With eFootball PES 2021 Season Update Konami takes the field again this year to confirm the excellent work done with the last chapters of the series. Waiting to see the wonders that await us starting from 2021 thanks to PlayStation 5 e Xbox Series X / S, so with the advent of the new generation consoles, we too take the field (tested version: PlayStation 4) and find out if it is still right to shout at the world: “The Picth is Ours”. With PES 2021 Konami has adopted aunprecedented sales strategy immediately confirming that this new chapter does not present important innovations in terms of gameplay and content in general, emphasizing instead that the title should be taken as a simple update to keep squads and competitions up to date (in fact) so as not to lose the step. To confirm this, the Japanese software house has decided to offer PES 2021 at a reduced price compared to the canonical 70,00 euros: just 39,99 euros will be enough to say goodbye to PES 2020 and dive into this new adventure.
Licenses, Modes, Menus: waiting for the next-gen
It is said that the presence of a competition is among the best things for the benefit of buyers that can happen within any market. If we think about the PES and FIFA licensing issue, we note how over the years the question is drastically acquiring an ever greater weight and, unfortunately, in a negative way. Konami on one side and Electronic Arts on the other, the two giants (one Japanese, the other Canadian) do nothing but obtain licenses from each other linked to competitions, uniforms, badges, real names, creating an incredible confusion and generating a growing discontent both among PES players and among those who prefer to play with FIFA. This year PES owners will be able to play with the Juventus completely fired while they will have to do without Milan and Inter (the names of the players are real, all the details relating to the two clubs are not) unless, of course, the usual patch (but only on PC and PlayStation 4) created by some big fans of the series, whose commitment is always worthy of great praise. Indeed, the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri fans they will not be able to play inside the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in S. Siro.
The dreams and hopes of seeing a markedly improved situation in the future explain the sequence of words "waiting for the netx-gen" you came across at the beginning of the paragraph. Dreams of a better future that do not only concern the usual licenses but also the structure e aesthetics bound to Menu e Game mode. As said at the beginning, Konami candidly admitted that eFootball PES 2021 Season Update (which is sold in both digital and physical versions like any other new game and is not intended as a "PES 2020 update") presents practically the same game, with small improvements introduced on the gameplay side, for the sole purpose of keeping leagues and transfers updated. As last year, therefore, we emphasize once again that there is something deeply wrong in the way in which the software house proposes the menus on the screen and how (some) competitions were made.
On the Friendlies and on all the matches that are part of the various Cups and the various individual Championships we have basically nothing to object to, except to highlight the dubious taste on the choice of characters (intended as fonts), color palettes adopted among the various pages of the menus and the lack of any graphic tinsel that can convey to the player the feeling that, yes, we are in 2020 (a transparency, a bit of animation, come on!). This problem is certainly not serious, but a rejuvenation of everything concerning the outline, the "before taking the field" is now almost fundamental. In short, we would like to let Konami know that we now expect something new with the advent of the new Consoles. On the other hand, this Season Update at a budget price is justified precisely by the amount of hours and the commitment that the team is dedicating to the landing of the series on nexr-gen.
What really continues to not satisfy us is related to the Modes Master League (for those who still love to play offline) e myClub (competitor of the most famous EA's Fifa Ultimate Team). MyClub continues to be one way too complex and unnecessarily, which we even dare to define cryptic for those who decide to approach for the first time. Probably (we do not know that this aspect has ever been addressed in an official way) the complexity of the auction system for a player's purchase is the result of the inability encountered by Konami in applying the same model of purchases and sales present in FUT. Put more simply: the fact that you are forced to buy an Observer, who will then have to act as an intermediary to ensure the player we want in the team, is perhaps linked to the impossibility of creating a system similar to that of FUT for related issues. to copyright. We really cannot explain such an unnecessarily complex set of procedures in any other way instead of go to the auctions, look for the name of the player we strongly want and simply buy it. In our opinion, this is the aspect that more than any other makes MyClub a pleasant - but not exceptional - alternative to Ultimate Team. The speech relating to the game menus that would need a heavy restructuring is obviously also linked to this mode, where perhaps more than in any other, there would be a need for clear, precise indications, without unjustified abbreviations of terms that could easily fit on the screen. (it is just one of the examples that could be done in this sense).
PES and Master League, an indissoluble couple
You may have come across ISS Pro in 1997 on first PlayStation or that you have started playing for a week, the desire to start a Career in which to control your favorite team to prune it to triumph in any desired competition will surely have bewitched you at least once, thus making you come across the legendary Master League; the competition most loved by every ISS Pro / Pro Evolution Soccer fan. We ardently dream that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S can mark, even in this case, a total renewal, because the modality we have in our hands today does not satisfy us. It is obviously exciting to play in what are the "unreal counterparts" (if you pass the expression) of the UEFA Champion's League and the Europa League (official tournaments whose licenses unfortunately belong to the competition), but everything related to the transfer market needs a thorough restructuring: do not convince the player ratings e the management of the negotiations is not particularly convincing, through which it is not possible to manually set the precise offer that you intend to make to a club. Honestly, we find no logical explanation in using a system of "preset digits": why are we forced to choose between 25 million and 27.5 million euros, when it could be convenient for us to offer 26? A single million, or a couple of them, can absolutely make a difference within a transfer market session, as most seasoned Football Manager players know perfectly well. Furthermore, they are still too immature and the others are barely sketched details that make up the contract to offer to the player; the negotiations for the determination of the termination clause they are, for example, bordering on ridicule. Every figure proposed in this sense is always and punctually refused by any player when it is decided to raise, even by a very small amount, the sum proposed by the player's agent at the start of the negotiation. As if to say: "We are willing to talk about it, but only if it is done as we want".
