This year’s dribbling tweaks were legitimately developed with the aid of Barcelona legend Andrés Iniesta
eFootball PES 2020
BACK IN TITLE CONTENTION AS THE IN-FORM SOCCER SIM BEN WILSON
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committed to Xbox, where pinging the
ball around at the back feels calming
like the tick of a metronome.
This considered speed means
you’re constantly able to take note of
team-mate movement, enabling you
to wait for an overlapping run from a
full-back, or your centre-forward to
spin in behind his marker. Like a game
of snooker, you can think three moves
ahead. More pertinently, it means
serious pace – an attribute that
dominates FIFA to an almost comical
degree – feels special. Beating a
defender with a burst from Raheem
Sterling is endlessly satisfying.
Springing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
behind a defence after 45 seconds of
build-up play before smashing past
the keeper tastes euphoric, and spurs
you into playing the purists’ way.Talking Ruud
Historically, it’s within Master League
that veteran fans put such on-pitch
excellence to the test, by adoptingWe live in an age
where there’s
no such thing as
nuance. Brexit or
remain, Spurs or
Arsenal, Strictly
Come Dancing versus the Simon Cowell
talent show that you pretend not to
watch: the social media era has no
room for shades of grey. It’s the same
for football gaming. The PES versus
FIFA war has waged for 18 years, yet
it has never been so partisan as it
is right now. PES 2020 could be the
greatest football game of all time, but
still no FIFA die-hard would dream of
crossing the line to switch sides.
That lack of open-mindedness is
a shame. Because while PES 2020
certainty isn’t the greatest football
game of all time, it does makes
progressive advances that rival
developer EA could unquestionably
learn from. Take game speed, for
example: this is one of the most
pedestrian sports games ever
a squad of fictional players and
transforming it into a title winner
over the long-haul. Always loved for
its quirks as much as its longevity,
this mode again evolves with the
addition of ex-pro managers who
use cutscenes to speak to the press,
board and players. These chats are
interactive, and although we enjoy
having Ruud Gullit deliver our dialogue
choices to braying journalists, they
have little tangible storyline impact.
More problematically, Master League
dredges up an issue that’s plagued
PES since its inception: goalkeeper
flakiness. For example, our default
custodian cannot save a thing. The
idea is to upgrade your initial roster,
but in real life even Sunday league
local pub team keepers can make a
routine stop. Not here, though. Our
first hours in the mode are hell as we
drop game after game to the AI’s poor
shots on target. After bringing in Rob
Green on loan our results improve, but
many casual managers won’t last thatshort
cutWHAT IS IT?
The latest incarnation
of a series which in
its heyday regularly
outplayed more
famous rival FIFA.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
A tidy sim that’s
particularly strong on
the fundamentals:
passing, shooting
and dribbling all
feel lifelike.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Football fans who
aren’t bothered about
having real kits.084 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
REVIEW