Eurogamer 9/10

God is a Geek 9/10

Playstation Universe 9/10

Gamespot 8/10

Playstation Country 8/10

Impressive and actually surprising. I liked the demo and reviewed the full game but didn't think this would score so highly. Kudos to Konami for managing it after some huge setbacks at the start of the last generation. Its out on Thursday so is anyone tempted?

I wonder if a Quick Look is on the menu?

I'm interested in a Quick Look just to see how good the physics are considering this is a FOX Engine game.

The physics are actually working out pretty sensible. There's a Havok logo in there so I'm guessing they govern player collisions and such. Everything's got a nice weight to it but it takes some getting used to. I played 2013 religiously for the last two years and animations in that were interruptable. This time the animation takes a bit more precedence so I'm having to rethink my spacial awareness and momentum.

Huh. This years FIFA is diabolical, shame I'm never going to buy 2 football games in a year.

@bollard makes a fair point. It's been a while since I've brought PES but a lot of people have already brought FIFA 15. My problem, i guess, is that most of my friends will stick to FIFA regardless and half of the fun of a football game is playing with friends.

@scrappypixels: That, and PES is still missing all of the modes that actually make FIFA fun. No Pro Clubs, Seasons and UT (if you actually care about UT).

Ooo, that's a pleasant surprise! Very interested to see if they can keep this quality up. I played the demo and I still think I prefer FIFA as it is right now but a return to some proper competition in the market can only be a good thing.

I've heard it actually has these kinds of modes, well UT for definite.

@bollard:
Thankfully, PES never retains its value for long. Can't remember the last time I paid full price for it.

MyClub is their attempt at a persistent online mode. It replaced the much more Ultimate-Teamy Online Master League but servers for it don't go up til day one. I'm curious to see how transfers in that work because screenshots suggest its via agents (i.e. a crap shoot).

Role Control is getting a heavy push which is their couch co-op mode where 2-3 players can split duties up between defence, midfield and attack. Almost every mode you get into gives you the option to play this way.

Master League and Become a Legend modes return largely unchanged, which, whilst they are in need of an overhaul, are still fun due to the fact the AI provides plenty of challenge. Ultimately, that's where FIFA and PES differ on the pitch. FIFA's players all seem like blank slates with a few archetypes plastered on to make them feel different from each other. It lends itself better to competition between friends because the AI doesn't interfere with play. The flipside being that single-player FIFA is a bland, colourless experience where the opposition only knows one brand of football to play. PES has smarter AI that make the single-player experience exponentially more varied and thusly, gives these modes more legs.

With the emphasis on co-op it could bolster the community and result in a better online experience but I'll have to wait and see on Thursday whether it provides.

Alessandro Lucarelli! In all seriousness though, PES being good again is great. I really liked the demo and FIFA 14 and 15 haven't been all that much cop.

This game is really good. I just played an online game, and none of the dumb shit that is exploited so badly in FIFA worked. I had to really work the ball around to try to open up my opponent's defense, which is pretty much a polar opposite to FIFA's just go toward the goal with a pacy forward mentality. It was super fun, though the game ended at 0–0.

The main problem is all the licensing stuff, which continues to be a massive bummer. Given that the PS4 doesn't have the capability to use game saves, I don't think, that's going to be more of a bummer than in years past. We'll see how that stuff ends up. It's pretty sad for my team to not be in the game.

Long time PES and FIFA player. I buy both ever year. This year is the first year in a long time I am enjoying PES more than FIFA. I just like the feel of it. It plays more like I want a soccer game to play.

If they managed to crack image importing right out of the gate then licensing wouldn't be an issue. On the PS3 this allowed some really great work by the community. At least, from a distance, the kits don't jar too much with the experience and they've given us enough editing tools out the box to work with.

Anyone having stuttering issues during games? I didn't have this issue prior to installing the patch. But since games stutters like crazy and its driving me nuts.

Here is a video of the exact issue I am having. And I am also seeing dropped network connection. What the hell is the game doing during a single player offline game that it needs to be connected at all times?

Is this the first time in what, 10 years, that PES has been a better product than FIFA?

I traded in FIFA after a week this year.

A horrendous game, I have no idea why so many people still back it. Some of them seem in denial.

Looking forward to trying out this. I haven't played PES for years, I loved the demo.

Never mind what I said about the online being good in this game. It takes about a minute to find someone to connect to, then it's about a 80% chance they'll be Barcelona. If not, they're probably Real Madrid. Fun.

Then that thing where you can control one of your players is abused you high hell, since your AI defensemen don't even give a shit when someone does that (which, by the way, is never even explained in the game's training mode). Nope, they just let the player just run right through the line, making an easy through pass almost every time. This therefore means that the only way to play an effective defense is to just be someone on the line the whole game and either cut off the through pass or hang back far enough to take the ball away once it does go through. It's fucking terrible.

Barca and Real being picked is one of the reasons I don't play much of these games against randoms. Not having the stuttering issue but UK servers aren't up til tomorrow. I've found my new favourite team for this, though. Saint Etienne just gave me my first comfortable win on Top Player against Lanus. 3-0 win with the third being a neat counter-attack goal.

I'm also not digging how easy it is to score. Pretty much any time an opponent takes a shot from outside the box it's a goal, no matter how much of a clear line it is for the keeper. It's profoundly stupid. Keepers are going to stop that shit more often than not.

@yummytreesap: Ya, I've been noticing this. Anytime a shooter is outside box, and off to either side (as in the left side or right side of the field, not head on down the middle), its 99% going to be a goal.I've only seen one blocked. I've given up 12 goals this way so far. Its super annoying.

I've definitely seen specific cases of that but the keepers have generally felt tough to beat. As servers are going up I'll fling my PSN in here.

Shindig1984

Anyone had any online games? Struggling with matchmaking.

Biting myself over not waiting and getting fifa. I think I enjoy it better.

Will wait for it to go on sale

I'm kinda tired of this game already. Its too bland. The non branding, the same old commentary since PES 10, no real effort in the overall presentation (a lot of the same screens and graphics from the last four years also). Its also a super huge pain to rename all teams and re do uniforms to only still look like poop on a console. The whole not being able to share save files on the PS4 is garbage. Can't use any of the PES data file sharing due to it. I love the core game play, but everything else is making me want to go back to FIFA unfortunately.

Yeah, the editing is really taking it out of me. On the plus side, I've got Dortmund sorted. Now only the rest of the Bundesliga to go. And J-League.... or not. The core of it is great but there's a chunk of DIY to trawl through. But the alternative is FIFA which will look great for 10 months but ultimately plays like you're playing the same team for eternity in different kits.

A mate of mine suggested Konami should just go full fake and skirt close as close to the wind as they dare. He's not wrong.

Everything get's some reception...http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reception

I played it for a couple hours and whilst I enjoyed it at first it quickly became clear to me that this is just another modern PES game... IE a game lacking depth, feels a bit cheap and thoroughly underwhelming. Shant be picking it up and have no idea where these review scores come from....

Or just wait and let the modders do it for you. There's no restrictions to bringing in save files on the PS4, is there? If not, then it should still work the same as on the PS3, as far as I know.

Define depth in relation to this product. As for modding, next gen save files are linked rigidly the the user so transferring another person's save to your console gets roadblocked.