FIFA 18 v PES 2018 - Which is the best football game for you?
We go again, as the football fan would have it. Gaming’s biggest derby is about to kick off, with EA Sports’ juggernaut FIFA 18 joining Konami’s excellent Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 on consoles this week.
It is a rivalry that stretches back years, with both enjoying periods of critical supremacy. But with ever deeper football games demanding both your time and money, for most players there can only be one champion. But which one comes out on top this year? It’s a score draw in the review stakes, with both games performing well in their usual areas: PES 2018 for its rich tactics and unpredictability, FIFA 18 for its fizzy action and glorious presentation.
But as is tradition, it’s now time for a head-to-head, a penalty shootout for each game to persuade certain kinds of players. We’ll tot the score up at the end, but ultimately which games suits you best will come down to the type of player you are. Let’s go.
The purists
Fancy yourself as a bit of an expert do you? Could have made it if you had more luck in that trial, eh? The type of football fan that, if not supporting their local team, will at least visit nearby Vanarama teams on international breaks because it’s more ‘real’. Much respect to you friend. For you, gameplay will be king, paying no mind to the peripheries as long as the action on the pitch is the best it can be.
It is extremely close this year, with FIFA 18 making real strides in its core action. It is more responsive, fizzy and physical. Crossing is much better judged and dribbling is more precise. It’s the most purely pleasurable FIFA to play in years.
However, PES 2018 still nicks it with its performance on the pitch. It remains the most authentic and varied representation of the beautiful game. Matches take on narratives of their own, ebbing and flowing as players mix up their approaches and adapt to the unfolding drama. A new system in which players can control the ball with any part of their body makes a real difference, while the intelligent AI has players making smart runs and reacting to the opposition. It doesn’t make the same kind of strides as previous games have, but PES 2018 is more chaotic and free-flowing, capturing football’s more idiosyncratic charms, like a ruddy good goalmouth scramble. Lovely.
FIFA 18 0-1PES 2018
The full-kit fanatic
So you love all aspects of football. The game itself, yes of course, but everything else that surrounds it too. You buy your team’s strip every year, sit down in front of Sky Sports every Sunday, pore over transfer stories, go to matches as much to soak in the atmosphere as to watch a ball being kicked around.
FIFA 18 is the game for you, then. It is gorgeous to look at, EA Sports putting the Frostbite engine to work in its sophomore year, and has all the kits and caboodles you could ever want. Every Premier League ground? Forest Green Rovers recreated down to the smallest digital thread? Yes indeed. Martin Tyler and Alan Smith’s commentary is sharp and flowing. It has all the branding for a vast number of leagues over the world. And the atmosphere is electric, roaring crowds singing recognisable songs as the game unfolds. In terms of recreating the ‘match day experience’, warts and all, FIFA 18 has no peer.
PES 2018, meanwhile, still struggles desperately off the pitch. It looks great in motion, and some of its player likenesses are second to none. But the hodge-podge licensing remains a thorny and unavoidable issue and, in a way, the more individual teams Konami sign up, the stranger it can seem. Having Barcelona and exclusivity to the Nou Camp is all well and good, but when El Clasico is against ‘MD White’ it kind of loses its sheen. Konami make it easy to load in unofficial updates so you can get the latest kits, but there’s no way of addressing the ugly menus or bewilderingly rubbish commentary.
FIFA 18 1-1 PES 2018
The tinkerers
You are a student of the game, a tactical genius, some might say, as happy to delve into game plans and strategy as you are to take control of the players on the pitch. Sir Alex Ferguson is your hero, rather than Ryan Giggs. In truth, the winner of this bout will almost certainly be option number three: Football Manager 2018. But that isn’t out yet and you want to play a bit too rather than bellow from the sidelines.
PES 2018 is the winner here, with a far richer, more diverse and more effective set of tactical options. How you set your team up can be crucial to your success and if you switch tactics mid-match, you will see a tangible difference. Player abilities are well-defined and whatever ability they may have, there is a system that makes the most of their strengths.
High energy teams can swarm the opposition with the gegenpress, you can have a more skilful striker drop deeper in a false 9 position, or use a powerful spearhead for a more direct approach. When you are playing solo, even the AI will smartly adapt to the game and challenge you to counter. Teams feel like individual entities, defined as much by their shape and approach as the players within.
FIFA 18, meanwhile, has made steps to make its players feel more individual. And to an extent, it works, with more famous footballers looking and feeling like their real life counterparts. But where it doesn’t have quite the same effect as PES is making teams and game plans feel impactful. Switching to All-Out-Attack will have centre-backs making a nuisance of themselves up front, but the more subtle options are less extensive and defined. The broad strokes are there, mix it up in League Two and everything is more frantic and direct, but it can’t match PES’s tactical subtleties.
