With Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 serving as the 13th major installment in the soccer franchise that began all the way back in 2001 on both PS1 and PS2 consoles, it is hard not to call the PES franchise anything but highly successful. But while there are no doubt many other reviewers out there who will be covering this release as veterans of the series, I am coming from a completely different angle and with much higher stakes up for grabs.
This is the first title in the series’ history that I own, and to be more precise one of the few sporting games I have ever played. Therefore the job for PES 2014 is perhaps more critical than others – will it gain me as a follower of the sporting / soccer genre of gaming or will it be nothing but a vague memory, and the only review of its genre on The Otaku’s Study? Read on to find out!
Graphics / Music / Voice Acting
Starting with the visuals of PES 2014, they look aesthetically pleasing and more importantly realistic, coming across as if you are watching a real game of Soccer on the television (Which you have some control over). There are limits to its appeal, especially as you do spend much of your time looking at an overhead view of the field, but it has shown that PES Productions have a firm grasp of how to accurately portray the sport – something I would be concerned if they were unable to do given their history.
The games soundtrack on the other hand was another highlight, especially the musical backing of the menus. However with the number of different musical genres in its musical repertoire, some tracks were evidently better handled and suited better than others. But you cannot help but wonder if the musical backing goes to waste, as in the matches themselves it is the narration and sound effects that really legitimize them – from cheering by the crowd to the blow of a whistle.
Gameplay
It is made clear from the beginning that this game is targeted towards both veterans and newcomers to the series, offering an expansive and rather intense tutorial that drills you to in everything from dribbling the ball between spaced out cones of varied dimensions to kicking the ball correctly to shoot a goal. While you can easily skip over them, as a newcomer I found them fairly challenging and it seemed like they were ensuring that I behind the controller could properly handing the techniques rather than me doing a sub-par job and then jumping straight into the game (+1 to PES 2014).
The main gameplay is as I think most of you reading this would be expecting, you take on the role as an entire team who go up against another to shoot as many goals as possible (and all the other technical stuff associated with soccer). The core controls were easy to grasp, and the recent improvements made to NPC player AI also left little room to exploit mistakes on the behalf of the computer – and I welcomed the challenge. This edition also features a number of new systems including M.A.S.S. (Motion Animation Stability System) which provides more realistic physical contact between players and Trueball tech to enhance movement and use of the ball. While I can’t describe any improvements, the matches looked and handled as I would have expected.
The game features a number of different ways to enjoy the experience rather than simply taking part in matches against CPU, friends or online opponents in “Exhibition Mode” – and a few of these I found myself pooling hours into. The most notable was “Football Life” which serves as the career mode in the game and allows you to not only manage your team but go out onto the field and compete yourself. While I can envision it would be for the older, mature gamers who want a mix between classic PES gameplay and Football Manager, but it works well.
The final game mode is the Competition Mode that as the title suggests, allows you to take one team through a series of events to test your skills are the core gameplay – and pools everything gained from the other modes into one. All the modes can be further enhanced by the built-in Edit Mode allowing you to create your own players and manage many other aspects of the experience to your own specifications. While it may come across as gamebreaking at first, modelling a player after yourself and setting their stats to max will make them more costlier to recruit in Football Life mode for example.
Final Words on Pro Evolution Soccer 2014
So the final verdict? While PES 2014 most probably won’t have me running out to the store to pick up other titles in the genre anytime soon, when coupled with the “Football Life” mode it provided an entertaining gaming experience that I pooled many hours into and I would be tempted to try again next year when the eventual release of PES 2015 emerges. This coupled with realistic visuals, sound effects and narration which make you feel like you are controlling a televised screening of a soccer match also contributes to the experience.
