PES Games: A Pro Evolution Soccer Story Part 2
In 2003, Pro Evolution Soccer 3 was released and included a major game engine update, which introduced new features such as the advantage rule and greatly improved long passing techniques. PES games were now starting to get their hands on minor European licenses, like the Dutch Eredivisie, but at least this was a start or foray into the dominance of FIFA by Konami.
Pro Evo 3 was the first PES game written for PC through Microsoft and was popular, but the lack of online mode disappointed. In subsequent iterations of PES there were more improvements to the license agreement, with many more teams and official players included, but the most important, the Premier League, always eluded Konami, something that FIFA was not willing to give up. The Master League (career mode) has been expanded and the editing options have been improved, making the images even closer to reality.
In 2005, Pro Evolution Soccer 5 finally consolidated Pro Evo online, allowing players to play against other PES players anywhere in the world. Jubilation reigned in online forums when we finally got real English teams, albeit only two – Arsenal and Chelsea, but again it was a start.
At this point in the story, PES was still dominating FIFA, generally earning higher review scores, despite the lack of full licenses throughout the game. PES held up so well against the FIFA machine due to the excellent two-player experience.
Playing against a computer can only be so good, as the computer’s AI is still no match for another human’s gaming experience. It was this sense of randomness and downright fun that kept Pro Evo at the top of the soccer charts and this position was further solidified in Pro Evolution Soccer 6, which for many PES fans was Konami’s prime time.
Pro Evo 6 or Winning Eleven 10 had most of the best items that have survived to the current incarnation. Fast, fluid, attacking football, combative tackling mechanics, and a host of new tricks and moves. To accompany the ever-present official Japanese stripe, the England national team now dressed in their official uniform, as well as other nations. The Xbox version even had next-gen HD graphics and this would be the last version before Pro Evo made the transition to PS3.
There was no Pro Evo 7, the next installment would arrive in 2007 and the naming convention changed to what remains to this day: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 or PES 2008. This was the first version to debut on PS3, but it still stuck. on PS2 and the other consoles. High definition graphics improved the gaming experience and PES began to move away from FIFA when it comes to player similarities, although at the same time complacency led FIFA to close the gap and it was around these years that FIFA for the first time began to achieve better results. Review scores, as ironically it was compared to the PES game of yesteryear.
Although many things improved, the PES games began to have problems during the 2008-2012 versions. Improvements to graphics, master league, competitions, licenses, and online play were overridden by delicate gameplay changes, which made Pro Evo more difficult, but sometimes less fun. It seemed like the game almost had a cheat mode in player vs computer games at more difficult skill levels as it could be nearly impossible to get the ball back or hold it against the computer. Keepers inexplicably parried weak shots directly at unmarked forwards for easy tapping and umpires could be incredibly harsh, sending players off for minor fouls, while it seemed like computer controlled players could get away with it!
Over the past few years ‘hotfix’ fixes have been repeated for PES as they tried to regain top spot. Shingo Takatsuka, known as ‘Seabass’, has come up with multiple buzzwords each year as the Pro Evo innovates and pushes the limits of high definition consoles and what the PS3 and XBOX 360 can handle. Online play has gotten better on PS3 as it initially struggled to catch up with the online system that XBOX had and now the edit modes, along with the skill and efficiency of PES fans, means that the lack of licenses is almost irrelevant.
PES games will have their last blockbuster in October 2012 and according to all the rumors online and playable demos, PES is back. The review scores were close to FIFA last year and while the FIFA machine now exudes a high level of polish and excellent gameplay, if PES 2013 recovers some of that mid-1990s magic, it will be the one again. best player this fall.
