VOTE NOW: Your Favourite PES of the Decade

Chris Davies

Chris Davies

Chief PESsimist
Staff
14 May 2003
UK
Tranmere Rovers
Hey guys!

So, everyone else is doing a "your favourite thing of the decade" style vote, and now, so are we. :D

But in all seriousness, it's something I've been thinking about for the last few days. @MafiaMurderBag's excellent PES 2010 videos (check them out here) have made me dig out all the old games I have, and compare all the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

So - I'd be really interested to know what will make the final here! What are your favourite PES titles from the last ten years only (so PES 2010 to PES 2020), and why?

Tell us your reasons, tell us your stories, show us your videos. :)

Twitter polls are below (sorry if you don't have a Twitter account - I think we may get more answers if we go through Twitter directly).

Please retweet / tag etc. if you can for the maximum amount of entries!




 
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Chris Davies said:
Hey guys!

So, everyone else is doing a "your favourite thing of the decade" style vote, and now, so are we. :D

But in all seriousness, it's something I've been thinking about for the last few days. @MafiaMurderBag's excellent PES 2010 videos (check them out here) have made me dig out all the old games I have, and compare all the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

So - I'd be really interested to know what will make the final here! What are your favourite PES titles from the last ten years only (so PES 2010 to PES 2020), and why?

Tell us your reasons, tell us your stories, show us your videos. :)

Twitter polls are below (sorry if you don't have a Twitter account - I think we may get more answers if we go through Twitter directly).

Please retweet / tag etc. if you can for the maximum amount of entries!




Click to expand...
Good idea, I like this pool! The only problem is that I’ve played only the last four pes (17,18,19,20) :D, so I’ll vote only in the last pool. My favorite of the Pes I’ve played (17,18,19,20) is Pes 2020 because imho it has the best IA and the more realistic gameplay.
 
tough one - each pes has a story to it for me.

2013 had MLO - I thought that format showed a lot of promise
2015's MyCLub was a life lesson in economics.
2016 was a good community feel and banter within the pesfan forum
2019 was once where I learnt to beat my MyClub addiction

But 2014 was the most fun for me- the game released poorly - I felt I was in a niche group of players who understood that things take time to improve - and they did. And I got better and my team got stronger and I was winning online games.

Not a coin or face pack in sight - just patches that focussed on gameplay.

Btw HAPPY NEW YEAR DUDES!
 
PES 2020 for me. It's the most fun & hype I've had on/for a PES game since 2013. The games 2017-2018 weren't too far behind though...

And I want to mention WE 2012 (for J.League DLC) & WE 2014 ~aoki samurai no chousen~ (also with J.League included), although they games compared to today, the passing & gameplay feels very, very loose
 
I was played too long in oldgen PES series. Stuck with PES 6 mostly and that's why i was missed all parts till PES 16.
I was tryed PES 16 MyClub on pc and later on ps3. It was raw but still nice and something new and different from oldgen experience. PES 17 was almost ideal replacement for PES 6, even with all it's + and - and attacking style of gameplay. PES 18 was bought even twice (on PS3 and PS4). May be 18 part of Pro Evo is "sterile" in fouls but also still enjoyable (even now).
PES 19 was game where cheating of AI was maximal and it's ruin this game. PES 20 like new fresh air and new reincarnation of "classic PES 5".

I am trying to find good side in every PES part.
 
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Nice to have a poll for recent iterations without the comparison to the golden era of the 2000's.

I was the same as @Chris Davies in the fact that I only discovered the goodness of these games on the Retro PES thread.

I would have never have even considered PES 10 for a revisit if it was not for @MafiaMurderBag brilliant video's, and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Player cards and how players stats were presented really felt for me that every player had a purpose on the team. Games fun and unpredictable. Still of course has its pitfalls, but this ain't a thread to get into that.

For me it is definitely PES 13, for individuality and deep ML. It was the last PES to embody the fabric to which it was built on.

Never PES's have always felt hollow and half assed. Still have had quite a bit of fun on PES 15-20 - mostly in a multiplayer environment.

So in order I reckon:

PES 13
PES 11
PES 17
PES 10
PES 11
PES 20
PES 16
PES 15
PES 12
PES 14

Most of the latter are interchangeable, simply not enough time spent on each.
 
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Happy new
Chris Davies said:
Hey guys!

So, everyone else is doing a "your favourite thing of the decade" style vote, and now, so are we. :D

But in all seriousness, it's something I've been thinking about for the last few days. @MafiaMurderBag's excellent PES 2010 videos (check them out here) have made me dig out all the old games I have, and compare all the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

So - I'd be really interested to know what will make the final here! What are your favourite PES titles from the last ten years only (so PES 2010 to PES 2020), and why?