Among the most serious aspects of the Master League that, we repeat, basically you continue to play with pleasure, there is undoubtedly that linked toimpossibility of arbitrarily managing the Transfer Fund and the Engagement Fund: what is it for, we would like to ask the development team, to own 80 million of Transfer Fund and then be able to offer a salary of 4 million per year? Which top player, able to justify a very high transfer sum, accepts low salaries? The possibility of moving, therefore, part of the Transfer Fund in favor of the Engagement Fund (and vice versa) should be considered one of the first stones on which to build a Mode where the Calciomercate it is the very essence of it.
PES 2021: The Field is Ours
The "battle cry" recited by Konami a few years ago, or the beautiful "The Pitch is Ours", could not however be more apt. Because when it has been decided (assuming that you want to do it, of course) to turn a blind eye to all the shortcomings of PES related to licenses (which now also affect the value of FIFA, mind you) and game modes that need a heavy refurbished, we will find ourselves taking the field. Ed in the field, well, it is quite another story.
Any discontent that may arise for everything that comes before the game is canceled, eliminated, destroyed, annihilated by the amazing simulation quality expressed by Konami on the green game rectangle. When the ball starts spinning, there is nothing left for anyone, with all due respect to the competition, now lost in a revival of increasingly arcade football. eFootball PES 2021 is pure simulation and the most striking demonstration of the splendid work carried out by the Japanese company are, absurdly, the criticisms that some move to a control system and to a reactivity that seem too slowed down. In PES 2021, ball control, even the simplest, requires commitment, dedication and training. Nothing happens by chance and among the fundamental aspects to be learned as soon as possible there are those related to dribbling management: the concept behind this complex (but wonderfully simulative) system devised by Konami is the following: with the right stick a feint is "started", with the "left" stick the feint is "closed", and then it is carried out in the field (provided that obviously the player is able to make it). A 360 ° turn on the ball can also be interrupted three quarters of the way, as long as you remember that after starting the feint with the right stick, you need to indicate the "exit" movement with the left stick. Yes, such a thing is complex, which is why in our opinion it works and gives PES 2021 (even more than in PES 2020, confirming a steady series growth process) an incredible depth of gameplay. The feeling is that of constantly fighting for every possession of the ball. Shooting deep after a dribble does not ensure that you can go to goal undisturbed because opponents will (almost) always find a way to recover, to make life difficult. If played in Full Manual mode, above all, PES 2021 undoubtedly shows the best virtual representation of Football. The amount of ball and chain controls, chest stops, head deadlifts and shots to goal is now far beyond impressive. Ball behavior is simply sublime: it bounces docile on the feet of the most talented players and is always ready to run away in case of errors dictated by position and timing. Try to make a check facing the goal on a cross that comes from the side and observe the poetry of the ball which, after hitting your chest, changes rotation, touches the ground, due to the rotation it returns towards your player, who in the meantime loaded shot: pure simulation. An absolute spectacle. The animations of the goalkeepers are also wonderful, sometimes able to make saves to the limit of the miraculous (especially on shots from outside), others to make trivial errors (and this is also what happens in reality, and that's fine for us). The management of penalties and free kicks, which without too much trouble can be done the way you think is best. The arbitrage system, on the other hand, is not very convincing that too many times he whistles a foul on simply perfect and clear interventions on the ball, and then forgives blatant fouls from the last man with a simple yellow, instead of extracting the red and sending the player to the locker room.
The behavior of AI-managed teams has not undergone any noteworthy improvement compared to PES 2020, confirming positive and other negative aspects: at the highest level of difficulty any team keeps spinning the ball fast, even if strongly pressed, with a precision that would be the envy of Guardiola's Barcelona. While lowering the level of challenge a little, you end up observing the opposing team throw the ball forward systematically, hoping for something good, which will not happen on time (if you are good enough to avoid it). Furthermore, during the offensive phase, the CPU makes decisions that are not always understandable, such as in situations in which she could run quietly undisturbed towards the door and instead decides to throw herself in unlikely series of dribbles that will only allow you to catch up and avoid conceding a goal that is now certain. On the other hand, it fully satisfies the behavior of its team, always extremely reactive to any indication given: lower the center of gravity and you will see the medians glue to the defense, assume an offensive attitude and you will even see one of the central defenders come up in attack to attempt a sensational comeback in the final minutes. The reactivity is clearly felt even when the tactics are imparted: "call" the high backs and you will see them paving the flank in the running. On the contrary, select the maximum defensive approach and yours eleven winners (come on, here it would take a standing ovation for the quote ed.) will close in a hedgehog in their own penalty area to defend the result. The level of responsiveness and the number of animations have been increased and today the comparison with the competition can no longer be feared. This is also thanks to some beautiful polygonal models which make up each athlete and to a graphic sector that has now reached the highest possible peaks on the current generation of consoles, both in terms of definition and fluidity, combined with an impressive realism in the management of lights and shadows able to draw unforgettable scenes on the screen, and at an impressive level of photorealism of the faces of the most famous athletes.
Definitely, eFootball PES 2021 Season Update is the best football simulation ever released. Historical titles in the series, among which one of the most loved ever turns out to be PES 6, will remain forever in the legend. But it is also right to look ahead and declare that, to date, nothing is more realistic and satisfying than a football match played on PES '21, net of all the problems that the series has been carrying around for years but which, promptly, vanish as soon as you take the field. Now we expect, for the love of the series, that the whole outline (structure of the competitions in the first place) and the quality of the AI can finally shine in a new light thanks to the advent of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S and their greater power of calculation.
Before saying goodbye, we remind you that the official competition eEuro 2021 made by Konami in collaboration with UEFA.
