FIFA 18 or PES 2018: Which one should you get?

In the world of gaming, competition is immense. For every single game these days, a variety of substitutes are available for the gamer to choose from. While this promotes healthy competition, it can also be argued that it confuses the casual gamer who has to think about a million different things before deciding what game he wishes to spend his hard earned money on.

FIFA is the main governing body for football all over the world and there’s no doubt that the company’s stronghold over the sport will not diminish any time soon. It organises pretty much all the elite football competitions ranging from the World Cup to domestic competitions all over the globe.

Hence it should come as no surprise that FIFA also decided to launch its own video game way back in the year 1993. The game was clearly a success and since then FIFA has had a strong partnership with EA Sports to produce game after game, year after year for fans to really dig their teeth into.

Seeing the success of EA Sports’ FIFA, the gaming company Konami decided to team up with their friends in America to recreate the magic of ‘soccer’ by releasing Goal Storm in 1995. This game would later come to be known as Pro Evolution Soccer or quite simply, PES. The game has since become a nemesis to FIFA.

Incorporating the Frostbite engine on FIFA 17 was a great move and worked wonders as it increased the game’s performance and made it more enjoyable. PES, meanwhile, worked hard on its graphics and the proof was certainly in the pudding with players looking more realistic than ever and in-game graphics and gameplay top notch as usual.

PES 2018 promises more of the same as the addition of realistic stadiums and movement control is the priority for Konami. They plan to use the motion capture feature to add to the realistic environment feel.

However, the game’s User Interface does lack the punch required to counter FIFA’s impressive simulation and very soon the early hype surrounding the game may vanish. Questions most definitely also arise over the ability of PES to acquire the licenses for all the major clubs and leagues in the world, an area where they haven’t succeeded yet and most likely won’t this time around as well. This could act as a deal breaker for the game’s worldwide reach.

Alex Hunter will feature yet again in FIFA 18

FIFA was also famous for launching the career of Alex Hunter in the game’s widely successful ‘The Journey’ story mode which amassed a whopping 14 million worldwide plays. PES still hasn’t come out with a story mode of its own and with season 2 of ‘The Journey’ set to return in FIFA 18, PES 2018 may fail to live up to the lofty standards set by its counterpart.

PES does, however, have a very compelling ‘Master League’ mode and PES 2018 will allow you to be a manager and even allow dressing room views and off-field interviews. Pre-season tournaments are another thing to look out for along with an improved transfer system.

FIFA’s online modes are not the best in the world but have improved greatly over the past few years with smoother servers and fewer delays. PES, on the other hand, lacks in this department too as the game has often succumbed to lag and regular crashes.

FIFA 18 is bound to have a superior online experience when compared to its previous editions so PES would definitely have to pull its socks up if it is to challenge FIFA in this regard. PES 2018 will include the new and improved co-op online mode with 2v2 and 3v3 matches the star attractions. This should give FIFA 18 quite a fight in the online department.

PES is probably the better option in terms of gameplay and graphics but with FIFA really turning up the heat with the introduction of the Frostbite engine, it remains to be seen whether the American-Japanese partnership of PES 2018 can match the fluidity and finesse that is FIFA 18.