I can't tell you how smart it feels to switch tactics and open up play after being stymied by your opponent.

These augment the usual normal preset tactics and are easy to implement. If I would have trusted the game instead, I would have won the ball and never gotten the foul in the first place.Īpart from the joy of controlling players, PES 2017 engages your inner manager through the new Advanced Instructions. I ended up stepping on my opponent's foot as a result and getting a foul. I performed a standard tackle like I would have done last year in anticipation of the other player getting the ball. Speaking of fixes, goalkeepers' saves are vastly improved and similarly balanced correctly – a massive improvement.Ī revelatory demonstration of the game's controls, animations, and reffing occurred when I contested a loose ball. PES 2017 strikes a great balance of calling the fouls you expect to see without going overboard. Whether it's a player finishing off a crunching tackle, clipping a player's foot and getting him slightly off balance, or the flailing aftermath of two players contesting a header, the outcomes are not only cool to see, but fair. One of the noticeable areas for new animations – physicality between players – goes hand-in-hand with another improvement for the title: better refs. Sports games often add animations from year to year, and while PES 2017 is no exception, the game does so without sacrificing any of control or fluidity. Thus, I'm not getting stuck in animations for as long, and I'm not even using some controls as much, such as double tapping for a standing tackle, since I can trust the game to resolve possession naturally. They rarely get in the way of what you want to perform on the pitch and what you expect to see. Gameplay has long been a strength of the franchise, but this year what stands out is how the controls and animations that govern what you see on the screen don't act as filters that translate your intentions. Like anything that is loved, the answers may be incomplete but the feeling is total. It's modes aren't complete, but they are absorbing. The title is not perfect, but its gameplay is so natural that it feels like there's little between you and what happens onscreen. PES 2017 crosses that line between an object that is admired and respected to one that is purely loved.

Some years I may have thought the controls were needlessly complex, obscuring the larger gameplay, or wished the career or online modes were more substantial, but I understood and appreciated what was being attempted. I generally hold the Pro Evolution series in high regard.

Pes 2017 player career mode