In the world of
football console games there is really only one choice – Konami’s Pro
Evolution Soccer or Fifa from EA Sports. Like choosing between The
Beatles or the Rolling Stones, it is a choice gamers have had to make
since the early 1990s and one that tended to define you as a gamer:
gamers generally aren’t allowed to like both.
The latest versions of both games take the battle up a notch. Fifa has the official license for
the Saudi top flight, but gamers in the UAE get to buy Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 featuring UAE and Al Ain playmaker Omar Abdulrahman on the front cover, alongside Barcelona superstar Neymar.
We tested Pro Evo to see if Konami had scored a victory in the battle for top spot.
The lowdown
Pro Evo usually is considered the most realistic of the football games and the 2016 version does not disappoint. What strikes a player first is the physics of the game and a sense that anything is possible – you are just as likely to score a 25-yard screamer as you are to see a low cross deflect off two defenders into the net.
The options are endless: a gamer can choose a considered passing game or lob the ball up front to a big man. He or she can sit back and hit on the break or go all out in attack. It is all about playing to the strengths of the team.
Pro Evo has incredible depth, too. It can be picked up and played straight away, with just a basic knowledge of the controls, but delve deeper and you have lofted one-two passes; the R2 button allows the gamer to perform all sorts of tricks and deft touches. And that is just getting started.
The game is packed with new features, both in terms of game play and game options (like a new Master League and a host of tactical decisions to make) but it is hard to put a finger on exactly what makes it such a good game.
It’s really the sense that you will never play the same match twice.
So I just want to turn on my PS4 and play as Barcelona v Real Madrid.
You don’t need any practice to succeed. You might not have played Pro Evo for years, but the controls are familiar and, if you choose to start with the world’s best teams, enjoyment is instant. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo – the elite players are incredibly realistic, both in terms of their look and the way they move with the ball. The first game The National played was a clasico – it turned into a 3-2 thriller featuring everything from a Messi nutmeg, to a Ronaldo screamer and a last-minute Luis Suarez winner at the back post
What UAE teams are featured and have they got Omar Abdulrahman’s skill level right?
Pro Evo has the official license for the Asian Champions League and that means full re-creations of both Al Ain and Al Ahli. The team at Konami are no mugs and Abdulrahman is a step above the others on his team, with the passing range, touch and massive hair that have become his trademark. Ahmed Khalil is suitably physical up front for Ahli with a rocket of a shot. The one downside, and this is partly the Arabian Gulf League’s fault, is that most of the foreign players have left both sides. Asamoah Gyan starts up front for Al Ain, for example, which isn’t a bad thing if the gamer is an Al Ain fan who didn’t want to see the league’s record foreign goalscorer leave.
You’re telling me it’s an amazing game; there must be some faults.
There are a few niggles with Pro Evo. For a starter, it is lacking the range of official licenses that its rival has, meaning that not every team has its proper title or real players’ names. In the Premier League, for example, you have Manchester United but then London FC (Chelsea), Man Blue (Man City) and West Glamorgan City (Swansea). Likewise, the UAE national team has unofficial names, so no Omar and no big hair.
If you are a Pro Evo regular, you will be conditioned to this by now and it will not bother you. Pro Evo still has official licenses for most of the top leagues, the Uefa and Asian Champions League, the Copa Libertadores and more.
Jim Beglin’s co-punditry is also a bit annoying, mainly due to some of the dim comments he comes out with. A classic example, following a goal: “I love the finish but if the pass had been delayed just half a second he would have been offside.”
So is it better than Fifa?
The two games have come closer, in terms of game play, in recent years to the extent that picking between the two is a lot tougher. In the past, you were firmly in one camp or the other whereas plenty of gamers have made the switch recently.
Put it this way, if you are a Pro Evo fan, you will want to stick with what is the most realistic version of the game yet. If you are thinking of making the switch, or are new to football games, you won’t be let down by a game that is instantly rewarding and keeps on giving, the more you play it.
The latest versions of both games take the battle up a notch. Fifa has the official license for
the Saudi top flight, but gamers in the UAE get to buy Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 featuring UAE and Al Ain playmaker Omar Abdulrahman on the front cover, alongside Barcelona superstar Neymar.
We tested Pro Evo to see if Konami had scored a victory in the battle for top spot.
The lowdown
Pro Evo usually is considered the most realistic of the football games and the 2016 version does not disappoint. What strikes a player first is the physics of the game and a sense that anything is possible – you are just as likely to score a 25-yard screamer as you are to see a low cross deflect off two defenders into the net.
The options are endless: a gamer can choose a considered passing game or lob the ball up front to a big man. He or she can sit back and hit on the break or go all out in attack. It is all about playing to the strengths of the team.
Pro Evo has incredible depth, too. It can be picked up and played straight away, with just a basic knowledge of the controls, but delve deeper and you have lofted one-two passes; the R2 button allows the gamer to perform all sorts of tricks and deft touches. And that is just getting started.
The game is packed with new features, both in terms of game play and game options (like a new Master League and a host of tactical decisions to make) but it is hard to put a finger on exactly what makes it such a good game.
It’s really the sense that you will never play the same match twice.
So I just want to turn on my PS4 and play as Barcelona v Real Madrid.
You don’t need any practice to succeed. You might not have played Pro Evo for years, but the controls are familiar and, if you choose to start with the world’s best teams, enjoyment is instant. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo – the elite players are incredibly realistic, both in terms of their look and the way they move with the ball. The first game The National played was a clasico – it turned into a 3-2 thriller featuring everything from a Messi nutmeg, to a Ronaldo screamer and a last-minute Luis Suarez winner at the back post
What UAE teams are featured and have they got Omar Abdulrahman’s skill level right?
Pro Evo has the official license for the Asian Champions League and that means full re-creations of both Al Ain and Al Ahli. The team at Konami are no mugs and Abdulrahman is a step above the others on his team, with the passing range, touch and massive hair that have become his trademark. Ahmed Khalil is suitably physical up front for Ahli with a rocket of a shot. The one downside, and this is partly the Arabian Gulf League’s fault, is that most of the foreign players have left both sides. Asamoah Gyan starts up front for Al Ain, for example, which isn’t a bad thing if the gamer is an Al Ain fan who didn’t want to see the league’s record foreign goalscorer leave.
You’re telling me it’s an amazing game; there must be some faults.
There are a few niggles with Pro Evo. For a starter, it is lacking the range of official licenses that its rival has, meaning that not every team has its proper title or real players’ names. In the Premier League, for example, you have Manchester United but then London FC (Chelsea), Man Blue (Man City) and West Glamorgan City (Swansea). Likewise, the UAE national team has unofficial names, so no Omar and no big hair.
If you are a Pro Evo regular, you will be conditioned to this by now and it will not bother you. Pro Evo still has official licenses for most of the top leagues, the Uefa and Asian Champions League, the Copa Libertadores and more.
Jim Beglin’s co-punditry is also a bit annoying, mainly due to some of the dim comments he comes out with. A classic example, following a goal: “I love the finish but if the pass had been delayed just half a second he would have been offside.”
So is it better than Fifa?
The two games have come closer, in terms of game play, in recent years to the extent that picking between the two is a lot tougher. In the past, you were firmly in one camp or the other whereas plenty of gamers have made the switch recently.
Put it this way, if you are a Pro Evo fan, you will want to stick with what is the most realistic version of the game yet. If you are thinking of making the switch, or are new to football games, you won’t be let down by a game that is instantly rewarding and keeps on giving, the more you play it.
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