There's always a lot of talk about how the "older versions of PES are better than PES09".
There's always plenty of fans saying that either PES5 or PES6 are better games than PES09. And yet, I have barely seen any Post Comparing PES6 with PES09.
I have seen far too many PES vs FIFA debates.. and to be perfectly honest I still think that PES6 is a better Football Simulation than both FIFA09 and PES09.
And I do think that it would be more relevant to compare PES6 with PES09. Because we don't want to play a game that is similar to FIFA09, we want a game that builds on PES6 and PES5.
Here's an in-depth comparison between PES6 and PES09:
PES6: A game well ahead of its time.
With an advanced Stats system of (28) Stats and (23) Special Abilities, an extensive Edit Mode, and the Fluid Gameplay we all became so addicted to.. PES6 was well ahead of its time, well ahead of the Arcade-Like FIFA07 or any other Football Sim.
* Differences between individuals:
Back in the PS2 days, Pro Evolution was regarded as the more "Realistic Simulation". With very well accomplished Gameplay Details and Subtleties, you could feel differences between different players.
The game was NOT only about the Messis and Cristiano Ronaldos, every different player had their own advantages and disadvantages:
- Gennaro Gattuso: a tireless worker, could push you off balance and win possession –but- was a bad passer of the ball. So once you did win possession with Gattuso you had to make a simple pass to your midfielders. This forced you to play “collectively” like in Real Life.
- Riquelme: Not a fast player, not a tireless worker –but- a player who could slip passes through with incredible ease, and a player who could hold the ball well because of his balance. This is the type of player who would receive passes from Gennaro Gattuso.
- Cristiano Ronaldo: Not the best passer of the ball –but- he could run past many players with his speed and technique.
- Clarence Seedorf: Not the fastest player around, not the most skillful player –but- with his good balance and tactical ability, he was a very versatile midfielder as he could hold possession because of his balance, was always in good positions because of his good tactical ability, and could also give fairly decent passes.
This was an essential aspect of PES6: every different individual had advantages and disadvantages of their own. And although those advantages where “clear” there was a certain quality that made it extremely realistic for its time. It was never obvious, it was subtle but relevant.
Individuals who are not good at passing the ball, like Gattuso, they where not completely helpless when passing the ball (like it happens so many times with PES09) –you- just had to limit yourself into making easy passes with them.
On the other hand, with players like Riquelme.. you noticed a great deal of advantage when passing the ball, you had an edge when passing the ball with Riquelme. An edge that you didn't have when Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi where on the ball.
Whereas with players like Cristiano Ronaldo you could get past 2 or 3 players with the use of his Pace and Technique... but he wasn’t the best passer of the ball, and he didn’t had the best balance.. and it showed in the gameplay.
The subtle and yet relevant differences between players are one of those key factors that are usually overlooked by many fans of the series.
* Shielding the Ball in PES6:
One of the most subtle and important gameplay features about PES6 is the difference between “Dribbling Slowly” and “Dribbling at High Speeds”. This is for me one of The Essential factors about PES6.
You could afford to go slowly without loosing possession with players who had great Balance, and in PES6 some of those players included Riquelme and Andrea Pirlo amongst others.
It was such a realistic touch, that Riquelme was better and more reliable on the ball when "dribbling Slowly” –but- Cristiano Ronaldo was better and more effective when “Sprinting with the ball”.
Because of this touch of realism: Riquelme had better balance and could hold the ball better in Small Spaces.. Riquelme made a better Center Midfielder than Cristiano Ronaldo. But on the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo made a better Winger or Striker because of his Pace and his Technique and his Shooting Power.
And the execution was perfect, very intuitive: “Dribbling Slowly” or in other words “Shielding the Ball” was done by Releasing the Sprinting (R1) button and moving the Left Stick. By dribbling this way the player slows down but holds on to the ball better, the better the Balance the better he “shields” the ball.
By “shielding the ball” you did not get past players, but it was a great way of buying time for yourself and your team-mates, it was a great way of creating “Passing Angles”. It was very useful and effective for Midfield Play.
The Brilliance about this concept is that you could not “sprint” and “shield” the ball at the same time. If you released the R1 button your player automatically protected the ball better, but at the same time you could not get past any player by doing this, you could only “hold possession” for longer.
On the other hand, when you “sprinted with the ball” you could not shield the ball with the same effectiveness, but you could sprint past players.
So it was either compromising possession and sprinting with the ball –or- playing it safe, not taking any chances, and “shielding” the ball and then passing it.
This was a Master Stroke from Konami, and another subtle but very important feature that is easy to overlook.
* Gameplay on PES6:
Fluid Gameplay: fluid movements, fluid passing.. It actually felt like Real Football. Because of the fluidity and spontaneity of the gameplay, the realistic proportions between players and pitch, and the balance between Attackers and Defenders -- PES6 had a “never know what will happen next” factor that immersed you in the gameplay.
The “anything can happen” factor is what made PES6 such an addictive and enjoyable experience.. you can still get a kick out of this game Today.
Another important factor of The Gameplay, is that the Stats are relevant in-game. But at the same time it never feels like the COM is taking over. The COM allowed you enough control over your players, the game is Assisted by the COM, but you feel more in-control of things.
* Time and Space on PES6:
If you look closely, PES6 forces you into Thinking Faster than you do when playing PES09. You get Less Space and Time on the pitch, which means that you’ve got to know what to do with the ball before the ball gets to you. This is closer to Real Football.
This also made the gameplay more addictive, because you are always thinking when you play PES6.. the game demands Constant Focus, be it when Attacking or Defending.
* Top Speed on PES6:
TOP SPEED was NOT The Most important factor. It could win you matches, it could make the difference every now and then, but PACE was not The most important factor. As even slow players could run the length of the pitch realistically.
A Football Pitch is relatively small, it doesn’t takes much to cover a good part of it.. the time-consuming thing about Football is creating that space, creating that Play, but not “running the length of it”.
The final third of the pitch, the middle of the pitch, that’s relatively small. The hard part is getting the ball through the pitch, which haves more to do with tactical ability and passing ability and technique –and- less to do with the Top Speed of a player.
* The Final Third of the pitch on PES6:
The acceleration and thrill in The Final Third of the pitch.. it haves that “anything can happen” feel to it that makes each and every goal feel like a unique piece of work. An Essential Aspect of PES6.
* Dribbling Tricks on PES6:
The Dribbling Tricks, although very limited.. every Trick had a practical in-game use. The tricks give the impression of not having any practical purpose, but it is a misleading impression, almost every trick can be effective and decisive if used properly.
The Drag Back: always efficient for the middle of the pitch, you could use the “drag back” and then follow it up with a quick pass, or maybe even by “Lifting or Flicking the ball over your opponent”.
This added a nice touch of “fantasy” to PES6, as you could execute great moves by mixing different tricks: Drag Back + Flicking the Ball over your opponent – was one of those surprising moves that required imagination and timing.
The Classic “Fake-Shot” Dribble.. the most effective and intuitive trick in the game in my opinion.
The Roulette via the Right Stick, another fan favorite, and surprisingly intuitive considering it was arranged to the Right Analog Stick.
Shielding the ball: Although not a “Trick” it was an essential part of Dribbling in PES6. A great way of buying yourself some split-seconds, always important in Football.
* Negatives about PES6:
- One of the most noticeable ones is that it can become something of a “pinball” game. At times, passing the ball becomes too easy, and as a result the flow of the game resembles something similar to “Pinball Football”.
- This shows that although well ahead of its time, the ball physics are definitely not as realistic as it could be. Maybe as realistic as possible for a PS2 game.. but looking back at the game now, this is one of the things that could have improved.
- Another negative is that the game kinda forces you to play through the Ground, Long Balls aren't very accurate.
- There’s barely any Animations and Tricks.. although looking back at it, it had plenty of animations and tricks for a PS2 Sports Game.
- Crappy Graphics, maybe not that bad for a PS2 game.. but looking at it now it certainly "looks" out of date.
- Although the differences between Individuals where great for the time.. if you look back at it, you can see some flaws, and it is easy to see that the game would benefit from New Stats and New Animations, and New Substance.
* Bottom Line about PES6:
The Genial thing about PES6 is that it captures the essence of Football, it plays like Football.
Sure it haves crappy graphics, it barely haves any animations, it doesn’t haves the best ball physics, etc, etc..
But it captures the essential things about Football:
- Moving the ball around, working your angle.. it wasn't about "running the length of the pitch" -it- was more about creating space and scoring opportunities by actually playing Football.
- Every different individual haves advantages and disadvantages. This gave the game a great touch of realism, you had to think and play like a Team, it was about the "collective" effort as a team.
- The practical use of Dribbling Tricks, they could be simple and subtle, but could also be fantastic. It wasn't about mastering some complicated controls, it only required imagination and timing.. and also depended on the actual Dribbling Stats of each individual.
- The Fluid Gameplay, the realistic proportions of the pitch, the balance between defenders and attackers, the thrill in The Final Third of the pitch.. it gave the game that essential "anything can happen" magic.
PES6 left you asking for more, it didn't mattered if the score-line was 4-0.. the "anything can happen" magic of the game left you asking for more and more and more Goals.
PES 2009: “tactical” in Intent, but “arcade-like” in Execution.
Pro Evolution 2009 was supposed to be a great "overhaul" on 08. And although a vast improvement over 08.. we still have the same twitchy and robotic Animations, the same 8-Directional Passing. And some fans of the series are still wondering how "Teamvision" is supposed to work.
* Differences between individuals:
This is one of the major losses since going Next Gen, the differences between individuals have been lost.
