Before I begin I want to mention that I used to be very much a passionate Football follower for many years. There is a vast difference between watching soccer and following soccer. I bought football video games from as far as FIFA 98 playing it on Windows PC. Gradually I lost interest in the Sport because the players I used to love to not only watch but follow have mostly hung their boots. Football meant a lot to me between 1998 (The disappointment of 1998 World Cup Final as a Brazilian fan and 2009 (the departure of my favorite Man Utd player Ronaldo to Join Real Madrid, I was never a Man Utd fan though).
I remember in 2004 talking with my friends as young boys and I said to them "Christiano Ronaldo is going to be the greatest player for many years to come", of course they laughed hard at me because he was basically nothing but in the shadows of Zidane, Ronaldhino and the greats of the time. But today I wish I could look at some of their faces again :-) . Since 2010 I have been basically watching Messi and Ronaldo with little to zero attachments to team supporting and by the way I was a Real Madrid fan since I was young but no more. The Raul, Makelele, Solari, Zidane etc team did it for me.
I felt Football over the years turned into celebrity Football than Football. With the signing of big contracts and the prime aim becoming super team building a thing Real Madrid always did but with the Ronaldo and Messi era teams are built around a super star than normal team chemistry. While much I can say but lets get to it.
FIFA and PES have been the primary football renditions for many years but the two had one main divide, one had football licenses but lacks where it matters the most, "the gameplay" while the other lacked the "football licenses" and "authentic football presentation" but always heralded the most critical aspect, "the gameplay". To my opinion if both could combine they could make the ultimate football game but its a business so that might never happen. Lets find out how both games fair out this time around while focusing on the two main aspects which I believe encapsulate what a Football video game simulation is all about, presentation and gameplay.
We start off with PES. One thing should be made clear first PES 2021 is not a next gen football game. Its still more of the 2020 game with just updated football lineups for the 2021 season hence PES 2021 Season Update. Even the game engine itself is still last gen (Fox Engine although some reports say it has Unreal Engine 4 elements too), so nothing much to expect visually coming from last years edition. This is not the first with PES because in 2014 they skipped a next gen game only to bring on a new PES in 2015 with the Fox engine however PES 2014 (for older gen consoles of the time) seemed to have been used as a test with the Fox engine. Rumors and some authentic news leaks are saying PES 2022 will be using the Unreal engine 5 which to me suggests a very explosive PES ahead for passionate footballing fans visually speaking. UE5 is a fantastic engine used not only in gaming but a variety of other industries.
Presentation: PES has never impressed me with its pre-match buildup presentation. I don't get the satisfaction of entering a football arena with the famous chants and general stadium atmosphere. I think much is alluded to PES holding a few Football licenses which results in no real efforts made to capture per stadium real life atmosphere. To me its a shame. It has always been the weak spot for this franchise.
For me it kills the pre-match buildup energy that I get from FIFA which aims to replicate real life football presentation to the letter. PES presentation is not horrible but definitely not convincing either. It is something but just not enough nor accurate to form a baseline of real life authentic football presentation. Its a football game right? So why shouldn't it replicate everything as is every step of the way. Another sad thing to note is how PES let go off of the champions league license they always had, even before FIFA had it. Perhaps they were not making much profits to maintain the license and just let it go. On this regard in conclusion:
Presentation: Lackluster
Gameplay: For as long as I have know this game series this is its fortress, Its the perfect football simulator. Every step of the way I play the game I fell connected to my team and the real rhythm of football. Player and ball movement is very realistic. you get a real good satisfaction as you weave your way towards making that one last move to give you that satisfying back of the net feel through the net with a realistic net movement. I am a real life emulation enthusiast when it comes to this because after all the pattern of real life is the aim with games of this caliber.
collisions:
Another thing I like and still on gameplay is that the animation is solid enough to collide as they compete to get the ball. Back in the day animation would pass within each other making it horrible especially on FIFA but FIFA has fixed this too.
In conclusion:
Gameplay: great
FIFA:
I just want to give a quick brief regarding FIFA. I noticed a huge improvement in graphics since FIFA 09. You could tell they where working hard on on accurate facial representation of the players. From then on I can safely say for me FIFA was starting to become playable due to the animations becoming more clearer. To cut to the chase, my experience with last years FIFA was horrid and unacceptable. I downloaded and then deleted the game after one incomplete match. The gameplay completely turned me off. Now lets find out how this years addition looks and feels like from my perspective.
Presentation: Unlike PES this past season FIFA made a next generation game and it very much looks exceptional. You can easily tell a lot of effort went into the games visuals and overall presentation. From the menus all the way to the pre-match buildup presentation everything feels great. Its an accurate depiction of real life football acoustics in every way.
Conclusion:
Presentation: Exceptional
Gameplay: This is the area FIFA never had it right but with this edition I felt they worked on it to kind of fix last years problems, but I think also due to the contribution of new gen machines power. I am still not convinced though as a lot of things mainly in the gameplay spectrum like general players movement, dribbling, how you subtract defenders as you go toward the goal, all of this doesn't feel right. Its not fluid as PES in this regard but not as horrible as last year. I still get that right angle like turning that's annoying, I don't get that savvy while shimmying as I expect from a football player. Yeah FIFA needs to work on their gameplay its not satisfactory. There is enough power in modern consoles to improve on the gameplay mechanics.
I started by playing this game on world class and I scored 5 goals while playing against Liverpool and within a short space of time Liverpool came back and scored 7 and concluded the match. All 7 goals looked clumsy scripted and predictable. I didn't feel like I was making mistakes it felt more like the control of my team got disabled for the game code to fulfill its tasks then opens up here and there for me to still feel like I am playing, not good at all.
I am definitely not happy with the approach to gameplay FIFA does and they seem to like to stay stuck in the old ways of having full licenses and ignore the core aspect of the sport. Its great yes visually and everything is in place but soon after kick off it can be a turn off.
conclusion:
Gameplay: still feels rigid and subpar
Now obviously the season is over but one thing for sure FIFA is a game that has everything in place but seems to fail/ignore the 101 of the sport, "the gameplay". There's nothing more I want FIFA to improve on that is its gameplay, they need to move from this arcade scripted style gameplay and capture proper player movement just as much as they do with licenses. It is an improvement to last years FIFA 20. PES also continues with its old ways of failing to obtain football licenses and overall accurately giving the player the proper pitch real life atmosphere. I don't have problems with PES gameplay but definitely if feels and looks like an incomplete game with a lot to be desired from a presentation perspective. This year I would probably go with FIFA as its more complete and gives you a next gen experience but still needing improvement.
Your thoughts and cheers.
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