First PES 2015 details announced

Konami has blown the roof of the building that was holding in details regarding the company’s next-gen soccer debut of PES 2015.

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PES, or Pro Evolution Soccer, has been the number two soccer game in the world behind EA Sports’ FIFA franchise for quite some time. However, the game has a following that rivals no other, especially in Europe. The newest version of the game is a joint production of Konami’s Tokyo and Windsor-based PES Productions teams in order to capture the full essence of everything great about the game of soccer.

The game is based on the mantra of, “The pitch is ours.” The development teams are aiming to bring back, in full, the core gameplay and control mechanics that made the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise so popular during the mid-to-late 2000s.

One of the biggest changes to PES 2015 is a complete overhaul of the game’s shooting system, which will allow a unprecedented control over your shots towards the goalkeeper. Also updated to help with the feel of the game are the passing mechanics, thanks to updated physics.

“Passing options available to players when delivering a final pass have been expanded,” Konami says, “allowing for little knock-ons or searing low passes that use new physics routines to ensure the ball behaves realistically across every situation, providing unique and differing outcomes decided by user actions.”

PES 2015 will give players ultimate control of where their passes and shots end up.

In addition to the shooting and passing mechanics of the game being overhauled, the playing ability when you are one-on-one with an opponent in the open field has drastically been improved.

“Positioning is vital, but the ability to dribble into space and beat your marker is now hugely improved and opens up PES 2015 as the definitive on-field experience,” the team stated.

Aside from shooting and passing, PES 2015 will feature an updated control scheme that will allow players to have “lightning fast” reaction times. A new AI engine will also make sure that players not controlled by the user will constantly adjust to the play going on, and make sure that everything happening on the field is accounted for, whether it be on defense or offense. The new AI engine will make sure players are looking to create the best opportunities to produce, even if they are off-screen.

New dribbling controls will now allow players in close quarters to better attempt to maneuver around defenders. These new dribble tricks include, “jinking runs, responsive sprints and incorporating a much wider range of pace – from walking to sprinting.”

PES 2015 will have over 1000 players recreated to match their exact likeness.

PES 2015’s presentation is also getting a major change as it moves to the next generation of game consoles.

The use of the FOX Engine, which was developed by Kojima Productions, will allow Konami to create players that look even more like their real-life counterparts. PES 2015 will have over 1000 players recreated to match their exact likeness. The players will even include custom animations and playing styles, and will act and react to certain in-game situations nearly identically to the way they do in real life.

The crowd animations have also been updated to help make every match feel like it’s a big deal, with the addition of context-sensitive crowd effects and movements. New lighting effects, thanks to the aforementioned FOX Engine, will be used throughout the entire stadium.

And if you think that’s all that was announced regarding the game, you are sadly mistaken. Yes, there are even more improvements coming to PES 2015.

A “extensive” overhaul to Master League Online will see players and managers added to clubs by using in-game GP or via microtransactions.

“Agents now used to meet player requirement criteria, while unhappy players can upset the balance of a side to detrimental effect,” Konami said. “This extends to offline play.”

Also in Master League, Konami is implementing a new feature called adaptable match environments.

“When an opponent prefers to play a passing game, players can tell the groundsman not to cut the grass so short,” they said. “Or they can have it watered to speed up their team’s passing play. Players can tailor any part of their stadiums to suit their current needs.”

Konami will announce more details regarding PES 2015 in the coming months as the build up to the game continues.

PES 2015 will launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall.