As in Los Angeles, the first thing that strikes us with PES 2018 is the quality of the ball physics. Damn, that's crazy! The different trajectories that the ball can take are just mind-blowing, and we're not just talking about curling shots to get to the opposite corner. No, we also think of the more vicious diving shots, the sudden dry strikes, as well as the “exter” which we already love. The entire surface of the foot is put to use in order to vary the pleasures, and it is a pure delight to execute crosses and multiply crosses with such a polished ball physics. Of course, a perfect control of the dosage is crucial, as is the need to become familiar with the inertia of players who are well attached to the field. To sublimate all this, the developers have done a huge job on the animations, whether it's the strikes (the player will apply himself to give the maximum effect to the ball), the controls (from now on, we can cushioning/deflecting the ball with any part of the body), or even dribbling. All these new gestures encourage you to play on the move (in first intention, as the purists say), to develop diabolical combinations, and never affect responsiveness, contrary to what we felt during our first meeting with FIFA. 18.
As in Los Angeles, the first thing that strikes us with PES 2018 is the quality of the ball physics. Damn, that's crazy!
Still, the pacing has been scaled back since PES 2017, but we never feel like we're dealing with tractors on the pitch. It's posed, square, we start from the right side to switch to the left, we rotate until we create the famous shift that will allow us to rush into the opposing defense. In short, the fundamentals of football are respected. In terms of contacts, there too the developers have redoubled their efforts to make them less hazardous. It is enough to see how the aerial duels have been reworked to understand that the positioning of the player at the fall of the leather is no longer an anecdotal fact. Afterwards, everything is not yet perfect in the physical game. For example, we don't really appreciate the automatic ball coverage, and even if you have to show some skill to avoid having the ball stolen, the abuses are too numerous not to end the match disgusted. We also noticed that the defenders were often at a disadvantage on the lob passes: faced with an attacker launched in depth, they are eaten when they go into contact and are picked up with their unbalanced controls. Well, it's true that the ball is more likely to stick to the foot with Neymar than with Rolando, but it still lacks balance.
QATAR SAINT-GERMAIN
Since we are talking about the things that annoy, some trips are more than doubtful. Indeed, attackers tend to always make the same calls (problem solved in FUMA, fortunately), and mutual coverage is not applied all the time. Thus, if we decide to go up with one of the side, nobody will come to close the door behind. Ah yes, there are also those "moments of absence", that is to say when the players do not react when the ball passes in front of their eyes. Another point that puts the nerves: these damn scripted contacts with a clear advantage for the player who goes to the dry cleaners. Despite these imperfections, PES 2018 provides sensations that we had no longer known by dint of squatting FIFA. Not that the Electronic Arts simulation is sanitized, but it must be admitted that Konami's approach makes it possible to rediscover virtual football from a new angle. What is especially exhilarating is the room for improvement offered by the game: if you take the time to build and align the passes at the start, the accumulation of matches makes you dare to take more actions. direct thereafter, even if it means having waste. Personally, it's been a long time since we've been ecstatic in front of a player who brings the ball back with a pigeon's wing, another who crosses in first intention, or yet another who slips the ball under the goalkeeper.
It's just that PES 2018 offers a lot of room for improvement, and it is essential to grasp all the finesse to get out of the less stereotypical actions that stink of football.
Moreover, speaking of the porters, they have gained in confidence and intelligence, and their reflex stops are nothing extraterrestrial. Where PES 2018 also delights is in the production. Already successful in PES 2017, the modeling of the players is exemplary, and we feel that the developers have spent time on facial expressions. As always, the stars of football (Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Griezmann) have received preferential treatment and are recognizable at first glance, while it will be necessary to squint in the dark divisions. Around the field, the public is not limited to a vulgar copy and paste – NPCs with different animations have been used – we can see the coaches giving voice, and the security guards watch over the grain. There are even cranes for TV, the opportunity to highlight the moldy comments of Grégoire Margotton and Darren Tulett. In addition to being next to the plate, their interventions are repetitive as possible. But hey, as long as Konami does not call on the services of Stéphane Guy and Christophe Josse, we are saved. Question content, PES 2018 is in line with its predecessors with the modes “Towards a legend” and “Masters League”. No need to go into detail about it. Absent for a few years, the “Random Match” mode is making a comeback – it's the fate that decides the composition of the teams – but it is above all through the cooperation mode that we have been assayed.
"IT'S GOOD ANTHO, THERE'S ENOUGH"
In fact, these are 3vs matches. 3 in which the AI can take part if there are not enough friends around the console. The concept is simple: each of your actions is judged on the spot, and a report is drawn up at half-time and at the end of the game. Naturally, the goal is not to be the broken arm of the team, knowing that everything is analyzed: wing changes, interceptions, assists, strikes, goals, life-saving tackles, etc. As the performance gauges remain on the screen throughout the match, it maintains a form of pressure even if, in the end, it is more symbolic than anything else. Too bad the game does not go after its intentions with, why not, special distinctions to better bulge the chest. What we also regret is the limited number of licenses despite partnerships with certain leaders (FC Barcelona, Dortmund, Liverpool among others) and some exotic clubs, especially in Brazil. As a result, it will be necessary to wrestle with the MD White for Real Madrid, or even the Man Blue for Manchester City. That said, let's see the good side of things: we are entitled to the real names of the players and not to the cousins Roberto Larcos (Roberto Carlos), Fank de Mole (Frank de Boer) and other Ronarid (Ronaldo). And then, the community will certainly take care of proposing patches to adjust the numbers (the summer transfer window is not taken into account), the kits and the names that came out of nowhere. On the other hand, no need to modify anything for the Champions League. It is there – like the Europe League – with its anthem and its goals that count twice away from home. Good news for OM supporters.
