I didn't get the game as early as I would have liked so I needed a couple of extra days to really run through it and give a thorough review (OS editors are great at not rushing us for a review!). I'm not knocking other review sites but sometimes I feel like they don't get deep into the intricacies of Master League and instead just focus on the press release notes. Hell, the the Master League test sim alone took a while and I know OS (and myself tbh) are big offline players so not getting deep into it would have been selling everyone on here short IMO.
Fair points. I have seen the good and bad with keepers and fouls but IMO it's been more good thus far and you can really tell the improvements in those two areas from last year.
I kind of struggled to give this game a score because I almost feel like there's 2 games within PES:
Gameplay & Everything Else
PES 2017 Gameplay alone probably warrants a 9, maybe even higher if/when the community sorts out the Tactics and other Advanced Instructions to see IF they can tighten up a few areas.
Everything Else is where the game struggles as expected. I knew the Menus would be outdated, that online would have some lag and layered matchmaking, that Master League wouldn't have big changes, that Licenses would be what they are BUT I can't take that for granted and turn a blind eye to it. Konami NEEDS to improve in those area if it wants to take the next leap. Those things (menus, ML, etc...) are an important part of the experience/immersion and the deficiencies make some people lean towards FIFA. I completely understand that. Gameplay, despite what Konami thinks, isn't the only thing these days.
A buddy of mine made a good comment to me the other day, PES isn't only competing with FIFA. It's competing with Madden, 2K, The Show, and anything else that occupies your free time. For those who have other responsibilities (kids, demanding jobs, etc...) the game experience needs to be good enough to think "I'd rather play PES than watch TV/play another game/etc..." . Off-the-pitch need to be on par with the strong gameplay on the pitch.