Comparisons : Has there been much change visually?
After reading through various forums to gather some feedback regarding yesterday's new screenshots, there were a few dissenting voices claiming the game looked exactly the same. Well, I guess footballers will look the same in some regards, but when you compare the screenshots released by Konami for PES 09 and PES 10 side by side, there is quite a difference between them.
When the initial Lionel Messi screenshot was released last month, no one could argue that it was very impressive. This latest batch of shots, the Messi ones again in particular look just as impressive. Let's have a look at those first. On the left is one of the screenshots released yesterday, and on the right is a screen released when the Champions League announcement was made last year.
The most noticeable difference for me is the change in colour palette. One of the art directors has commented on the Konami Blog their experimentation with different filters and palettes, and the effects can be seen here. While I think the final game won't look exactly like the image on the left, the way it's shaping up it will be a big improvement over the visuals in PES 09. Moving on from the filter, you can see big changes in the skin textures and the shirt. The skin seems to have more 'imperfections' leading to a more realistic appearance and moving away from the waxy model look. The shirt, as was picked up on before, looks more life like as if the player is actually wearing the kit as opposed to being stuck on.
It's not just the Barcelona kit and Lionel Messi that has had a makeover. Comparing pictures of the Liverpool kit to last year also shows marked improvement and changes.
The screenshot on the left is from the announcement of Liverpool FC being officially licensed. You can see a big difference straight away. The PES 10 shirt displays the new creasing system and shows how the shirt logos move with the shirt naturally and how they are affected by the lighting effects. The quality of the club badges has already been addressed by Konami, saying that they are usually one of the last items to be finalised so no need to worry about that. The collar as well looks sharper and less pixelated. It's a big improvement for me anyway. The captain's armband Gerrard is wearing in another picture still seems to be the same in 2010, it's only a minor point but positionally it doesn't look right.
The improved likeness of Torres has been picked up on by several people, but Konami really have recreated his freckled face rather well! Comparing the screenshot of him running through the Barcelona defence with an actual photo you can see the resemblance. Hopefully Konami look at this and notice the shorts. For me the worst bit of the screenshots was the reappearance of the basketball shorts.
People have also mentioned that the shots released every year seem to be the same situations, but with different players involved. Having a look back to last year and it seems a couple of the screens do look familiar, even a couple of players appear in a similar pose.
And my personal favourite
Some might think it's lazy, but it gives a good opportunity for those that want to, to compare two similar looking screenshots to gauge just how things have improved visually in the space of less than a year. It's the same graphics engine that has been used in previous years, but for me the time the PES Team has spent tweaking the engine over the past few months has been time well spent. The action screenshots of the games between Liverpool and Barcelona were produced on the 18th May and the Messi pictures were produced a day later, so both the screenshots and the trailer were finalised well before the start of this month and before the now publicised motion capture session held in Barcelona last week.
The Messi pictures were more renders than screenshots, but the Torres screenshot in particular should be seen as a true representation of what PES 2010 will look like.