Tell us your reasons, tell us your stories, show us your videos. :)

Twitter polls are below (sorry if you don't have a Twitter account - I think we may get more answers if we go through Twitter directly).

Please retweet / tag etc. if you can for the maximum amount of entries!




Click to expand...

Happy new year everybody and @Chris Davies .. I usually tend to sound like Sheldon Cooper, i know ;) but doesn't PES2020 technically belong to the next decade? The 20's? :) Or according to release dates, PES2010 belonging to past decade aka the 10s?
From wikipedia of the 1980s : "The 1980s (pronounced "nineteen-eighties", shortened to "the '80s") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1980, and ended on December 31, 1989."


On Topic now, i am very bad at making TOP10s, so i will place them according to the hours i spent playing them, mostly ML:

  1. PES2016
  2. PES2018
  3. PES2017
  4. PES2015
  5. PES2011
  6. PES2010
  7. PES2013
  8. PES2019
  9. PES2020
  10. PES2012
  11. PES2014
 
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There has never been a Pes like Pes20, that would be so close to be a great game yet destroyed my joy of playing Pes so much.
As it stands - I really dont want to go anywhere near Pes in the nearest future.

So, to me - Pes13, which was a fun game with lots of memories from the first half of the decade.

And Pes17 from the second. Last Pes that had a nice balance between fun and simulation, with teams playing differently, very little cheating from AI, a lot of AI individuality and great physicality.
 
It's a really tough one. I've played to death the old gen ones of the decades, and even if they all have glaring flaws, if I'd have to go on a desert island I'll surely pick one of those instead of 2014 onwards. So for me would be probably one between 11-12-13. Gameplay fun and addictive and ML of another depth compared tothe latest ones. Will be fun to see what I'll pick when the poll will force a choice.

2017 is, sadly, still new gen king imo, anyway.
 
Probably the most unpopular opinion but based on the fun and replayabillity, this would be my choice in order:

  1. PES 2010
  2. PES 2013
  3. PES 2011
  4. PES 2015
  5. PES 2012
  6. PES 2017
  7. PES 2018
  8. PES 2020
  9. PES 2016
  10. PES 2019
 
Thanks for the shout out Chris.

My soundbite whenever i'm asked to name an all time favourite PES probably applies to the same discussion of PES of the decade -

"It's like asking me to pick which of my 10 children i love the most; They're all unique and do things i love & hate equally, But i adore all of them for different reasons!"

Everybody will have different reasoning too, I also think the period of time in your life as a tremendous influence on your nomination and the time you spent with a title, For instance for me, PES 10 & 11 were the games i was MOST excited about pre launch because they were the first to start to implement drastic stylistic changes both visually & mechanically, They we're my first on PC so modding further enhanced my enjoyment and i was younger, Didn't have a job or a child yet so had all the free time in the world to waste on PES. So they'll always have soft spots for me.

12 & 13 were the PS3 era's finest hours and the most polished the series was across the board until the growing pains of Fox kicked in.
2014 was a spectacle as far as Konami & Matsuda's initial visions for a pure, Mechanical footballing simulation but was rushed and the delivery wasn't implemented well as well as the crossover of fast paced, Instant gratification gaming propped up by micro-transactions started trending, The industry changed and PES had to adapt too. PES 2015 & 2016's breakneck pace and the latter's shambolic goalkeepers motivated me to check out FIFA's great 15 & 16 editions before EA got hot for the new engine fetish and that was the end of that affair for me.

2017 was the eureka moment where the series started to rekindle that PES magic with SUPERB AI that almost played like a human player, A real step up in visuals on the Fox engine, A respect for footballing fundamentals and far better goalkeepers gave me hope that they finally nailed it. Great memories for this game.

Then of course, Konami's odd habit of nerfing things that were great in the previous game and even the beta's & demo for the new game resurfaced. Fouls seemed to cease to exist, Keepers started gluing themselves to goalines again, Freekicks you can score with your eyes closed, Inertia and body positioning didn't mean shit and we we're back to blitzball football for 18 & 19, Which to me was a blessing in disguise and forced my hand, I started looking to the past for answers and was enlightened by Retro PES.

However i was extremely cynical pre PES 2020 demo & eventual launch, I was so disillusioned with the Fox editions that I knew where this eSports philosophy and this disingenuous motivation to make gaming "inclusive" and dumb the game down & ramp up assistance so much that your Nan's Nan and your newborn baby could play PES that i didn't buy into any of the hype until i played it.

