Multiple Platforms FIFA vs. Pro Evo Soccer/Football

[Warbsywoo]

I've never played PES so is it better than FIFA? I've heard a lot of great things about PES but since EA has all the freaking licenses to all the world's teams, the realism suffers a bit. Also I've heard it's a bit on the arcade side instead of the simulation side.

Currently I have FIFA 08 and there's a ton of AI problems on it since apparently EA can't seem to find a way to create a higher difficulty level that doesn't involve increasing AI stats with each level. For example, there are cases where Cristiano Ronaldo gets run down by a League 2 Midfielder/Defender.

Also, the AI are overpowered. It usually takes 3 to 5 defenders to knock the ball out from the AI in World Class mode most times.

So right now I'm looking at PES as an alternative to FIFA. Is it worth switching over to?

 

[Scrutator]

I've not played Pro Evo for a couple of years but I would say that it's better than FIFA. I stopped playing both ages ago since FIFA has been poor to me since 2003 and as good as Pro Evo is it doesn't change enough every year to justify a new version.

These issues though that would probably annoy me since I've played the series for a few years might not be so much a problem for a newcomer, and if the lack of licenses aren't too much of an issue then it should be worth a go.

 

[torbonator]

the last fifa game i played was last years euro game on 360 i think and compared to the pes that was out then pes won outright. the gameplay is better, the online is better and the commentary is slightly better. but i'd say the big difference is the graphics, with fifa they focus alot on the faces and leave the rest of the body while pes works on the body as a whole and on pes they look proportional and move realisticly.

What is better in fifa mainly is the league system, it changes a lot from game to game and the licenses help to, its better with sponsorships and the money side behind football. Also the music is a lot better in fifa as with all EA games the music is pretty good.

 

[Moogles]

Pro Evolution Soccer is more fun than FIFA, in my opinion. It isn't as realistic, but tons of crazy stuff happens in the matches. With FIFA, everything feels scripted. The ball seems to travel on a set path with each decision you make.

With Pro Evo, the ball bounces all over the place...with a dozen players diving after it. I remember scoring a goal where the ball bounced off the head of like five different players before bouncing off the behind of the diving goalie and into the back of the net . Definitely more "arcady" than FIFA. I like it, though. haha

 

[Warbsywoo]

They should just combine the two.

Anyways, I'm thinking of getting PES soon, so I'll see then if it really is better. So far from what I've seen on YouTube videos, the actions look pretty smooth and whatnot.

 

[Cess]

I used to play FIFA a lot. Since the years of World Cup '98 on the N64 (i still have to play "Thumpthumping" on my mind each time i mention the game xD) to Fifa 2004 then when i suddenly decide to bough Winning Eleven 9; i found that FIFA lacks a lot from that spontaneous feeling.

It's true that FIFA have the real names, and way more teams that WE/PES but just now i'm just unable to play again a FIFA without that feeling that everything feels unreal now.

 

[Zhen Ji]

PES and Winning Eleven gameplay over all is VERY easy (I own both titles), it gave me a "pick up and play" feeling. Not much to say about those two titles because it's actually lower grade than FIFA 08 in graphics (talking about ps3). FIFA 08 offers a more harder difficulty with shots and dribbling the ball across the field. Although the create a player isnt too depth as Madden games, it's enough.

I pick Fifa 08....

 

[Sun And Steel]

The last FIFA I owned was 2004, and I traded it in after about a week or so, I just couldn't stand it. It's nice to have all the licenses, but that doesn't excuse a poor game. Then again, they seem to dip and peak in quality soemwhat, since 2003 was actually a very playable game, and the last World Cup game wasn't all that bad either.

But PES is generally a lot more fun to play if you ask me, it has a faster pace to it and can be quite frantic, plenty of end to end if you have equally skilled players.
That said, I played the demo for 2008, and it was shockingly bad....

 

[Casanova]

Well, you'll never know until you try PES.

Take it from me... I've been playing FIFA games since I was a tyke... they get boring, very tedious. PES offers an alternative, while it's more arcady, like you said, it's a whole different playing style and it's fun, not very hard to get used to, but difficult to master. It does lack relism since they don't have licenses to all the world's teams but you'll get over it when you're playing witha friend, trust me.

