Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 Reviews
While there's a robust simplicity to the gameplay that is engaging, right or wrong, we've all got used to a level of completeness and polish that PES, even twenty years on, is still sometimes missing.
Side by side, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 doesn't stack up to FIFA 16 in licenses, game modes, or team selection, but Konami's annual soccer series once again positions itself as a more complex and realistic soccer experience than EA's flashy, but predictable, offering. With individualized players, explosive tactical potential and unparalleled realism, PES 2016 redefines what a soccer game can be.
Despite problems with fouls, this year's PES is very close to being the best in series history.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 is going to be fierce competition for any soccer games coming up. This is currently the definitive vision and version of how being on a real teal should feel.
Football for the connoisseurs
PES 2016 is undoubtedly a great football game, as good as it's been in years. Sure, it's better on the pitch than PES 2015, but it's let down somewhat by some cavalier keepers who couldn't catch a cold.
A new physics system allows Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 to feel and play more like its real-life counterpart. Although this change results in a lack of foul calls, it complements a fantastic game that delivers a great-feeling version of interactive soccer and builds upon what was the best soccer title ever made.
Ultimately, though, PES 2016 does its best where it counts, which is the action on the pitch. Players who prefer the style and familiarity of FIFA along with all its bells and whistles still may not prefer PES' different feel. For folks who crave more dialed down mechanics, more responsive controls and something that feels less arcadey, however, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 takes the crown on consoles this year.
Thanks to the smooth, physical gameplay, the amazing animations, and the various and strategic game modes, PES 16 is easily the best title in the franchise. To go one step further – PES 16 is likely one of the best sport games out today, and despite a few minor annoyances, it is a must buy for anyone with even a remote interest in soccer.
PES 2016 lives up to the hype and is a wonderful tribute to 20 years of hard work from Konami and PES Productions.
Pro Evo is still struggling to match FIFA on match atmosphere, presentation, accessibility and commentary – all areas where Konami could and should be doing better. Yet it's a fantastic football game once you hit the pitch, with brilliant close-up graphics, superb animation, convincing ball physics and player interactions and a fantastic feel for the ebb and flow of the match.
An open, responsive football title with a lot of individual player freedom, but one that also has dodgy keepers, absent fouls, and the usual iffy online environment. The PC community may bring it up to scratch, but at release it's an ugly port that does a disservice to the game within.
While not for everyone, PES 2016 is actually a very well done game. I learned a good amount, but am by no means an expert. I was able to get a good feel for the game and was able handle some matches on the easier difficulty. This is still very much a soccer fan's game, and while it has the tutorials, the game is not very beginner-friendly. At the same time, what it does, it does very well and looks great while doing it. Any fan of the sport should definitely check it out.
The Pro Evolution Soccer series has been steadily improving over the past few years, and with PES 2016 it seems the dev team has finally cracked that winning football formula, despite some rough edges.
The football is sublime in PES 2016. There are small improvements made to other areas of the game, and some are still needed, but on the pitch the series is in title-winning form once again.
PES 2016, while not being perfect, feels true to its title - it's an evolution. Master League has been revamped and fine-tuned into an excellent mode that only suffers thanks to the lack of licenses, MyClub is growing well and differs enough from Ultimate Team, and the gameplay feels refined and balanced enough to make every game a challenge but not a chore. Thanks to all of these factors, PES 2016 currently feels like it's in a league of its own.
It's become a cliche to herald each edition of the Fifa rival as a return to form – but with added skill and aggression and a Euro 2016 tie-in, it's hard not to this time
PES 2016 offers a smart, strategic, thrilling and unpredicatable game of football.
Konami has made the years-long derby with EA interesting again, posing a stunning comeback with its latest effort.
None of these problems keep PES 2016 from being the greatest football game of all time. The question is no longer whether PES can catch FIFA, and in truth hasn't been for a while. Instead, it's the other way around, and may well be for years.