I had a chance to get my hands on PES 2015 at E3 2014, and this year's version attempts to find its footing on new hardware while keeping pace with the always-thriving EA FIFA brand. I'm not as familiar with the PES brand as I am with FIFA, but I still appreciated the chance to test drive Konami's next footy offering.

The visuals struck me as a similar step that EA took last year for FIFA 14, in that the fidelity is bumped up thanks to some uncompressed animations and increased crowd density. Player likenesses also received a decent upgrade, but nothing I saw seemed unachievable in the FIFA series. The main thing I would say is that players — such as Robben, Ribéry, Tevez and Vidal (in the demo's Bayern versus Juventus match) — all had a bit more specificity to their facial details than what might be found in EA's product, but the character models did still look like “computer men” overall. The crowd reactions and game-day presentation wasn't emphasized as much as I thought it would be, even though all of that did look better from what I could tell. I honestly expected more out of the Fox Engine in this regard, so that was a bit disappointing. The menu system, from what I saw, seemed minimal but functional. Oh yeah: still too many replays and stoppages after goals.

What was welcome was the smooth framerate and feel, similar to what FIFA had achieved last year (and continues to this year). Everything on the pitch felt appropriately crisp and clean, particularly in the passing game, and it helped settle me into the action right away. I was able to set up the usual array of stop-and-go plays, lobs, throughs and back-heel passes with relative ease, and everything felt great due to the next-gen fidelity offered to the Fox Engine. Again, this effect felt similar to FIFA 14's unshackling on new hardware.

The usual PES distinctiveness between players and teams was apparent, as Juventus' possession/defense game contrasted with Bayern's roving offense. To be sure, there is still better ball support and more realistic headers in PES than in FIFA, and you'll see a lot more variety in the goal-scoring. That said, some of the goal variety comes from odd goalkeeping or absent marking (thanks to some clunky tackles), but PES games do develop differently than their FIFA brethren, which always makes for unique games each time.
 

The biggest gameplay difference this year comes from the jinking run, as you can now settle the ball down into a walk or a jog in front of you, allowing for all sorts of explosive moves or cutbacks. I felt that it not only gave me more control over the exact movements I wanted,, but it also made me consider my options a bit more as well. Keeping the ball close in the jinking run was also a benefit when receiving lobs or throughs, as it helped mimic some of the first-touch effect that FIFA goes for (a concept that still eludes me a bit). This seemed like a meaningful addition to the series, and I was interested to see it in action with different teams.

In terms of licenses, one of the producers on the game said that they were working on “some big ones,” but they had nothing to announce at this time. It seemed that online modes, including Master League, would get some work as well, since that offering has never been near as functional as what's provided in FIFA each year. One would hope that the connectivity in general would be on par with what EA offers.
 

PES 2015 struck me as a game on a mission to close some gaps between it and FIFA so that it can make an argument for its (arguably) more diverse gameplay offering. By improving the visuals and hopefully augmenting the online play and licenses, PES could better stand toe to toe with the juggernaut over at EA. It's hard to say whether Konami will take the time to market PES towards a broader range of players (it's done a poor job of that until now), but what I played was enjoyable enough when compared to the FIFA brand.