''Pro Evolution Soccer 2014'' (officially abbreviated as ''PES 2014'', also known in Asia as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2014'' and ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2014 - Aoki Samurai no Chousen'' in Japan only) is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
video game developed and published by
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
,
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
, and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
in 2013. The cover art for the game was the first in the series not to feature a football player since ''
Pro Evolution Soccer 3
''Pro Evolution Soccer 3'' (known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 7'' in Japan and ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 7 International'' in North America) is a List of association football video games, football Sports simulation, simulation video gam ...
'' was released in 2003, although a later version was released with football players on the cover. ''PES 2014'' was the last game to be released on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable in Europe. It was succeeded by ''
Pro Evolution Soccer 2015
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2015'' (abbreviated as ''PES 2015'' and known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2015'' in Japan) is a football simulation game developed by PES Productions and published by Konami for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Pla ...
''.
Gameplay
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2014'' was developed with six key elements meant to define the physics and the features of the game. ''PES 2014'' centers everything on the ball: how it moves, and how players use it. Physics of the ball, stature of the player, speed and height of the pass are taken into account to recreate the most realistic football experience on a home system.
Players are an important part of the game with Motion Animation Stability System (M.A.S.S.), increasing the realism of physical contacts between players, tackles and decisions taken on the pitch by the AI to have more open games. The audience has an influence on the performance of the team. On the pitch, the performance of an individual player, good or bad, will also have an effect on the team, giving them a moral boost if he has a moment of individual brilliance; or forcing his teammates to support him if he is not doing well.
Introduced in ''PES 2013'', the Player ID system recreated faithfully the movements and skills of about 50 star players. In ''PES 2014'', that number is increased and will also apply to complete squads to replicate a team's playing style. With the new Combination Plan, users are able set up a variety of different tactics in key areas of the pitch using three or more players. These players can make very different runs to exploit holes in the defense or midfield, using the flanks, curved runs, or overlapping play to make themselves available.
Once again, the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
,
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
and
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
competitions are fully licensed in the game, and the First Playable
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
without entering Master League, Become a Legend, and/or League. For the first time, the game features an exclusive license for the
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
, the
Argentine Primera División
The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
Th ...
,
Chilean Primera División
The Chilean Primera División (English: First Division) is the top-tier league of the Chilean football league system. It is organized by the ''Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, ANFP''. The league is known as the Campeonato AFP PlanVital ...
, and Arabic commentary as well, by Rhaouf Khelif of
beIN Sports
beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
, also Argentinean commentary, by Mariano Closs and
Fernando Niembro
Fernando Niembro (born 7 December 1947 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine sports journalist and announcer.
Biography
Niembro was born amid a medium-class family in Parque Chacabuco. He is son of Paulino Niembro, a notable trade unionist during th ...
, and Chilean commentary by
Fernando Solabarrieta
Fernando Javier Solabarrieta Chelech (born December 18, 1970 in Puerto Natales, Chile) is a Chilean television journalist, known for his role as anchor man on several sport events for TVN, like "Zoom Deportivo". He is of Basque descent since ...
and
Patricio Yáñez
Patricio Nazario Yáñez Candia (born January 20, 1961) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a forward.
Club career
Yáñez began his career in 1977 with San Luis and won the Copa Apertura Segunda División and Chilean Segunda Divisi ...
of
Fox Sports Latinoamérica
Fox Sports is a group of channels available in Latin American and operated by The Walt Disney Company Latin America, a unit of the Disney International Operations. The network is focused on sports-related programming including live and pre-record ...
.
Jon Champion
Jonathan Martin Champion (born 23 May 1965) is a British sports commentator currently working as the lead association football commentator for ESPN (US). Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC ...
and
Jim Beglin
James Martin Beglin (born 29 July 1963) is an Irish former professional footballer and current co-commentator for RTÉ, CBS Sports, BT Sport, and Premier League Productions.
Playing career
Shamrock Rovers
Beglin played schoolboy football ...
provide as English commentary. Also
Jon Kabira
, born , is a Japanese freelance presenter, tarento, radio personality, narrator who is affiliated with Sony Music Artists. He is very popular in Japan having participated in various TV commercials, TV shows, among other Audio-visual-related acti ...
,
Tsuyoshi Kitazawa
is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. He is currently working on television as a football commentator.
Club career
When Kitazawa was a junior high student, he played for Yomiuri Junior Youth. After being re ...
and
Hiroshi Nanami
is a Japanese former professional football player and manager. He played for Japan national team and currently manager of Matsumoto Yamaga until 2022.