Well regarding PES 2020, May as well dick me dead and bury me pregnant - It's probably the best PES this gen & certainly the best compromise and amalgamation of Fox engine PES since it's introduction. We may never get Gran Turisomo football like we expected with PES 2014 ever again, But this one is close. Of course patching culture is still a pain the arse and the frequency of fouls we had in the demo has been lost for yet another year but this is going to be as good as it gets. Maybe i'm not the best nominee to sing 2020's praises as I play it a handful of times a week, Have a fresh honeymoon feeling with the game and step back in my time machine and perhaps i'm wrong, Or perhaps it's just the healthiest way to enjoy the series.

The point is all of these games offer something special, And when starts getting on your tits, Pop in a different one and embrace each editions interpretation of football for what it is, A labour of love for the sport.
 
PES 2017 ( because mods, still pissing me off to this day this great game only receive 3 datapacks ! only 3 ! )
PES 2015 ( love the dribbling mechanic )
PES 2020 ( i like the slow attacking build up in this game )
PES 2013 ( i mean, it's PES 2013 ! what can i say ! )
PES 2010 ( PS2 ) ( played ton of hours with my friends )

Honorable mention : PES 2016, the easiest PES series i've ever played. The goalkeeper is horrendous, worst of them all and really easy to score.

I only play PES 2014 once ! didn't like it at all so i coudn't judge this game.

Edit :

I remember PES 2013 didn't have league, what an idiot move from konami to removed this feature
 
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Got to be any PES from 2010 to 2013. The franchise still hasnt really find itself yet on Fox.
But if we can consider PES titles on the PS2 from 2010 until 2014 as well then gotta be one of those.
 
Pes 2020 definitely to me is the most complete, balanced, fun game of the latest Pes decade. Still far from Pes series peak quality though.
 
When PES 2020 was released, and my PS4 storage space was full for the 10th time in about a month, I uninstalled 2017, 2018 and 2019.

That was a big step for me - because you're not just deleting the game, you're deleting the game updates (which Konami remove after a few years), hours of option file imports, your own edits etc...

But when 2020 was released, I thought to myself, this is the best PES-feeling modern game they've ever produced - I thought, I ***finally*** have no need to go back now.

Last night, I played three games of 2020 after a break of a few weeks, and no exaggeration, I just hated it. No build-up required from the AI, no midfield play whatsoever. No running with the ball, even! Perfect direct balls from every player. 180-degree turn-shots. No change in the AI's play no matter the team they use. Everything so stiff. Error is represented by you blatantly just passing directly to the AI (and vice versa) - that's not "error". Nor are rebounds magically going to feet so often. There is nothing organic about the game. IMO.

At midnight, I reinstalled PES 2017. In one demo game, Barcelona (the AI) had the ball towards the sideline, cut inside, dribbled, and hit a shot. The fact that I was so shocked, and delighted, made me realise just how low PES has driven my expectations now.

When I go back to older games, like PES 2013, I just find it too fast, too attack-oriented, too on-rails. For me, PES 2017 has the balance just right in many ways - and if you play against the AI, I don't think there's a better (modern) PES. They will occasionally surprise you - but also, they will let you play, without just reading your input and blocking you at every turn.

Not even sure the data pack for 2017 is available any longer (on PS4). I'll be really mad with myself if it isn't.
 
Chris Davies said:
When PES 2020 was released, and my PS4 storage space was full for the 10th time in about a month, I uninstalled 2017, 2018 and 2019.

That was a big step for me - because you're not just deleting the game, you're deleting the game updates (which Konami remove after a few years), hours of option file imports, your own edits etc...

But when 2020 was released, I thought to myself, this is the best PES-feeling modern game they've ever produced - I thought, I ***finally*** have no need to go back now.

Last night, I played three games of 2020 after a break of a few weeks, and no exaggeration, I just hated it. No build-up required from the AI, no midfield play whatsoever. No running with the ball, even! Perfect direct balls from every player. 180-degree turn-shots. No change in the AI's play no matter the team they use. Everything so stiff. Error is represented by you blatantly just passing directly to the AI (and vice versa) - that's not "error". Nor are rebounds magically going to feet so often. There is nothing organic about the game. IMO.

At midnight, I reinstalled PES 2017. In one demo game, Barcelona (the AI) had the ball towards the sideline, cut inside, dribbled, and hit a shot. The fact that I was so shocked, and delighted, made me realise just how low PES has driven my expectations now.

When I go back to older games, like PES 2013, I just find it too fast, too attack-oriented, too on-rails. For me, PES 2017 has the balance just right in many ways - and if you play against the AI, I don't think there's a better (modern) PES. They will occasionally surprise you - but also, they will let you play, without just reading your input and blocking you at every turn.

