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PES 2017 is the full console experience expertly shrunk onto iOS and Android - here's how it compares to FIFA 2017

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PES 2017 is the full console experience expertly shrunk onto iOS and Android - here's how it compares to FIFA 2017
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| FIFA Mobile

FIFA Mobile released just a couple of weeks ago to a… mixed reaction. Some weren't huge fans of it, saying it was weird to only play half of each match - you only play the attacking segments, with cutscenes between them.

You also only play 45 minutes of each match, before waiting for your opponent to perform their bit - which could be minutes, hours, days, or weeks later.

You can have multiple asynchronous matches on the go, you see, so you're not sat there drumming your fingers for a month.

PES, on the other hand, presents a more traditional match of footy. Somehow, Konami has squeezed what seems to be the intact console engine into an iPhone, complete with the fluid feel of the full version and most of its animation repertoire.

We've also seen PES take the fight to FIFA head on in recent years - popular opinion among many has swing towards PES's favour, even if that isn't reflected in the sales figures.

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EA's footballing giant experienced its best launch week ever this year, though that was in part due to some attractive bundle options on both Xbox One and PS4.

But which is the better mobile game? FIFA's Ultimate Team lite, semi football match? Or PES's more traditional beautiful game?

Let's find out! In the article. This article. The one you're reading now. Cool.

Licences

On consoles, FIFA has this one nailed.

You've got pretty much every team and player you could think of - alright, maybe not big Jeff from the Three Lions's sunday league team, but everybody else is in there.

PES, meanwhile, has very few licences (unless you pull a sneaky and import them, that is).

On mobile, FIFA may still have all the badges and kits, but it forces you to play with nobodies to begin with in Ultimate Team.

So although it teased me at the start, by allowing me to pick my favourite team and getting my hopes up when my beloved Bristol City were indeed in there, it soon crushed my dreams by revealing I had to play with made up, rubbish noobs like Jenkins and Billingham. Whoever they are.

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PES, unfortunately, pulls a similar trick, only this time even without the proper licences. I can pick South West Red, not Bristol City proper, and even then I don't get the real players.

Apart from a misleading tutorial match between Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, that is.

On the pitch

In contrast to licences, this is where console PES shines. It beats FIFA's slow, clunky play all ends up, with supreme fluidity, beautiful tiki taka football, and some amazing goals to be scored.

And so it is on mobile. PES makes the jump to mobile seamlessly, barely missing a beat from the console version.

It still feels amazing, with a great control scheme that, while it takes a little bit of time to get used to, can facilitate some gorgeous, silky attacking moves.

FIFA, on the other hand, mirrors its console counterpart by feeling clunky in comparison.

The exclusion of normal, 90 minute matches also feels baffling, with the replacement, Attack Mode, not fit for purpose.

This is definitely the killer point: while FIFA is… okay? PES is genuinely enjoyable. It's FA Cup final material, where FIFA is crashing out in the first round.

Oscar Dayus
Oscar Dayus
Oscar grew up playing games in the 90s, and as such can't help but jump on any sort of moving platform. He hasn't yet perfected the art of double-jumping in real life, though, so has now turned to writing instead.