Pro Evolution Soccer 2017

Despite the lack of licensing, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 brings nothing but sheer joy to players. Fans of this series now can be more confident that PES is getting better than FIFA, and if improvements like these keep taking place every year, there won’t be any more competition left between these two games. FIFA 17 has thrown a story mode to bring something new to the plate, but the core will always remain the gameplay, while PES is the ultimate package for the most realistic footballing experience. PES 2017 is undoubtedly the best football situation I’ve ever experienced so far.

When you finally put down FIFA and come over to the dark side that is PES, you will never, ever go back.

I generally hold the Pro Evolution series in high regard. 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. PES 2017 crosses that line between an object that is admired and respected to one that is purely loved. The title is not perfect, but its gameplay is so natural that it feels like there's little between you and what happens onscreen. It's modes aren't complete, but they are absorbing. Like anything that is loved, the answe...

Regardless of the licensing issue, there are no two ways about it in my mind; Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 is the best football game currently available. This is the beautiful game in its greatest digital form, oozing gameplay from every sweaty pore. If someone wants to pass on the experience because the names aren’t right, more fool them, I say.

I understand why many people don’t enjoy watching a sport that can be as low-scoring as soccer can be, but there is really something special about seeing two teams battle it out for 90 minutes and leave the field as equals. It might be unsatisfying from a spectator’s standpoint (as it’s only natural to want some sort of resolution), but I love watching defensive struggles. I guess that’s why I’ve always enjoyed playing soccer games, which have never been particularly high scoring affairs since I have a shooting accuracy worse than my kill-death ratio in Call of Duty.

Warming up...

Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 is the football game to beat this year as it is without a doubt, one of the best football simulators to date.

Pro Evo gets the football right, but the PC version wrong.

Much like the football matches it attempts to replicate, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 is a game of two halves.

Soccer has always been a staple in any video game library, and for years now we’ve always had the choice between two giants, FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer. Both consistently are strong in different ways, but while one focuses more on the presentation and overall flare that comes with watching a game of soccer on television, the other has worked to refine its gameplay to such a fine point that it is almost unmatched. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 shows finesse when understanding the delicacies of...