Pes 2008 was the first installment of the Pro Evolution Soccer series to land on the PlayStation 3. For the new console, at the time, there was a big news: online multiplayer. Playing offline, the gaming experience was a very small and poorly defined taste of what football simulation could become with the power of the new console that hit the shelves the year before. But the multiplayer experience was a disaster: anyone who has made, or tried to make, a match, remembers very well the continuous slowdowns, the balls that have disappeared from the foot of the players, the unexpected goals after actions on the other side of the field. This is a reminder of a new way to play that was very frustrating in its early days.
Now eFootball 2022, Konami’s latest football chapter, changes the cards on the table in a similar way to then, but not only in words: the Japanese manufacturer and distributor sacrifices a debut with great fanfare as it always has, for a soft debut that took place last September 30th with a free of charge and the promise to add most of the pieces by the end of November, ie the first big free update and the release of the first paid expansion pack (Premium Player Pack, for 39.99 euros).
The test of FIFA 22: a classic that is renewed
by Lorenzo Fantoni
It is not possible tell what eFootball 2022 is today, there are not enough elements: the game opens with a test game that serves to explain the new controls, and when it is finished it leads to a main menu that can only be used for a small part. To date, there are only casual (Authentic) performances and the Worldwide Club online competition, choosing from 9 teams. The gameplay is still immature: On PlayStation 5, the commentary feels very fragmented, the animations are not smooth, the controls are not always responsive. There are also some errors that break the quality of the game, such as when a defender chases an attacker and suddenly the two players run together, as if they were united. And also the offside is not calculated correctly, giving valid some goals that are not.
It is not possible change the difficulty of the opponent’s computer, which feels like something between Newcomer and Amateur, even if in some moments the players move in a very confusing way. And there are probably other errors and problems: this is the response after just a couple of games played only offline, because online the game should in theory work, but in practice it has infinite loading errors and unexpected session closure.
The announcement
Goodbye Pes, eFootball arrives, Konami’s new free-to-play video game dedicated to football
by Giacomo Barbieri
Ma it is not correct to think that eFootball can be judged today: the game engine, based on Unreal Engine (the same that makes Fortnite characters move), is new to the football adaptation, and there will probably be many improvements to arrive in the coming weeks. Admittedly, eFootball is a game that will evolve over time: it is not about simple updates of the squads, new tournaments or gameplay improvements, but of new functions, with some types of shooting coming in November, as well as other modes and who knows what else.
Konami wanted to show something else to explain that it has rethought everything from scratch, and it is enough to start a game to understand that everything will change: there is no longer a pre-game menu, and all selections are superimposed to the game itself. We start with the selection of the teams on a globe, then we move on to the selection of the stadium, which in the meantime is filled with spectators, to then see the players enter the changing rooms to choose the uniform; finally, the initial formation is done by watching the players warm up on the grass.
Today there is no game, what is there can be considered a demo, but if in Konami they have decided to sacrifice two months of presence on the shelves with a complete game, it could be the signal that in November eFootball 2022 will be a very different game from what both Konami and Electronic Arts have accustomed us to.
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