Pro Evolution Soccer 2015: Review, Elite Player Ratings, Tips and Achievements

As one of the last sports video game releases of the year, Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 arrived Tuesday without much competition within the genre. Many virtual footballers may have already chosen to spend the money from their slush fund on FIFA 15. At one time, PES was king of the virtual pitch, but times have changed. 

The Konami published and developed PES series still has its set of diehards, despite lagging behind FIFA over the last five to seven years. Those fans were anxiously awaiting this release, but Konami obviously isn't satisfied with simply maintaining its core fanbase.

It would love to re-establish PES as the premier world football simulation among console gamers. Ideally, PES 2015 would be the first step in that direction.

Allow me to grade the steps.

Graphics and Animation

image from PES 2015, provided by Konami

There are some really impressive visual components to PES 2015. Some of the more popular players, such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, are rendered beautifully. As they make their way onto the field, the faces look lifelike. Here's a look at the top-rated players in the game:

Rank	Name	Age	Team	Overall Rating
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	29	Real Madrid	95
2	Lionel Messi	27	Barcelona	94
3	Manuel Neuer	28	Bayern Munich	93
4	Luis Suarez	27	Barcelona	90
5	Gareth Bale	25	Real Madrid	90
6	Sergio Ramos	28	Real Madrid	90
7	Arjen Robben	30	Bayern Munich	90
8	Andres Iniesta	30	Barcelona	89
9	Bastian Schweinsteiger	30	Bayern Munich	89
10	Philipp Lahm	31	Bayern Munich	89
11	Neymar	22	Barcelona	88
12	Gianluigi Buffon	36	Juventus	88
13	Franck Ribery	31	Bayern Munich	88
14	Angel Di Maria	26	Real Madrid	87
15	Carlos Tevez	30	Juventus	87
16	Mario Gotze	22	Bayern Munich	87
17	Diego Godin	28	Atletico Madrid	87
18	Jose Callejon	27	Napoli	87
19	Luka Modric	29	Real Madrid	87
20	Robert Lewandowski	26	Bayern Munich	87
21	David Alaba	22	Bayern Munich	86
22	Arturo Vidal	27	Juventus	86
23	Thomas Muller	25	Bayern Munich	86
24	Paul Pogba	21	Juventus	86

At these moments, you may say to yourself, this is a next-generation soccer game.

On the flip side, the action on the pitch doesn't look quite as shiny. It's not grossly behind the curve, but the faces of non-stars, kits and grass are a notch below games like FIFA 15, EA Sports UFC and NBA 2K15.

If those games are the gold standard of visuals in a sports game, then PES 2015 is silver. That's not horrible, but it's worth noting the disparity.

There is however cause for praise when it comes to the stadiums, lighting and crowd. All are done at an extremely high level. Most excellent of the three has to be the crowd. From the symphony of animations, to the slight rumble implemented to simulate sound vibrations, the PES 2015 crowd is close to the level of MLB 14 The Show's.

There isn't as much variety in the player models as Sony's masterpiece sports, but the movements and the sound makes the virtual fans come alive.

While the models don't necessarily deliver as well as we'd like, the surroundings still create a visually pleasing gaming experience.

Gameplay and Realism

The first word that pops into my head when I think about my gameplay experience with PES 2015 is "fun." 

The action is free flowing, dynamic at times and the collision-detection issues I noticed in the demo were cleaned up in a major way. I dissected several replays to see if I saw body pass through, and I didn't catch any.

Most importantly, I was satisfied with the way the ball bounced and caromed off of the players, the ground and the post.

All that said, while I was having a ball racing up and down the pitch, angling crosses, unleashing through balls and firing shots on goal, I almost didn't notice how infrequent red and yellow cards happened.

When I really started to pay attention, the sim fan in me took minor exception to this aspect of the gameplay. There were times when I took a guy down Street-Fighter style, and I was sure I'd get my wrist slapped, but no such reprimand came.

