Can Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 Challenge FIFA 17

Konami recently released Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 to fairly strong reviews and it’s also the first soccer title this year. It has released prior to EA Sports FIFA 17 — and honestly speaking its quite difficult being a soccer fan to choose between the two. You would want to buy both but which will be more fun?

From what we know so far, with PES 2017 there's more focus on gameplay than presentation. We do know the latter is where FIFA has always excelled but when it comes to the action on the pitch PES 2017 is a clear winner. That said, the FIFA has really improved gameplay wise over the years and with its rather complete package it edges the PES series.

So PES 2017 could do for most soccer purists despite it being arcady. It’s quite challenging as the adaptive AI carefully studies your plays and tries to counter it making it a close battle for goals. Now you can even have tactics like Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing that has made Liverpool one of the more exciting teams to watch in the Barclays Premier League. Liverpool is officially licensed in PES 2017 as well.

FIFA 17 will release on September 27 loaded with new features and even a brand new story mode. There are the usual tweaks to the gameplay such as the Active Intelligence System. The overhauls along with a brand new Frostbite engine make the game quite an experience and we’ve only played just the demo. The game plays differently from FIFA 16 as we could see how AI was a bit more intelligent this time and would catch us if we made any mistakes. We have yet to try The Journey of Alex Hunter in full but he’s shown as a Manchester United player who is about to star in his first game on the bench against Chelsea.

It’s the first game of the season and the story goes on from there. You have the choice when it comes to responding to other teammates — so we know the story can change depending on your response. At the same time, you also can either have a fiery or cool relationship with your teammates.

Jose Mourinho makes an appearance as manager if you play against or for Manchester United and we expect to see him in The Journey as well, along with other top Premier League managers such as Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Chelsea's Antonio Conte.

In all honesty we think FIFA 17 has an edge with a better package but PES 2017 may just satisfy gameplay enthusiasts more. Ask us, we say you try both and make your call. We are lucky that both Konami and EA Sports have made two excellent soccer simulation titles and maybe this year its better to own both.