Not even sure the data pack for 2017 is available any longer (on PS4). I'll be really mad with myself if it isn't.
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I remember how, before I got the game, you said to me - "its really great, looks great, feels great, its challenging and requires a lot of grinding to score. I just hope this grinding wont turn into grating at some stage and the game wont become a chore to play..."

Its unreal how right you were there..

Chris, September 2019:
0ccb589076fd75d4d9b79ea2b28ac051.gif
 
Chris Davies said:
For me, PES 2017 has the balance just right in many ways - and if you play against the AI, I don't think there's a better (modern) PES. They will occasionally surprise you - but also, they will let you play, without just reading your input and blocking you at every turn.
Click to expand...
This statement perfectly sums up my sentiments about PES 2017. I think this was genuinely the best effort Konami ever made with the AI. This was the closest it came to feeling like you was playing against a human making logical human decisions and not a blitzball playing bot.

The true travesty is how the PC version was this inexcusable PS3 port rather than the PS4 one.
 
PES17 is the only one I've bought in recent years (and even that on sale) and I have to say I did enjoy it on the whole, definitely for me the best version (on PC) since PES 6 (I haven't played 2013 other than the demo). So for me based on one full game and only playing demo's of the others it would be PES 2017. Although as @MafiaMurderBag says the fact it was stitched up with the PS3 version didn't help - in an ironic twist on PES 2008 where the PC had the 'newer' version and it wasn't as good as the PS2 version.
 
mattmid said:
Although as @MafiaMurderBag says the fact it was stitched up with the PS3 version didn't help - in an ironic twist on PES 2008 where the PC had the 'newer' version and it wasn't as good as the PS2 version.
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Oh mate, Can you imagine how different the history of PES modding would be had PES 2008 been the PS2 port?

PES 6's editing community would be about as active as PES 5's and 2008 would be revered as the greatest PES of all time.

Even the PS2 versions (2008 to 2014) Just got that slight bit more refined each revision. The notion there was still a team, A department in Konami somewhere that still knew this engine like the back of their hands, making finely tuned alterations to a classic; Growing older and wiser with the game each year instilling every new found piece of wisdom and understanding of football onto their creation with pride. Like a classic car specialist, preserving and maintaining a piece of history as the world moves on like it's a passion project...

Knowing each year there's fewer of these people that share the same expertise left. Maybe each year a member of that team parted ways to finally move on to newer projects until finally... They were all gone...?
 
Emroth said:
I remember how, before I got the game, you said to me - "its really great, looks great, feels great, its challenging and requires a lot of grinding to score. I just hope this grinding wont turn into grating at some stage and the game wont become a chore to play..."

Its unreal how right you were there..

Chris, September 2019:
View attachment 29151
Click to expand...
He could have said that every freaking year... and every year he would be right! ;)

Anyway. I say the same for 2021!! :LOL:
Win. Win.
 
Good to see 2020 hasn't made it to the final two - its an unfinished product i.e. 6 months left for konami to destroy with patches so let wait and see - maybe next year we can say it was the best.

Between 2013 and 2017 - they probably both win - they offered different things like MyClub and MLO and they're gameplay and accessibility features are completely different.

Back in 2013, PES wasn't on steam and it was the first pes that offered digital download; you could patch to get kits if you put he effort i. With 2017 you had digital download, remote play on PS4 and other stuff improved like different controllers on different systems.

I read Chris' post above and I just booted up 2017 - the on-rails feeling of 2020 isn't helped when you take a FK and the opponent AI can tell where you are directing your pass to so moves its players towards that player. I don't see that in 2017.

So, in actually, there are on 3 PES's I should be playing : 2013 and 2017 and 2020 and it makes me wonder why I play 2018/19 when I want something a bit different from 2020 .

Unfortunately, 2013 career mode did not have comprehensive team/league lists so I think, of the two, 2017 is the one I'm most likely to go back to.
 
Love Pes 13,but it's way to offensive minded.
Realising when playing these old games that pretty much all them were solid in their on way,for me with the exception of 19,shit game!
Even 18 which I hated bit returned to a year ago or so.

Tough choice.
So far I prefer 11 over 10,12 over 13.
15 over 14,17 over 16.
So my top three games would probably be 17-12-13.
But I know that'll change from month to month.
But looking back on the decade ,it wasn't as bad as we thought it was,well maybe not the most recent ones
 
Chris Davies said:
We have a winner...


PES 2013! It was always going to happen, I think.

Gutted 2017 didn't get more love, though. If you combine the votes for 2017 and 2018, you still don't get near 2013's votes.

Thanks for voting!
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And no word on 2020?! ;)

I voted 2017 btw.! Spent some serious time with that game. But 2020 isnt too far off. Guess I’m very good till the first 2021 news drop.
AND, the trend is your friend.
I hope. :D
 
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