To be totally honest, this was the only major issue with the gameplay. Sure, there were a few rather over-the-top physical animations to collisions—then again we are talking about soccer—but nothing that made things too uncomfortable.

*Tip - Take advantage of the training mode to get better acquainted with the different passing techniques. They are key to success.

The passing could be a little more intuitive as well, but that could also be conquered with more practice. It's hard to imagine those who do enjoy soccer video games not having some fun with PES 2015. Simulation fans will probably have a problem with the arcade-like feel.

Sound and Presentation

The aforementioned crowd sounds great, but that's about the only positive as it relates to audio presentation in PES 2015. The commentary is extremely forgettable, filled with repeated lines and desperately lacking in personality. 

image from PES 2015, provided by Konami

In a day and age where sports games have evolving commentary, there's no doubting the lack of sophistication in the results here.

The saving grace on the presentation side comes during the UEFA Champions League and other tournaments PES has license to use. The developers of the game did a great job of making these huge events feel bigger than a friendly.

The overlays and pre-tournament presentations are sharp. However, that doesn't do enough to compensate for an otherwise bland and forgettable presentation package overall.

Modes and Options

PES 2015 looks to get with the times with the inclusion of the new myClub feature. It is very similar to the Ultimate Team and My Team modes that 2K Sports and EA Sports have created. It blends concepts of card collecting with fantasy sports.

The results have been wildly successful for games like FIFA and NBA 2K. PES hopes to have similar success with myClub. The foundation is there, but there are a few notable obstacles.

One of the biggest differences between FIFA and PES has been the disparity between real league and club licenses. FIFA has almost every license for the most popular leagues and clubs in the world while PES has only a few.

image from PES 2015, provided by Konami

This takes away from myClub because part of the draw of these types of modes is uncovering big stars and adding them to your fantasy team. With a lack of stars in the game, the concept loses some of its appeal. The game still features a fairly deep customization suite, though toned down from previous years, but that only fills some of the gaps.

PES 2015 does succeed in blending in franchise-mode concepts that other games don't. Also, the way you acquire players is fresh, and the presentation during the unveil is pretty cool. You must sign agents that open the door to acquiring players.

When you're selecting players to sign, there's a meter at the bottom of the screen and you're charged with stopping it at the right time to maximize your spin. Other games could take note from the way the player is revealed.

This is the highlight of the entire presentation package.

Become a Legend and Master League return with a few small improvements. Neither mode was broken to begin with, but both could use a fresh coat of paint. In Become a Legend, new training segments, smarter match simulations and transfers make the mode less clunky to navigate through, but the mode needs a bit of a storyline to keep gamers interested.

Because PES doesn't have a ton of licenses, developers should have the freedom to create compelling content in this regard. Instead, BAL still lacks personality. Many of the achievements/trophies in the game are unlocked in BAL mode. Here's a list of them, per XBOXachievements.org:

• First Win: Exhibition [10G] -Awarded for defeating the COM for the first time in [Exhibition]
• First Win: UEFA Champions League [10G] -Awarded for defeating the COM for the first time in the [UEFA Champions League]
• First Win: UEFA Europa League [10G] - Awarded for defeating the COM for the first time in the [UEFA Europa League]
• First Win: Copa Libertadores [10G] - Awarded for defeating the COM for the first time in the [Copa Libertadores]
• First Win: Copa Sudamericana [10G] -Awarded for defeating the COM for the first time in the [Copa Sudamericana]
• First Win: AFC Champions League [10G] - Awarded for defeating the COM for the first time in the [AFC Champions League]
• The Debutant [15G]  - Awarded for your professional debut in [Become a Legend]
• League Champions [15G] - Awarded for winning the League Title in [Become a Legend]
• League Best Eleven [15G]  - Awarded for being picked for the Team of the Season in [Become a Legend]
• Best European Footballer [40G] - Awarded for winning the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in [Become a Legend]
• Best South American Footballer [40G] - Awarded for being named South American Player of the Year in [Become a Legend]

