Goalkeepers improved a lot last year, but their effectiveness has taken a step backward this season.
Again, the better the player, the more impact these kinds of dribbling options have, but the real skill rests in how creative you are in stringing together the available moves. Players visibly shift their weight to change direction more suddenly and tempt defenders into making a wrong move, while a range of feints and delicate touches help make space for a shot in crowded penalty areas. This greater ability to bring the ball under control feeds into improvements to how players move both their body and the ball when dribbling, especially at lower speeds. It might not sound like much on paper, but the effect in the heat of the game is genuinely exciting to see. Playing as Real Madrid - dubbed ‘MD White’ this year, thanks to the ongoing licensing war with FIFA - I was trying to intercept a pass using Casemiro (ball control 78) when he nudged the ball with his heel to knock it away from an onrushing Antoine Griezmann. Naturally, players with the highest ‘ball control’ rating – Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Neymar Jr – benefit most, but its influence is apparent throughout the game at every level. It also ups the spectacle, and passing combinations such knocks and flicks, with body parts other than a foot, are flattering for even a beginner. If you liked PES 2017 you're going to find plenty to adore here.This diversity of interaction adds a palpable sense of visual drama to matches and goes a long way to making things look closer to what you’d expect to see on TV.
Players use thighs, shoulders, stomach, chest and the entire foot – front, side and back – to control the ball, and the result is imperfect passes have a better chance of finding their target, as players have more ways to interact with passes coming towards them.
With Real Touch+, the core concept remains but now the whole body is brought into play. Real Touch+ is an elaboration of PES 2017’s Real Touch feature, which improved a player’s first touch and provided them better awareness in positioning themselves to shield the balls from opponents and bringing it under control. As such, there’s a certain familiarity to the bulk of the headline features. In a way not overly dissimilar to a fighting game sequel, PES 2018 feels like an exercise in not wanting to undermine or distort the sublime balance the previous incarnation managed to achieve.
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