Pro Evolution Soccer 2015

The football season is in full swing, but Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is a little late to the party. The game comes out on November 13*, and after eschewing the then-new systems last fall, it represents the series' initial entry on the new-gen hardware. The demo is already out, but recently we got our hands on the full title and experienced features like the Master League for the first time.

The quality of gameplay has been improved from last year, which was the debut of the franchise's use of the Fox Engine even though it was on the last-generation of systems. PES 2015 on the new consoles, however, feels like the franchise getting back to its roots. The, albeit sometimes complex, controls are wedded to tight player control. In particular, receiving and controlling passes (as well as maintaining control) is easier than last year's title. This lets you transition to dribbling quicker and more naturally.

Elsewhere in this preview version, there are plenty of interesting features to take in.

MASTER LEAGUE

The PES series' single-player career mode, the Master League, is more fleshed out than in 2014, even though it doesn't let you upgrade players and your team with bonus-giving equipment like 2013.

Training is now player specific, and can be set to focus on balanced, passing, shooting, physical, dribbling, defense, or speed categories. Regiments can be tweaked at any time or will remain as is if you don't want to tinker.

The Master League's negotiations section has also changed. A scout (whom you do not hire) investigates areas around the globe based on the perimeters you set, and comes up with a list of transfer targets meeting your criteria. The resulting players will be more likely to sign with you, although 2015 does not have the suggested list like last year's title. You can also do an advance search of potential targets apart from your scout.

The negotiations themselves are more flexible. From the start, you can get a ballpark indication of what the other team and player thinks of your terms. These terms can be tweaked from the outset before your initial offer is submitted, and new perimeters add a wrinkle to the process. Player bonuses for each appearance and goals affect your teams' finances, and a release clause can be added.

Negotiations with players can happen at any time, even though they won't join the team until the next transfer window. Teams that sign players outside the transfer window are required to pay half of that player's salary.

ONLINE

Online has been a weak spot in the franchise's feature set, but 2015 hopes to correct that. At the time of this writing, the pre-release servers weren't operational and there was nobody to actually play, but upon release the game will let you play online in a few different ways. Online divisions sound similar to FIFA's Seasons format – each season you play consists of 10 games against online opponents. Garner enough points in that span and you'll move up to the next division. Fail to do so, and you'll be relegated down. The mode has 12 divisions.

Other online modes include team play (encompassing 22 players), online friendlies, quick match (which don't count against your overall record), and online competitions. It's unknown if the online competitions will be setup by Konami itself and/or if they will utilize the game's existing competition licenses (see more below).

Previous games' Master League Online mode is being replaced by myClub mode. Pick your manager (including their set formation) and which country the majority of your players will hail from. The computer will then automatically generate your squad. From here it's up to you to earn enough GP (which you earn by what you do from moment to moment in matches) and myClub coins to keep upgrading your players and manager. Microtransactions are enabled for the first time in the series, allowing you to purchase more myCoins.

Signing players requires an agent, and while you'll start out with one, better agents can be obtained by playing in matches and competitions. Top agents specialize in certain positions and will yield better players. Interestingly, you don't set out to sign a specific player, but your agent's quality improves the chances that you'll draw a better player via the mode's lottery.

Better managers open up different on-the-field tactics and will raise the team's total cost ceiling. Thus, the better your manager, the better players you'll have on your team.

Other team concerns include team spirit, which is determined by how comfortable players are with your manager's system and each other. Players on the same club sides and national teams benefit from having played in the same system, and the more your squad plays together, the better their spirit.

Also, players' contracts and stamina need to be managed by spending either GP or myClub coins to renew these resources. Luckily, players on expired contracts stay with the club.

CO-OP PLAY

Co-op play is featured throughout the game (accommodating up to four players), including in Master League and myClub modes. New this year is an optional role system that assigns each co-op player a set portion of players. Thus, one player can control the strikers and attacking midfielders, while another controls the defensive mids, defenders, and goalie. When using roles, only up to three players can play co-op.

EDITING FEATURES

Stadiums can be edited, including the seat color, goal design, and grass pattern – there are only 12 actual stadiums in the game on the consoles. Players can be edited and transferred to other squads – including "transferring" the correct players' names onto their national sides – and even leagues' teams can be switched around. Thus, a team in the French league can be dropped into the Italian league. This new-look league can even be brought into your Master League. Competitions' structure (including the format of leagues as well as domestic cups) can also be edited.

Finally, teams' uniforms can be created and added to improve PES' usual awful-looking default kits.

LICENSES

The game has added second-tier divisions for the English, French, Spanish, and Italian leagues. Both France's first and second divisions (Ligue 1 and 2), and Spain's second division are both fully licensed. Licenses for the Eredivisie (Netherlands), Liga BBVA (Spain), and Argentina's Primera Division (along with their teams) return along with a host of real teams and players from leagues worldwide, including those in Portugal and Brazil's highest domestic leagues and select teams like Bayern Munich, Olympiacos, and Galatasaray.

PES 2015 also has the licenses for the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and AFC Champions League. The later three competitions include all the real teams.

* This preview was done off of the PlayStation 4 version. It's unknown what features the last-gen console versions of the game will contain.