PES 2015 News Post

In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)

06:25 PM - November 17, 2014 by RaychelSnr

It's been an interesting year for Konami's PES team. While EA rushed to harness the power of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with FIFA 14, Konami decided to release PES 2014 on the Xbox 360 & PS3 utilizing the critically acclaimed Fox Engine. Despite receiving numerous gameplay patches throughout the year, PES 2014 often felt more frustrating than fun. Those who stayed the course with PES 2014 were ultimately rewarded with the best gameplay since PES 2011.

As news began to emerge on PES 2015, the community remained cautiously optimistic as Konami boasted that this year, "The Pitch is Ours." It's a claim that the community had heard before and all signs were pointing towards a pivotal year for a franchise that has seen its market share decrease in Europe and the United States over the past few years.

With the release of PES 2015, Konami has attempted to re-embrace its roots, focusing its attention on what it does best: gameplay. Now that kickoff whistle has blown, it's time to take to the pitch and see how successful PES 2015 is this year at replicating the beautiful game.

Read More - In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)

Game: PES 2015Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 6 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 Battman @ 11/17/14 07:08 PM

In my opinion you did not emphasize enough on the AI. Every game plays different as the players play different. Thats by far the biggest advantage of PES over FIFA.
About the commentary: The german commentary is much better than in FIFA. Which is not a hard task as the german commentary in FIFA is the worst in the history of sports games.

# 2 Yeats @ 11/17/14 07:30 PM

I love the "dead air" commentary, been saying for years these games need less of the incessant repetitive yapping that most of these sports games now have.

# 3 KG @ 11/17/14 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yeats


	I love the "dead air" commentary, been saying for years these games need less of the incessant repetitive yapping that most of these sports games now have.

Jon Champion is by far my most favorite footy commentator but his style just doesn't translate well to video games. It also doesn't help that he doesn't have enough lines. I'd imagine the lack of English licenses hurts too. If they had the full EPL-League 2 I'd imagine he'd tell us tales of when Pompey won the FA Cup in 1939, lol.

# 4 BBallcoach @ 11/17/14 09:50 PM

I bought PES on steam this past weekend and love it. Every team plays differently, the Goalkeepers are much better than FIFA's and you have to build up to a good shot. It's very rewarding to have to work for a goal.

Edit: And in my ML I had a player score goals in back to back games, and the commentators made a note of it. I thought that was awesome.

# 5 Fedor_52 @ 11/17/14 10:32 PM

one question about the defensive AI

when you succesfully dribble past one opponent in midfield in the demo (superstar difficulty) you can run pretty much untouched into the box and score, all the defensive players stay glued to their position without any sense of urgency, has that changed in the final code?

# 6 jpollack34 @ 11/17/14 11:35 PM

Picked this up on Steam and I have to say, it's the best replication of the sport ever. I would probably give it a 9.5/10.

The reason is that it excels in the areas that matter most when it comes to sports games: gameplay and individuality.

This game has individuality in spades. Every player and every team feels and plays unique. Players are recognizable by their different running styles as well as their talents (dribbling skills etc). It's superb. When you pick up the ball with Robben (Netherlands), for example, it feels like Robben, it looks like Robben, and it moves like Robben. This is what it's all about. The teams play like their real-life counterparts as well.

Licenses don't bother me at all because there is option files for that.

9.5 out of 10.

# 7 BBallcoach @ 11/17/14 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpollack34


	Picked this up on Steam and I have to say, it's the best replication of the sport ever. I would probably give it a 9.5/10. The reason is that it excels in the areas that matter most when it comes to sports games: gameplay and individuality. This game has individuality in spades. Every player and every team feels and plays unique. Players are recognizable by their different running styles as well as their talents (dribbling skills etc). It's superb. When you pick up the ball with Robben (Netherlands), for example, it feels like Robben, it looks like Robben, and it moves like Robben. This is what it's all about. The teams play like their real-life counterparts as well. Licenses don't bother me at all because there is option files for that. 9.5 out of 10.

Yeah, there are already mods for the PC that include all the leagues and cups. I am not a big stickler on kits, because they are usually just big advertisements. But there are already great mods out there.

# 8 scorpio1018 @ 11/18/14 05:23 AM

the only thing so far that is bothering me on ps4 are the servers.

once you are on the pitch, online play feels surprisingly smooth, but to get there is such a pain

all the "unable to connect to opponent" or "establishing connections" wears you down...

apart from that, indeed, the old magic seems to be back...

