The Sports Desk – 14 Things Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 Needs To Do

by Matthew Kato on May 22, 2017 at 03:00 PM

Last week Konami revealed the first details for Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, and so far the feature set seems to build quite well off of the already excellent PES 2017.

While we may know the general direction PES 2018 and the series is going via these first tidbits, how exactly it's going to get there remains to be seen until we hear more about the title and get it in our hands.

Thus, I'd like to offer my two cents on what this year's title needs to do.

GAMEPLAY

Gameplay is the series' crown jewel, but no game is perfect. PES largely avoids taking control out of players' hands, but there are still occasional tussles for possession where it feels like the outcome has already be determined. Cleaning these up would complete the work in this area that PES 2017 started.
Similarly, while it was good the ref let more contact and tackles go in 2017, there were times when it seemed like the dribbler never had a chance against some tackles (whether it was you or the A.I. doing the tackling). Additionally, the animations or physics involved sometimes would send you flying unrealistically – and I'm not talking about diving.
The development team says that the pace of the game has been made "more realistic." Nobody knows what exactly that means at the moment, but one area I'm curious about is how the game addresses getting run down while you're dribbling. Of course, a dribbling player is going to be slower than a defender giving chase without the ball, but I would like to see dribblers have a little more escapability (assuming the players in real-life have the ability). This is a very fine line, as I don't want to the game to be too pacey.
Headers are overpowered in PES 2017, so they should be toned down.

MASTER LEAGUE

One of the things about PES 2018 that excites me is Konami says it's going to improve the transfer system. It needs to be harder to sign players, there should be more back-and-forth in negotiations, and I'd love to see players' personalities come through in the process. Transfers are often sagas involving tabloids, info leaks from various camps, and surprises. Nothing should be a done deal until the deal is done.
I'd like more insight into players' form apart from the arrow system. Have they been good/bad in practice? Does the player's two goals in three games have an effect? Is he historically good against this week's opponent? Are they a new transfer and are having a hard time getting settled? Is there a nagging injury? Are they not being utilized correctly in the right formation/position/advanced instructions? In 2017 I'm never really sure why the arrows point the way they do, and more information on this front would not only be helpful, but it would also flesh out the players' personalities.
Player regeneration (whereby retired players are respawned into the youth roster) should be optional.
Seeing as how PES has the Champions League license, I'd like to see more pomp and circumstance for the competition in your normal Master League menu. The matchup selections have their own shows on TV in real-life, and it would be nice to have more drama and anticipation around the competition as a whole.
Bring the mode online like Madden Connected Franchise Mode.

ONLINE PLAY

2018 introduces 2v2 and 3v3 online co-op play and brings back Random Selection matches, but this won't mean a lot if the game's lag and exploiting it by forcing a voided result continues to be an issue.

PRESENTATION, LICENSES & MORE

Konami has worked hard to shore up its traditional weakness – its official licenses – and the company has promised more announcements on this front at E3. Certainly the more the merrier, and it'll be interesting to see if the company continues to sign individual clubs to premier partnerships or if it tries to tap into previously ignored international leagues.
Peter Drury and Jim Beglin have done average work, and it would be nice to see less repetition and more correctly contextual comments and analysis.
The PS4 and PC enjoy easy creation and importing of real-life kits by users, but not the Xbox One. Sad to say that I doubt this problem will be solved this year. As I understand it, Microsoft doesn't allow the feature.
Speaking of kits, it would be great if the series continued to make it easier to edit teams, including a greater number of alternate kits, stadium options, the importing of chants, and more import slots overall.

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