japanese company can recreate the magic of the classic games
from the series then we will be very happy gamers. PES 2013 is a start,
it’s certainly got our attention.That’s not to say FIFA can’t win our
hearts as well, it just needs something but we’re not too sure what that
something is.
Video:Check out the FIFA 13 TV ad
Thoughts? Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk or leave a comment below
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