Now there is a clear focus on Top Speed and Acceleration, and you do feel a huge advantage when you're in control of individuals like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But.. individuals like Riquelme, Cesc Fabregas, Paul Scholes, Andrea Pirlo, etc, etc.. there’s just no edge to them anymore. They don't have any unique features or advantages.
The difference between “Dribbling Slowly” and “Sprinting with the Ball” has been lost. This Fundamental Aspect of Football is completely non-existent in PES09.
Players like Gennaro Gattuso have also suffered greatly.. because in PES09 there's no sense of "work rate" going on, you can basically defend well with every fast and agile player. Which means that it is usual to have forwards who also work as part-time world class defenders.
* Gameplay on PES09:
Fluid Gameplay - Fluid Movements -- Fluid Passing –-- Ruined!!
The Execution has changed completely. The edgy and robotic animations are the main Reason for the game’s lack of Feeling and Intensity. And the limited amount of options for both “dribbling and marking” makes it worst.
The Defensive Play is very arcade-like in that it requires Zero Thinking: run, run, run, run, and then release some buttons… it works most of the time, and it works with every individual within the game.
The Balance between Defenders and Attackers has been lost. Attackers have a clear advantage over Defenders, and the defenders really have no tools to counter against the twitchy tricks.
Passing the Ball doesn’t feels fluid anymore, it is excessively assisted by the COM, and unrealistically Rigid. It feels more 8-Directional than ever before. It becomes more and more annoying with each passing game... unforgivable in a Football Simulation – Passing can make or break any Football Simulation.
And…
There’s excessive assistance from the COM: most notably the sliding tackles that end up giving away penalties.
* Time and Space on PES09:
The Length of the Pitch seems (at times) never ending, it truly gives the impression of “stretching”.
Running the Length of the Pitch should NOT take that long. It seems like instead of making it harder and more challenging to create Spaces and scoring opportunities –Konami- decided to simply “stretch” the Length of the pitch.
As a result the Space in the Middle of the pitch is ridiculous, you have Time and Space to spare. This has completely changed the gameplay, because it is (now) very SLOW Mentally and Tactically.
There is so much time and space on the pitch that everything is more predictable now. PES09 plays more like FIFA, everything in the game is predictable and gets boring and repetitive very fast… the thrill is gone.
* The Final Third on PES09:
As a result of the “stretched” pitch we now have a ridiculous disproportion in the length of the pitch, we have too much Space and Time to Think about whatever it is we will do next. There’s no thrill or intensity in The Final Third of the Pitch anymore.
* Top Speed on PES09:
Top Speed is The most important attribute by a mile. Examples??
- Samuel Eto’o: This individual has literally run circles around my defenders, and I do mean a perfect circle through my entire defense. Apparently my Center Backs cannot do anything about it.
Yet another “Arcade-Like” annoyance.
* Dribbling Tricks on PES09:
Instead of elaborating on the limited dribbling animations and tricks, Konami decided to change the Dribbling Tricks to the Left Analog Stick. And as a result we now have even more limitations:
- You want to simply turn and dribble, and instead you get some Outrageous Roulette Dribble.
The Classic Drag Back was changed, and it isn’t even an actual “drag back” anymore. Instead of adding New Useful Animations, Konami removed useful animations and replaced them with rubbish.
The Classic “Fake-Shot” Dribble remains intact and as effective as ever, in my opinion the most intuitive and effective trick on PES09.
* Positives??
- The Shooting System feels better and less one-dimensional.
- Much better Graphics, much better Faces and Stadiums. Player likenesses are spot-on. A huge improvement over PES6 Graphics.
- Long Balls are very effective this time around, you can really alternate between Ground Passes and Lobbed Passes. This has opened new ways of “counter attacking” amongst other things. And Unlike PES6, it isn’t a game that forces you to play through the Ground.
-The R2 “strategies” are useful for in-game purpose.
* Bottom Line on PES09:
The Execution is poor, and as a result the whole gameplay is poor.
It’s the same deal with Films, you can have a great story line and a great script, but if the actors are mediocre – the film will be received as mediocre. On the other hand, good actors make gold out of anything.
In this case, PES09 haves mediocre execution, and the game has been labeled as a disappointment.
To this I have to add that there’s just too much Time and Space on the pitch, at times it feels too loooong. There is so much time and space on the pitch, so much advantage as an attacker –that- the old “anything can happen” magic has been lost.
Everything is more predictable now. PES09 plays more like FIFA.
My Final Verdict:
PES6 although showing clear signs of limitations, it captures the essence of Football.
PES6 resembles 90s Football with respectable accuracy. On the other hand, PES09 resembles something that tried to simulate “Modern Football” but failed massively.
In my opinion PES6 is the better “Football Simulation” because it actually feels like Football. It is less about “running with the ball” –and- more about passing the ball and moving off-the-ball.
Long Story Short: PES09 is a step backwards from PES6. Konami needs to rediscover their “Simulation Roots” and take off from there.