FIFA 18 1-2 PES 2018
The solo player
Football games are often judged on fierce competition. How two human players stack up against each other. But for many players, just as important is losing themselves in a solo career. Be it taking a team from League Two to European glory, further bolstering top teams or guiding a single player through his nascent career. Both games offer plenty to get your teeth into.
FIFA 18 edges this one with more options and comprehensive offerings. Career mode is in a decent place, with its extensive scouting options, new interactive transfer negotiations and player interaction. Be A Pro, where you take control of a single player, is better implemented than PES’s somewhat clumsy Become A Legend. And of course, FIFA 18 has the wild card of The Journey 2. The follow-up to last year’s story mode doesn’t have the same earnest wish fulfilment, but is generously lengthy, varied and strikes a better balance between playing matches and advancing the narrative.
PES 2018 still has Master League, which will go a long way for fans of the series. Taking a team of no-hopers to the summit of world football has an ineffable charm that helps to negate much of PES’ licensing issues. Scouting players is good, while encouraging you to play talented youngsters by boosting their form after a run in the team is a lovely touch. It hasn’t changed a great deal from last year, however, aside from a challenge mode that makes it more difficult to sign players. And with its clunky menus has a slight air of mustiness. Still great fun, but could do with a more comprehensive update.
FIFA 18 2-2 PES 2018
The online competitor
Some players, meanwhile, want the thrill of constant competition. Pitting themselves against other players all over the world in an attempt to better themselves and move up the rankings.
This one is desperately close. There is a temptation to give it to PES 2018, with its superior to and fro on the pitch and new three-v-three match-ups. However, niggles continue to bring it down. It can be prone to lag and lengthy waits for matches, while the options for play are comparatively threadbare. In ranked games, you still can’t match teams by skill level, so you are prone to endless encounters with Barcelona whatever team you pick. Granting you extra points for using weaker teams is a nice idea, but not much use when you are getting kicked around by Messi and co.
FIFA 18, by comparison, is far more fully-formed. Matches are quick to connect and rarely laggy (though its players can be more salty, rage-quitting when it’s not going their way). Skill matching teams offers more variety, while the simple ability to set up your favoured formation before connecting makes life much easier than PES’s timed scramble to get the right players in. Add in cup competitions and a division system that is easier to follow and you have a much smoother online experience.
FIFA 18 3-2 PES 2018
The post-pub player
Ah, for you it’s all about the frantic action, jostling for position on the sofa, getting one-up on your pals orm for the over-18s among you, maybe indulging in some football based drinking games. Two fingers of beer for a yellow card keeping the more overzealous tacklers on their feet.
This is another close one, both games upping the number of goals and action to make sure couch-based competition is frantic and lively. But without the burden of online servers and structure, this match-up is largely down to which game plays the best. Which is PES 2018.
But there is actually a little bit more to that. The way PES matches unfold are better suited to same-screen battling, with a larger variety in goals and a delicious line in goalmouth scrambles to leave groups yelling at the screen in both delight and despair. And you also have the fantastic re-introduction of the ‘Random Select Match’, which allows players to choose from a random pool of players and trade between matches. Another layer of healthy competition and variety for the ideal post-pub fracas.
FIFA 18 is no slouch in this department, of course, the core gameplay is good and the chance to set up mini-leagues adds some drama from match-to-match. For sheer manic hilarity, though, PES 2018 is on top.
FIFA 18 3-3 PES 2018
The card-trading wheeler dealer
One of the most integral parts of football games these days is the lucrative and addictive card-trading section. For many players, it is the most important, building teams, making coins and dipping into the market to keep them going for months.
While PES 2018 makes a gainful effort with its MyClub offering, adding co-op and improving functionality, it simply cannot hold a torch to FIFA 18’s mammoth Ultimate Team. The mode that started it all is a cash cow for EA, which does lead to some players questioning its worthiness, but there’s no doubt that the Ultimate Team’s upgrades are full, fun and compelling enough to make for a year long project. Squad-building challenges, new ‘icon’ players from yesteryear and a glut of cards and distraction to keep you going. If this style of play is your thing, there is only one choice.
FIFA 18 4-3 PES 2018
Full-time
There we have it. On balance, FIFA 18 nicks it at the last with a more featured and comprehensive offering. If you are the type of player that likes to sample all of what sports games has to offer, then EA’s behemoth may have more bang for your buck. But as we said at the outset, much will depend on you preferred mode of play and PES 2018’s superb gameplay may override other concerns. Either way, we again have two terrific football games to choose from and if one keeps driving the other, we should have similarly fierce competition for the foreseeable future.
The best football video games of all time
Where to buy FIFA 18
Tesco
Amazon
