Chase Becotte: When PES was at its finest, it was a game about touch and creativity. It just did so many small things right that it made soccer feel as unique as it can in real life. It started to find those beats again last year, and I don't feel like it's straying from that course with this demo. PES feels good so far. It's maybe a little too fast on default -- a little too up and down -- but it feels more and more like the soccer game that consumed my life during the PS2 era.

Now, that being said, right now there are essentially no fouls (something the PES team says they're working on, but as this has been a problem for multiple years it's hard to give that team the benefit of the doubt), and the menus/UI are still super confusing. It also has the standard soccer game issue where it only really looks "next-gen" during close-up shots on the field. Regardless, in the demo I had little moments of impressive passing, good tactical awareness by the AI, great 50/50 battles, and overall just a lot of small elements that help to make a soccer game fun to come back to day after day. I'm intrigued.\

Kevin Groves: PES has always been a game that has primarily relied on its intricate gameplay to carry the series. If the demo is any indication, PES 2016 is making significant strides to help reclaim the glory of years past. Despite it's lack of fouls, cumbersome tactical menus, and the occasional sliding, the PES 2016 demo boasts some significant improvements in the AI, graphics, and overall animation quality, especially as it relates to the collision system.

When PES was dominant it was the perfect blend of realism and fun. The demo is a small step in the that direction and hopefully, with the already provided community feedback, the team over at Konami will address the issue with fouls and provide us with a solid game at the time of release.

Chris Sanner: Let's get a couple of things out of the way, the PES 2016 demo wasn't perfect. The lack of fouls and tactical menus are just horrid. I really feel the controls could still use some work as well, I'm still not sure about them.

Now, let's get to the positive. The AI is seriously improved and I really felt each game evolved differently thanks to the computer reacting to what I'm doing in a more realistic manner. I typically run with a rapid counter-attack type of gameplan (rarely go for ball control and just sound defense). It really felt the AI caught onto this and really rushed defenders back. Also, AI passing is just on point. You really have to employ some real world skill out there to get and keep the ball.

The graphics are also much improved, as are animations and collisions. The Fox Engine is beautifully implemented, and PES 2016 has something to be proud of here. Obviously the warts in the demo are real, and Konami has some work to do, but the early feeling I'm getting is that the game is heading in a rather positive direction.

Jayson Young: After forcing myself through one match with each of the PS4 demo's seven teams, my brain simply cannot tolerate any more PES, no matter how noice this soccer simulation now looks.

My thought bubbles burst as I'm watching the absurd amount of space a single defender can still cover, just by chasing the ball in circles and spamming the sprint command all game long.

I also wonder why any defender would bother strafing, waiting, and timing a perfectly angled tackle, when he can still strap on his dunce cap, hold down the autotackle button, and run around the pitch dispossessing people, like in that scene from Home Alone 2 where robber Marv wrapped his entire hand in two-sided sticky tape and went on a pickpocketing spree.

Maybe someday, the big soccer franchises will finally pickup some shrewd moves from little guys like Fitba, an innovative XBLIG title from 2009 that was clever enough to place the inputs for player movement and ball aiming on separate joysticks, instead of clumsily lumping these commands together onto one nub.

I'm also tired of waiting for Konami to wise-up and borrow from the basketball genre, by giving PES fans a purely ratings-based means of punching around the ol' pentagon bag, instead of requiring every tiny flick and brutal slam of the ball to become a blink-and-you'll-miss-it meter minigame.

Until some of these changes come to pass (and there are millions of rea$on$ why they won't), the most fun that I can wrangle from Konami's stuck-in-the-1990s control scheme comes well after the referee's closing whistles, while I'm watching and directing slow-motion replays.

Please, don't mistake me: I like watching soccer. I enjoy playing soccer. But after today's session, I can't honestly employ either of those verbs when describing PES 2016. I'm keeping off this grass until Pro Evolution Soccer's controls -- like real-world soccer's goal-line technology -- finally embrace 21st century computer science.