PES5 - PC Demo Review

Overall Rating

Gameplay

Extremely addictive
Your social life will be ruined

I've always been a fan of the WE/PES series of soccer games. I own PES4 for the XBox, and I must have played a 1000+ games on it. More than 90% of them being multiplayer with my friends.

PES4 is extremely good, but at times I felt that the game is too fast, and you don't have even a second to think. You should keep moving and passing the ball as soon as you get it. You had time only for actions and not much for decisions. That's why even the formations, I think, did not play a major role in PES4 as much as I would expect. With moving players so fast, and dribbling so easy, I sort of had an indifference between choosing 4-4-2 and 4-3-3.

For me, PES5 is easily the most awaited game of the year. So, it was natural that I downloaded the 155MB download that was limited to options and game length. Only four teams are enabled - Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Villa real. And some of the game options are restricted, and the demo can be played only for the first half. Still licenses are obtained only from a few teams (the above-mentioned four included), but with player/team editors, I wouldn't mind this at all.

All these restrictions are fine, since demos are supposed to give us an insight into what we can expect in the full version. The menus and music are not much of a difference from PES4, but as in any PES/WE release, there was a considerable difference in one area - Gameplay.

The most striking difference is the deliberate slowness of the game. I also feel the size of the ground has been increased. The players look a little smaller on the pitch than in PES4. By slowing down the game what they have achieved is the realism of gameplay. Now it feels like real football. Defenders can keep passing among themselves and waste time. Because the size of the pitch is larger the tackles are not so much as it used to be in PES4. Once you gain possession, you can retain the ball as long as you don't make a mistake. This really impressed me. Similarly, it is not that easy to get the ball from the opponent. When he has the ball, you really need to out-think (!) the opponent to defend the goal and get the ball back. There is a lot of midfield battle, and the scoring opportunities cannot be created easily. You really need to work hard to created chances. I remember that in PES4, the ball is not quite played in the midfield as much as it is in real football. Now, formations mean a lot. I might win or lose the game with the formation.

The quality of the refereeing has gone up. Many times you find him on the stricter side, but that's good for the game. I end up with 4 or 5 fouls in a half, which is absolutely normal. There are a lot of new player animations - from the gameplay animations to goal celebrations. The player physiques will have a role to play in the game. A bulky striker like Rooney or Ronaldo would be able to weather the defence tackles, and storm through the box. It won't be easy to knock them down. Multiplayer in PES5 should be amazing fun considering the scope for employment of strategy, rather than button-banging.

PES4 is much like the English Premier League, and PES5 is like the La Liga. PES5 is a game that is more of a sim than an arcade. I love this completely, and please play the demo, you'd love it too.

I will review on the PES5 - XBOX full version next month.