• Best Asian Footballer [40G] - Awarded for being named Footballer of the Year in Asia in [Become a Legend]
• World Footballer of the Year [60G] - Awarded for being named World Footballer of the Year in [Become a Legend]
• First Win: Master League [15G] - Awarded for your first win in [Master League]
• Promoted [15G] - Awarded for winning promotion to a Top League in [Master League]
• To Pastures Anew [15G] - Awarded for moving teams in [Master League]
• Champion Manager [15G] - Awarded for winning the League Title in any of the Top Leagues featured in [Master League]
• Kings of Europe [40G] - Awarded for becoming a UEFA Champions League Winner in [Master League]
• Kings of Latin America [40G]  - Awarded for becoming a Copa Libertadores Winner in [Master League]
• Ruler of Asia [40G] - Awarded for becoming a AFC Champions League Winner in [Master League]
• European Treble Winners [30G] - Awarded for winning the League, UEFA Champions League and League Cup in a [Master League] season
• Latin American Treble Winners [30G] - Awarded for winning the League, Copa Libertadores and League Cup in a [Master League] season
• Asian Treble Winners [30G] - Awarded for winning the League, AFC Champions League and League Cup in a [Master League] season
• No. 1 Club [60G] - Awarded for being named the No. 1 Club in the [Master League] Club Rankings
• Leading the Nation [30G] - Awarded for becoming a national team manager in [Master League]
• World Champions [60G] - Awarded for becoming a International Cup Winner in [Master League]
• Silver Collector : Basic [15G] - Awarded for obtaining Silver in all [Basic] level Skills Training
• Silver Collector : Intermediate [15G] - Awarded for obtaining Silver in all [Intermediate] level Skills Training
• Silver Collector : Advanced [20G]  - Awarded for obtaining Silver in all [Advanced] level Skills Training
• Silver Collector : Expert [30G] - Awarded for obtaining Silver in all [Expert] level Skills Training
• Online Debutant [15G] - Awarded for completing your debut match in [Online]
• First Online Divisions win [15G]  - Awarded for winning your first [ONLINE DIVISIONS] match
• Promoted in Online Divisions [20G] - Awarded for winning promotion to a higher division in [online divisions]
• First Win: Competition [15G] - Awarded for your first win in an [Online Competition] 
• The Best of the Bunch [40G] - Awarded for being named Man of the Match in a Team Play Lobby match
• myClub: First "Divisions" win [15G] - Awarded for winning your first [Divisions] match in myClub
• myClub: Promoted in Divisions [20] - Awarded for winning promotion in myClub [Divisions]
• myClub: 1st Divisions (SIM) win [15G] - Awarded for winning your first [Divisions (SIM)] match in myClub
• myClub: Divisions Promotion(SIM) [20G] - Awarded for winning promotion in myClub [Divisions] (SIM)
• Won 6 in a row in Super Star [40G] - Awarded for winning 6 VS COM matches in a row at Super Star level in myClub

Master League feels a little disjointed this year because of the inclusion of myClub. Both modes function similarly with the concepts of building a club and managing it, only Master League doesn't offer the inclusion of GP (virtual currency) to upgrade your squad. It also doesn't feature some of the more attractive presentation elements. 

All in all, it's still a plus for the old school fan looking for the more traditional manager mode experience.

Bottom Line

The obvious strength of PES 2015 is the gameplay. That's a good thing as it relates to the future of the franchise. With that as a base, the outlook is promising. That said, there's still work to be done to overcome the absence of licensing.

Deeper and more innovative modes would have gone a long way in improving the total package here, but as it stands, PES 2015 is still an enjoyable virtual soccer experience. It's just not quite ready for the big time.

Here are the numbers:

Graphics and Animation: 7.5

Gameplay and Realism: 8.75

Sound and Presentation: 5

Game Modes and Options: 6

Overall: 6.8

The PS4 version was used to complete this review. 

Follow Brian Mazique aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist