PES 2018 Demo: 7 Things We Learned

4. Slide Tackles Remain A Major Issue

If you can master the art of a successful slide tackle in PES without getting booked, then you're only a hop, skip or jump away from cracking the Da Vinci Code. Seriously, it's dreadfully difficult to time a slide just right, and even pressing the tackle button usually results in a foul. Be prepared for a lot of angry mutterings as yet another of your players sees yellow.

Maybe some people like this chaotic approach to tackling, but it makes one hesitant to even attempt a slide tackle at all. That removes a core element of football from the game, especially when you're defending. If Konami are so determined to crack down on the timing of challenges, then they should also tweak the strictness of referees to compensate.

Right now, it's still annoying to constantly hear the ref's whistle just because you followed through once winning the ball. Most of the time, these 'fouls' don't even look like it; there were at least 3 occasions per match where we won the ball cleanly, only to give away a free kick because the CPU player fell over.