PRO Evolution Soccer, or better known as PES, a long-standing rival to EA Sports’s dominant FIFA game, marks the end of an era as developer Konami announces that PES is being rechristened with the more generic moniker “eFootball.”
It was believed that the producer of the eFootball series, Seitaro Kimura, intended to make this game available on all platforms, including mobile devices.
In an interview with IGN (Imagine Games Network), Kimura stated that the company has been planning this move for about two years in order to coincide with the transition between console generations, considering Konami already has a mobile game titled eFootball PES that has received a number of positive user feedback over the past couple of years.
“I believe that we have already proven that this structure can be successful on mobile. By applying the same model across all platforms, we hope that more football fans will be able to play this game on consoles as well,” Kimura told IGN.
eFotball will be launched this autumn on a variety of platforms, including PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Windows 10 and Steam for PCs. This marks an intriguing redesign for PES, which has always been overshadowed by EA Sports FIFA, and it departs from the traditional model of an annual paid game to a free-to-play model.
What’s new in eFootball 2022?
Recently, on June 2, Konami kicked off the official revamp of eFootball PES 2021 to eFootball 2022. Although it was a brilliant idea to step up to the new level while competing with the world’s number one football game – EA Sports FIFA – many users complained, saying that they’d rather play the old version, the erstwhile eFootball PES.
This may possibly have happened due to the introduction of additional aspects, such as new commands, modes, graphics resolution, difficulties, and gameplay. New additions include player development (training) and managing styles in the game plan.
According to Konami’s official website, Konami.com, their goal was to reproduce the ideal football experience, from the fans in the stadium down to the grass on the field.
Konami revealed that they went back to the drawing board for the entire gameplay experience, incorporating new levels of excitement everywhere, including how player signings and development are handled.
Similar to FIFA’s Ultimate Team option, Konami has also included a “Dream Team” in the latest version. This mode permits the use of both in-game currency and real money to assemble the ultimate team and climb the online rankings.
Gameplay & Control
The control buttons, joystick, player’s physical appearance, and stadium crowd look to be similar to the past versions of the game’s mechanics. Other than that, everything is fully modified, including the camera angle, goal celebration, and in-game actions of the players.
eFootball has also introduced several new features, including Stunning Kicks. They enable players to maintain control of the right trigger and apply additional force to passes and shots.
Occasionally the ball will be plucked from the player’s toes if the kicker takes too long to prepare.
The defence, on the other hand, still requires a great deal of improvement, particularly in the areas of shoulder changes and manual tackles. The AI defenders continue to appear to walk off on their own, allowing the opposition to score easy goals. This could be a problem that Konami should fix in future updates.
Konami has included extra commentators from a variety of languages and countries in order to enhance the realism of football matches and attract more users. This updated version of eFootball also offers users a different selection of graphic resolution ranges, from the lowest 15fps to the highest 60fps.
The Verdict
Konami says that the game has been designed with a custom football engine that uses the Unreal Engine as its base. The company even brought in professional footballers like Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique as development advisors for the offensive and defensive gameplay.
Hence, on the electronic platform, users can clearly and unambiguously have the impression that they are participating in actual football games. This game, with all of its tactical flair and strategic depth, is certain to win over the hearts of football fans all over the world.
Konami is putting a significant amount of effort into improving the game, which, among other things, lacks additional game types and playing possibilities. The following updates, including the big patch that will arrive with Season 2 (next updates) for eFootball, will add more improvements to the game and fix more bugs.
