Okay, PES 2019 has already been released now and our reviewer is all over it as we speak.
But I want to share my hands-on impression either way, because I got the chance to speak with one of the developers and test the game at Gamescom.
Sports game for nowadays doesn’t look that different anymore, it all comes back to licenses, mechanics, AI and so on. The glorious graphics and visuals are almost the same on both PES and FIFA. It’s not that the 3D modelling of the stadium and the players in PES 2019 doesn’t look stunning, but it all comes down to the gameplay.
After a short presentation of what to come in the next Pro Evolution Soccer game, I got to test it.
There are a few new things that is being added such as:
– The David Beckham Legend Edition
– Authentic Leagues, Russian Premier League, Super Quilmes Clasica, Spor Toto Süper Lig, Superliga (Danish), Liga NOS, Raiffeisen Super League, Ladbrokes Premiership, Jupiler Pro League, Campeonato Nacional Scotiabank.
myClub changes
– obtain strong players, partner club players will be given special Overall Rating approved by the club itself.
– Legends such as Beckham, Maradona, Cruyff, Nedved, Gullit, Maldini and Kahn will appear.
– Value improvements, the cost to sign a new player will now cost 100 myClub coins
– You can now sign duplicate players, if you have three duplicates you can trade them into one single player of the same rarity.
– Maximum player slot increase
– Assign a trainer to a specific player to teach him a new skill.
– Positions Trainers
– Manager lists will be updated more often
– Acclaim, a new system that represents your skill level in 1v1 matches in myClub. Win a tournament and get special Acclaim titles.
– Weekly PES League Rankings
– Compare your squad with your rivals.
But onward to my first impression hands-on session. The first thing I noticed is that this game runs smoothly in 4K HDR on the PlayStation 4 Pro (tested platform). The second thing I noticed isn’t that positive, PES 2019 is bragging about their “First Touch” mechanic. There where multiple scenarios my players bounced the ball all over the place on both first and second touch, so there is obviously some last finish polishing work that needs to be done. (this might have been fixed before launch) There are many other minor details that has been reworked and polished from previous titles, such as dribbling, body control and one of the most important thing the AI. And the reworked shooting mechanics, wow… I don’t have words for it. It feels just amazing every time I manage to score a goal. In my opinion, PES 2019 stays strong is by far the best PES title out there now. All I can hope now, is that our reviewer who loves sports games thinks the same way.