# 9 alabamarob @ 11/18/14 06:08 AM

Might be the game of the year. Best soccer game I have ever played.

# 10 DBMcGee3 @ 11/18/14 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBallcoach


	I bought PES on steam this past weekend and love it. Every team plays differently, the Goalkeepers are much better than FIFA's and you have to build up to a good shot. It's very rewarding to have to work for a goal. Edit: And in my ML I had a player score goals in back to back games, and the commentators made a note of it. I thought that was awesome.

I agree with you about everything but the keepers. I find them to be one of FIFA's brightest spots, between the varying animations and the AI. The player and team individuality is something PES nails every year though, truly the crown jewel for that franchise.

# 11 nunogomes @ 11/18/14 12:03 PM

How can FIFA get a 9 score and PES a 8 ? It�s baffling...

# 12 ronnieb @ 11/18/14 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunogomes


	How can FIFA get a 9 score and PES a 8 ? It�s baffling...

Co sign,fifa's 9 Is a joke, i mean com n the gameplay should have the main impact in graduation, and the PES gameplay Is just better at everything...

# 13 Battman @ 11/18/14 01:20 PM

As I see OS as my prime source for serious sports gamers I have to say that I am baffled that FIFA got a better score. Other sources are all about the shiny polish, OS is for the core game. And in this area PES excells FIFA by miles.

# 14 DBMcGee3 @ 11/18/14 05:53 PM

Anyone know what's going on with the PS4 online issues? I don't even play online, but I keep getting a message on my dashboard saying that my system data couldn't be uploaded online, or something like that. I've also noticed that "establishing communications" message constantly popping up when navigating the menus, and it will flicker between that and "now loading" at ludicrous speed, like the connection isn't stable or something.

Also, where are we supposed to download the "Live Updates"?

# 15 KG @ 11/18/14 08:09 PM

The Live Updates are for league play and they've been on international play since the game dropped

# 16 LingeringRegime @ 11/18/14 08:43 PM

I got two new games today.

But, PES 2015 is better than both games.

# 17 KG @ 11/18/14 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunogomes


	How can FIFA get a 9 score and PES a 8 ? It�s baffling...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnieb


	Co sign,fifa's 9 Is a joke, i mean com n the gameplay should have the main impact in graduation, and the PES gameplay Is just better at everything...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battman


	As I see OS as my prime source for serious sports gamers I have to say that I am baffled that FIFA got a better score. Other sources are all about the shiny polish, OS is for the core game. And in this area PES excells FIFA by miles.

Keep in mind this review was/is for the PS4/XB1 so things like no option files, 5 less stadiums than current gen, the inability to use patches like SweetFX, etc... hurt the game.

Gameplay was the main positive about PES but it's about the total package, Online, Career Modes, Editing, etc...

PES is probably neck & neck with NBA2K when it comes to online stability, maybe worse since many users, myself included, have to jump off the internet to avoid the dreaded "Establish Connection" prompt that can sometimes freeze a game.

Master League & BAL Career Modes are stale and in-some areas, worse than years past. ML at a time was innovative. It had Youth Squads, in-depth stats, awards, etc... all before FIFA's Manager Mode. The reality is that Konami have done very little with it over the last few years. For offline players, it's a huge blow having this GREAT gameplay but a stale career mode. At some point, the off-the-pitch experience needs to rival the on-the-pitch experience.

And while Microsoft & Sony can take some of the blame regarding not allowing option file transfers the fact that Konami removed the pixel editor for jerseys on the NG systems is huge. The ability to create generic stadiums?.....gone.

I love the gameplay and can't wait til play it after my lil one goes to sleep but I believe an 8 (which is considered a Great game by the new scoring methodology) is fair considering the challenges. Now, I'll revisit it after it receives the patches to address fouls & stamina as well as the December DLC update.

# 18 ty5oke @ 11/18/14 10:30 PM

Great points KG and spot on with my thoughts. Really hope with how great the gameplay is that they can make some improvements with ML going forward but unfortunately there are no micro-transactions for ML and fear it will be left behind with myClub.

# 19 LingeringRegime @ 11/18/14 11:09 PM

Only thing I don't like about the game at this point is there is no option for CPU vs CPU matches. Have no idea why not.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 20 KG @ 11/18/14 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LingeringRegime


	Only thing I don't like about the game at this point is there is no option for CPU vs CPU matches. Have no idea why not. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I went looking for that today to no avail. Used to love setting up CPU vs CPU on Live Broadcast while I'm doing some work.

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