It's easy to feel short-changed when you select a team who possesses a bulky frontman or nippy winger yet they don't feel authentic as you feed their ball into them. If you have got Diego Costa playing up front then you should feel like you have 12 stone of pure muscle that is impossible to barge off the ball rather than just another generic graphic who can shoot, pass or cross. Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 has delivered this. You will recognise the unique traits and movements of Costa, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Carlos Tevez, David Luiz and Arjen Robben among others who are all given '1v1 Control' movements. It's not just the players, the fantastic artificial intelligence means that teams play differently to one another so you need to be tactically aware if you go a goal down to Chelsea as - in true Jose Mourinho fashion - they will become extremely defensive. These improvements add to the realism and turns PES16 into a truly immersive experience that FIFA 16 still hasn't managed to achieve.
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
