Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 is the new entry in the long-standing franchise owned by Konami. It marks the 20th anniversary of the said franchise and tries to be as good as it gets when we're talking about football simulators.
Powered by the Fox Engine of Metal gear Solid fame, it provides clear and pleasant enough visuals with animation ranging from great to passable. It attempts to create an authentic and captivating feel of a football game, and manages to pull it off most of the time. This incarnation of PES has over a dozen authentically recreated stadiums where the games are held, including Allianz Arena, Arena Corinthians, Beira-Rio, Juventus Stadium, Maracanã, Mineirão, Morumbi, Old Trafford, San Siro, Vila Belmiro, St. Jakob-Park as well as a variety of generic stadiums created for the game. The AI of both yours and the opposite team has been significantly improved in comparison to previous games of the series and can even be said to be better than any football game AI to date. This gives us a more challenging and less frustrating experience, aided, as previously mentioned, by mostly well-executed sequences of animations, where the little flaws can easily be overlooked. The game takes full advantage of its graphics and dynamic weather effects by allowing for some very beautiful camera angles and scenic shots.
The gameplay elements remain mostly unchanged. Some tweaks and changes are applied to in-game ranking, especially the Master League. overall, the game feels like the pinnacle of the franchise, which has had its bad and good entries. It offers everything a football simulator can offer, and there's not much else to ask.