It's not easy to choose between the two because they each have something to offer, they're just there to be played respectively and not to be compared with each other.

 

[Warbsywoo]

What about this year's offerings?

I don't have PES 09 but I do have FIFA 09 and I have to say it's easily the best sports game I've ever played. On the whole:

FIFA 09
Pros:

- spectacular graphics (on next gen, don't know much about how the game looks on current gen consoles). I play the game on a standard TV and the graphics are still realistic and beautiful, to say the least. The animations are top notch although there are glitches, like in every game.

- smarter AI unlike in the 2008 version of the game. I see the AI adapt to my gameplay after the half and earlier and makes a fixture so much more interesting as you attempt to break down both defense and offense in more creative ways. Set the difficulty to world class and they don't just overpower your 98 rated defender anymore; it's easy to sense the computer has some sense of strategy.

- Be A Pro Mode is well done too. Sometimes it gets a bit too easy (national team after 3 matches in the first season? Sure, no problem!) and the timeline is a bit too short (4 seasons), but it gives the player a better appreciation for not only the game itself for the sport as well.

- Realism seems to have been the focal point that the development team took this year. The faces are mostly spot on, proportions are right, again good graphics. You can tell why a player fails to dribble past a defender this time around, as opposed to previous versions, though most of the time collisions seem exagerrated.

- Extra features like referees and the line judge add more realism to the game. The chants and cheers from the crowd are really well made too.


Cons:

- difficulty as is the norm for sports games, apparently, has a huge gap. Huge difference between world class and professional. It seems the AI has aggressions set to the max in those modes so it's hard to get a couple of dribbling yards in any direction.

- No complaints on offsides calls, but fouls seem to be freely given. Even with an advantage call in your favor, the ref calls the play back for a free kick, even though you get into a situation with a clear shot on goal, so it gets annoying.

- Manual passing is not for beginners. Power it too low, it's going to get intercepted, power it too high, your teammate will not get to it. Same with manual crosses, but at least that's more realistic. I wish EA would add a button where you could specify which player you want the ball passed to like in the NBA Live series.

- It seems that even though this claim's been rejected, the players still seem tied to the ball by the foot with an invisible rope. They never go seeking the ball when it's passed to them rather weakly (they'll just stand there waiting for it to get to finally get there --- intercepted dammit) and they never attempt to win the ball when it's an up for grabs situation.

- Defensive lines are easy to break. I play with Valencia (which right now is rated 5 stars thanks to the somewhat impressive growth that Silva and Villa experienced; from 86/88 to 96/98) and I can break through any defense with ease and speed. Even when it's clear an AI defender can step through and block a shot with his foot, they never go for it and instead just fall back and watch their goalkeeper pitifully fail at keeping yet another goal out of their net. I've won matches by 15 goals or more on World Class 'cause of this >.>.

- Gotta go back to Be A Pro and the ease with which you can progress. Sure my player's on form, but taking a risk right after my player gets a hat trick the second game? Come on coach.

That's it until I think of more to criticize.

Note: No online experiences so I can't comment. All of those are from manager mode.

-

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

I think FIFA09 is sensational and is quite easily the best FIFA game as of yet, I think all those little tweaks they made (200+ I think) really has made the game much more realistic even though the added movements/tweaks aren't huge, because there are so many it really has made a difference. I love how the ball swerves compared to that of other FIFA games where it goes in a straight line, collisions where momentum makes you fall over etc.

My major criticism though is that like Warbs has said defensive lines are easy to break, with most teams I don't think this is a problem especially on Legendary mode (which I use ) but say you have a quick player such as Torres, Ronaldo, Messi, Eto etc all you need is a good ball and you can literally run straight through the whole defence without the defence catching them. I wouldn't mind normally but it can be annoying when it happens quite a bit.

I'd also like to see more referee mistakes made in FIFA2010 to make it a little more realistic such as wrong offside decisions and penalty claims. I'd also like to see handballs which I've NEVER had on FIFA09 for the PS3 yet I have on my brother's PS2 version :S And I want to see more free kicks given for backing into players etc like in real life.

I don't want much really!