![\"Review:](\"http:\/\/footballfashion.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/pro-evolution-soccer-2018-review-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLicenses and Option Files<\/strong><\/p>\n Konami\u2019s Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 once again comes with three of the biggest soccer competitions in the world – the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and AFC Champions League. Each is well-packaged and rivals anything that is on offer in EA Sports FIFA in terms of presentation.<\/p>\n The French Ligue 1 and 2, Dutch Eredivisie, Campeonato Brasileiro, Argentine Primera and the Chilean Primera are fully licensed and present in PES 2018. The Italian Serie A is also there under the name \u201cItalian League\u201d with every club bearing its correct name except for champions Juventus.<\/p>\n There are also a slew of club level licenses including one for FC Barcelona for the second year in a row. Given Barca\u2019s godlike status in world soccer their presence is ubiquitous in the game from its splash screen to the option to use their Tiki Taka playing style.<\/p>\n Other big name licensed clubs include Arsenal FC, Liverpool FC, Borussia Dortmund, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Corinthians, Inter Milan, Valencia CF and River Plate. In each instance the club\u2019s stadiums and atmospheres, crowd chants, kits and player likenesses are reproduced in PES 2018 in astounding detail! Smaller licensed sides include Fulham FC (not sure why), Universidad de Chile and Alianza Lima.<\/p>\n On the international front the Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 includes 36 European, 18 African, 6 North, Central and Caribbean, 10 South American and 17 Asian \/ Oceanic sides. Most of the European and South American teams have actual player names with a handful of them (e.g. Brazil, England and Germany) bearing official kits and crest via licenses. Player names are hit or miss for teams outside of those two regions with notable exceptions being South Korea, Mexico and USA.<\/p>\n The frustration with the absence big name licenses can be fixed by either making manual changes in the \u201cEdit\u201d mode of PES 2018 or using a community-created option file from one for the Pro Evolution Soccer forums around. We were able to find a good pack that allowed us to use the game\u2019s \u201cImport Team\u201d feature to pull actual team names, crests and kit for the Barclays Premier League, EFL Championship, Spanish La Liga, Spanish Liga Adelante, Portuguese Liga NOS, and Italian Serie B off a flash drive. The number of files that you can import is limited however. We found ourselves limited to being able to only import kits for five leagues before hitting the game\u2019s limit. We didn\u2019t have enough space to import manager and stadium pictures unfortunately.<\/p>\n Menu<\/strong><\/p>\n Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 uses what is essentially the same three tiled mosaic menu system that was introduced with PES 2017. The intelligence aspect of the menu is back in that it shows you the last three modes that you played the game in after startup. This is a nice as it avoids having to navigate to find where you left off.<\/p>\n The menu system once playing in matches in PES 2018 is also near identical to that of last year\u2019s game. It does include actual pictures of players\u2019 faces in the gameplan and lineup screens now however. Setting up your team lineups, playing styles, marking instructions, uniforms and stadium before and within matches is similar to what was on offer in PES 2017. Hitting the menu button in the midst of match play to go to the now familiar screen to make substitutions and tactical adjustments.<\/p>\n Graphics<\/strong><\/p>\n The graphics in Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 haven\u2019t been overhauled following their brilliant upgrade in 2017. Instead they are refined to capture a number of finer elements around stadium lighting, shadows, crowds (who are quite diverse and realistic) and, most importantly player motion. The title\u2019s big name licensed clubs get extra special treatment thanks to the graphics upgrade with their tunnel and home field details shown in incredible detail.<\/p>\n The improvement is player animation is seen in the realistic manners in which they move before, during and after matches. For gamers the in-match movement is, of course, the most important. The tweaks in PES 2018 are seen in via extremely realistic and fluid on and off the ball moves. The extremely lifelike is most evident for the game\u2019s partner clubs such as FC Barcelona and Liverpool where player virtual versions of the likes of Messi and Coutinho move and play in the game similarly to in real life.<\/p>\n Once again Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 outshines FIFA in replays and goal and championship celebrations with a series of up-close animations that include realistic facial expressions and even the option of taking a goalscorer\u2019s shirt off to reveal tattoos. The blur effect around players on replays that popped up in PES 2017 is now gone however. We\u2019re ambivalent on Konami\u2019s decision to remove it.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n