Club career
Nanami was born in Fujieda on November 28, 1972. After graduating from Juntendo ...
provide as Japanese commentary.
New for this year, players can now change teams in the Master League and coach a national side. Players are also able to create 3rd and 4th kits. Some third and fourth kits are official. The PS2 version has the same characteristics of the other versions.
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
also appears as a single-mode. Rain does not feature in ''PES 2014'' due to the engine upgrade, as well as the Stadium Editor and
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
stadiums because of licensing restrictions.
Development and release
''Pro Evolution Soccer 2014'' was officially announced by
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
on March 10, 2013. The game was released on September 19 in Europe, September 20 in United Kingdom, and on November 14 in Japan. The playable demo became available on September 11 for download. The
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
version of the game was released only in Europe, and aside from being the last game released on the system in this region, it is also the final game to be released on the system overall. It is also the last retailed
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
game released in Europe and Mainland Asia.
Downloadable content
In March 2014, a downloadable content pack added the ''World Challenge'' mode to ''PES 2014''. The World Challenge is a tournament similar to the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, with national football teams taking part to compete for the trophy. The World Challenge DLC provided official World Cup kits to licensed teams that would take part in the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
. The mode also allowed some national teams which were unplayable in normal modes to compete, although these teams are also unlicensed, with made-up player names and incorrect strips.
Engine
''PES 2014'' uses the
Fox Engine, a cross-platform game engine built by
Kojima Productions
Kojima Productions Co., Ltd. is a Japanese Video game developer, video game development studio founded in 2015 by video game designer Hideo Kojima, creator of the ''Metal Gear'' series. It is the spiritual successor to a production team inside K ...
, believed to be designed for the next generation of video games. The engine's development began after the completion of ''
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'' and it was revealed by Konami on June 3, 2011. The engine was to make it possible for Kojima Productions to develop multiplatform games with a significantly shortened development time and has been described as the first step for the developer to move away from development for a single platform. The new engine makes use of
Havok "for a comprehensive simulation of each on-field player. Each player’s intricate movements are naturally represented according to the individual player’s mass and physique, and each uniform reacts realistically according to the players’ moves and speed." Unlike versions released on Windows and
seventh generation home consoles, the PlayStation 2 version is not developed with the Fox Engine.
''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2014 - Aoki Samurai no Chousen''
Just like ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2010'' after 4 years. This version includes two new modes: Japan Challenge, where the
Japan national football team
The , nicknamed the , represents Japan in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.
Japan was not a major football force until the e ...
competes to win the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and the licensed
J.League (only in the PS3 and 3DS versions). The game was released on 22 May 2014 in Japan only.
Server shutdown
On August 11, 2015, Konami announced that the game servers for the game would be shut down on the following November 17 due to the company focusing on newer games.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews from most major sources.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the game a score of 8.4 out of 10 praising its high quality graphics, its passing being "crisp and zippy when it’s played on the floor, while lofted balls can be driven or floated to great effect" and its improved ball control for allowing "dribbling to be much tighter than before" while pointing out some frame rate problems and saying that the game is overly physical given that the new Motion Animation Stability System "actually produces an unnecessary amount of tussling" but it also points out that the new system improves some other things.
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
gave the game a 9 out of 10 again praising the high quality graphics given by the new engine stating that "movement and little touches are delivered with a craftsman's eye for detail", giving also some praise to the introduction of the free kick directional indicator that "allows you to target areas of the goal quite precisely" while criticizing the AI "which still sometimes ignores balls that are clearly easy to intercept".
On the other hand,
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
gave the game mixed review, giving it a 6 out of 10 and criticizing the frame issues, the game's single and multiplayer modes, its AI, the commentary and a loss in the direct control and feel of its predecessors, while noting the improved graphics and the ability to "provide a fun game of football".
References
External links
Official website{{Pro Evolution Soccer
2013 video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Nintendo 3DS games
PlayStation 2 games
PlayStation 3 games
PlayStation Portable games
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Sports video games set in Saudi Arabia
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in Argentina
Video games set in Brazil
Video games set in France
Video games set in Germany
Video games set in Italy
Video games set in Japan
Video games set in Portugal
Video games set in Saudi Arabia
Video games set in the United Kingdom
Windows games
Xbox 360 games
La Liga licensed video games
Sports video games with career mode
Video games using Havok