Konami had a very hard time making PES good this gen. The first PES games they made were actually worse than the ones we played last gen on PS2. Now finally PES has gotten better, but is that enough?
Most PES fans including me like PES mostly because of gameplay, and PES 13 delivers. Sadly PES 13 doesn't deliver in other areas, like game modes. This game actually has less game modes than PES 12! There is no league mode, i cant use my created player online in legend mode, there is no real 2v2 online games to play with PSN friends. What in the world is Konami doing?
As if less modes than PES 12 wasn't enough they went further... they added some of the most retarded stuff i have ever seen in a football game. Bananas. What? Bananas? Yes. I was shocked when i won a game online and after the game i see i unlocked bananas, and other stuff, like water bottles and who knows what else. You can use this stuff when you play offline in become a legend or master league. They are trying to make PES into some sort of Japanese RPG. This is something western gamers like me do not approve. They better change their game direction fast!
Sadly all the bad in PES is not just in game modes or features. The gameplay even though better than last year is far from perfect. Headers are still scripted, its random if the ball goes at goal or over. Player stats can give you a better chance to get the header in, but it's still randomly scripted and not a real heading system based on physics between the head and ball. Goal keepers are also scripted, they can make an impossible save and not make an easy save. In real life goal keepers sometimes make mistakes and let easy goals in, but here they only let it in because the scripting decides if he can save that certain shot. This leads me to free kicks... which are the same as PES 12 but worse because now the scripted goal keepers make impossible free kick saves. I don't remember anyone scoring a free kick against me online... or me scoring any...
On to the good stuff! Last year the shooting and crossing was the worst i ever seen in PES. Now finally they made it much better. Crossing could be better, but way better than last year, but the shooting is the real improvement. Now if you aim right, it actually goes right! Having full control of shooting is probably the best thing in PES 13. Dribbling has also improved, now you have much more control. This is by far the best football game ever made when it comes to gameplay.
When i buy PES i always jump straight online. This year i found myself with great 1v1 games, but disappointed at the online features as well. About the only good thing i see to do in PES 13 online is play 1v1 rank, that's it. Tourney system is the same as last year, but even worse. Now instead of 600 people in one tourney you have 800. What this means is you can win 3 of 3 qualifying games, get the max 9 points, and not qualify. And yes... i had 3 of 3 wins and never qualified since only 16 of 800 can pass. It doesn't end there, the games in tourney are only 5 min games! What kind of brain dead developer created this system? There is also Master League online, which is the same as last year. I had a bit of fun playing MLO, but the matchmaking is broken putting your weak team vs people who have super teams, so it's just better to play 1v1 rank with real teams. And like i said earlier... there is no become a legend mode online.
There is one thing about the gameplay i didn't like when playing against someone online or offline. The cpu defensive pressure you can do by holding X and square. Seriously... it takes no skill. Anyone can hold buttons. Having the computer auto track your player against the attacker is just lame. Konami really needs to remove the computer pressure and make the defending MANUAL. I can live with the square pressure but at least the X needs to go.
Everything i typed was PES 2013 v1.00. I was disappointed at how stripped down this game was, but really enjoyed the gameplay. Sadly one month after release Konami went back to their usual release a patch, change gameplay, make game worse.
Konami released v1.01.
-Worse shooting/weaker
-Less responsive
-Too easy to beat computer offline
Horrible patch. I was having fun playing 1v1 rank (only good thing to do) until Konami killed the game. Good thing i already dominated the online to death and had max 1000 rating already.