While going through the sections of Top Grossing games across various categories on Google Play Store, I found that PES 2021 Mobile was at the No.1 position in sports category. I, as a bored person, thought of giving this game a try. Of what I found, I was amazed. Now, without keeping any further due, let’s start. The blog will be divided into following sub-sections for easier indexing :-
- Introduction- Everything for a Football Lover
- Company Behind
- Aesthetics Matter
- Graphics and Models
- Gameplay
- The Catch
- My Experience and Opinions
Introduction- Everything for a Football Lover
The game has everything you would need as a football lover. The game has most footballers with genuine face designs. The football players have their own specialized skills. The game has many managers, and some of them are recognized managers. The game has all sorts of teams from different leagues across the world. It also has genuine kits for the team selected. There are timely events with atrocious prizes. And from time to time, they also provide free boosted, rare players for free in time-limited events. The game is also appreciated for the music collection they have. Overall, an enjoyable experience for the newcomers who play it for the first time.
Company Behind
Konami Holdings Corporation is a Japanese entertainment, video game, and gambling conglomerate. It produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu (Japanese term for Live-Action Films), slot machines, pachinko (A recreational arcade or gambling game) machines, and arcade cabinets and is a video game developer and publisher. Konami has casinos around the world and operates health and physical fitness clubs across Japan. (Wiki)
Aesthetics Matter
I have been an all-around fan of clean aesthetics, and this game delivers it with utmost quality. Upon starting the game, the players are welcomed with high-classed pictures of players with designs along with the corners, which is a combined form looks very cool. Now, entering into the game, you would notice that the UI colors are just basic white and ocean blue. This provides a very nice look to the overall appearance of the game. The game has 4 sections for navigation. Each section contains 4 sub-sections. This provides an intuitive experience for the newcomers to navigate through the settings or to play the game. The simplicity of this game is its main aesthetic.
10/10
Graphics and Models
The game has some of the most beautiful graphics seen on a mobile platform. It has options for both low-end and high-end devices. The option for changing the game’s graphics can be found on the launching menu screen, highlighted by three lines in a circle. The low and 30 fps graphic option works fine for low-end devices. It also looks good and has one of the best low settings. The 30 fps motion looks fluid with no stutters or lag spikes. (This was confirmed by playing on a low-end phone with 2 GB RAM and SD 429). However, the celebrations did suffer some huge lag spikes.
The Standard graphic option is the best, in my opinion, as it is not very graphic intensive but still gives some good results. This mode removes any unnecessary artifact or graphic element that has no use. This mode is best for enjoying the game as well as not facing the dips in fps. The 30 fps option works great with this option if it is a mid-end device from 2018. But as soon as you push it to 60 fps, it suffers a lot of lag and huge lag spikes, which is just because of the incapability of the phone to render those high frames. High frames could be achieved by setting it to low.
The High graphic option with 60 fps is the best if you have a high-end smartphone device. This mode feels super smooth and appealing at the same time. High-quality models, kits, pitch, and a little bit of detailed crowd give the best experience possible.
Now, talking about the models: the models are superbly made. They are highly detailed, correspond to the stats provided. The player play style corresponds to that found in real life. Most of the players have genuine 100% similar faces in the game. Although the game does not propose any type of facial expression while celebrating the goal, the signature animations of the player are shown correctly. The kits of the respective team are shown correctly, going from sponsors of the team to the numbers of the players.
8.5/10
Gameplay
Now, let’s talk about this game. The game itself is excellent and is fun to play. There are different modes for playing this game. The first mode is the online mode. The in-game name is “eFootBall.” Here you compete against other players in a 1v1 faceoff. There is one standard mode in which players compete to increase their “Ratings” and hope to be at the top. Next, we have the Events mode in football. This allows players to compete and get some of the best rewards out there. You could potentially either get a Legend Player (Player with special attributes), an Iconic Moment Player (Player with boosted stats), or a Featured Player after completing the challenges in a specific duration of time. Sometimes, they provide you with a black ball (highest tier, non-boosted, player card) or a bunch of gold balls or silver balls. Even if you cannot complete the challenges, you are gifted with trainers that train the player cards. There is one more mode known as Matchdays. In this, two official teams compete against each other. Players pick aside to help win their supported team. Upon winning, you are granted with eFootball points and some other good prizes. eFootball points help you buy featured players or iconic players, or if you do not have those high amount points, you can buy stats booster or position boosters.
This was all about the online mode. Now, we look into the Events mode (outside of eFootball mode). In this, you compete against computer-based opponents. You will get a gold ball at the end of each challenge. This mode helps you in better understanding of the game as well as use different tactics as the player feel’s like.
Next is the campaign mode. Here, you compete against computer-based bots while you get exciting prizes after completing some hard levels. Last but not least, Friend Match. This mode lets you compete against your friends. This mode is a lot of fun considering you will be playing with your friends.
You can also practice the tactics as well as skills of special players obtained. They are cool and fun to learn.
But something that is not cool is the servers of Konami. I say this because a player faces constant reconnections while playing online, and it doesn’t matter if you are having a poor connection or a fast-blazing internet connection. The players will delay the pass, delay the kick, and even sometimes respond properly. This problem is non-existent in computer-based opponents but is a real hurdle when grinding for some really high prices. I want Konami to fix this issue for smooth, seamless gameplay.
7.5/10
The Catch
Now, most of you would be waiting for the “catch.” The catch is- Scripting. This is a serious problem. Many Football players would know that FIFA mobile uses this kind of tactics to create a “Fair gaming environment,” where the players cannot score a goal even if they have the best formations and players. The same thing is now being seen in PES. To create a fair gaming environment, the game nerfs your players and makes you look inferior against the low-rated or team-strength player. During the scripting period, your players would hardly be able to score a goal. The defender line is easily broken, even if having the best of the defenders. Your goalkeeper isn’t able to stop even easy oncoming goals.
This problem is so vast that it may eventually lead to the downfall of the game. If Konami wants to make the game fair and square, it needs to remove its scripting.
My Experience and Opinions
As I started to play this game in the mid-2020, I got to know many things about Football. I slowly began to show interest in Football games. After trying all of the football games available, PES 2021 seems the best. For anyone who is in a dilemma about whether to try or not, I would definitely recommend you to try this out.
Just fixing those problems would make all the PES players happy.
With this I end it here. Write me your opinions on what you think about this game. Till then, See Ya Later !
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami