Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2009 News on Sat 27 Dec 2008
Hello all, us at Pesgaming.com hope you had a very good Christmas and have a great New Year! Here’s a quick little video for you to watch whilst waiting / recovering from your New Years celebrations!
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMu_QyIXv4
- The merry Pesgaming team
Posted by Dan Bolas in PES 2009 News on Mon 22 Dec 2008
Slightly later than planned, but this final post of 2008 is designed to wish all our regular visitors and readers a very Merry Christmas and a safe and enjoyable 2009! All columnists are currently taking a two week break, meaning that we will return in the first full week of 2009, starting with IWP on Tuesday 6th January and PES OFF on Thursday 8th January.
To end the year, bloggers were asked the following few questions, and here are their responses to them. Feel free to add your own responses to the same questions in the comments section below. The questions are
Francis N – Author Of In The Red
Final Comments: It’s been a pleasure blogging for Pesgaming the last few months and I look forward to the New Year.
Dougiedonut – Author Of PES OFF
Final Comments: Its been brilliant joining the PESgaming.com team, and being able to put my thoughts out there for all to see and react to. I think us guys at PESgaming.com along with all the site regulars out there will make a difference to PES games from now on. I’m keeping faith that Konami will listen to what we have to say – PES for life!
Dan Bolas – Author Of Interfering With Play
Final Comments: I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved with this site over the last 12 months in a positive manor. Stats say we are the most popular PES related website, and thats down to you guys. A massive thank you goes out to all those who took part in the IWP League 2008, the competition wouldn’t have worked without you. I wish you all a Happy Christmas and look forward to providing talking points for you all in the New Year.
For the final time of 2008, Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Thu 18 Dec 2008
In a change to normal talking about PES, I’d like to hear from the people who have made the
decision to ditch PES and take up FIFA.
So if you are one of the many people that have switched over, i’d like to know how it’s going.
Has moving over to FIFA been the best thing to happen to you in terms of footy games, or
has the transition to the FIFA way of playing been a bit rocky?
I’d imagine the online side of the game will be keeping people pretty happy, since that is a major factor in purchasing games these days. I have a few friends who I once would have classified as die hard PES people that have crossed over. Like me, they used to laugh at the efforts of FIFA during the golden era of solid PES games.
Their feedback is pretty glowing of the game, and all have been trying to convince me that conceding defeat to FIFA is no shame. That it is not akin to crossing over to the dark side. That it’s not a process similar to switching affiliations to a fierce rival football team, but purely a process of accepting that this year FIFA is the better game.
I’ve even promised to play the game when one of them either brings the game into work, or I get an invite round to their place to try it out. But I am adamant I will not purchase the game. I am very stubborn when I want to be, and am fiercely loyal to PES given it’s past glory. PES has been an ever present in my adult life, and has been a source of immense pleasure. To just cast it aside and embrace FIFA just feels very wrong down to my very core! I know my friends laugh at my PES fanaticism, and call me a saddo (i’m sure more than few of you guys probably agree too!).
FIFA’s superficial updates in the past which concentrated on glossy looks over gameplay, coupled with a marketing budget that was on a par with american presidential campaigns, meant they thrived. But to be fair, they’re very very close to nailing the footy market. They’ve raised the bar on the football game package, and are very close in gameplay terms too. I am not totally convinced that they are the premier footy game, but I must say I do fear next year’s version. If PES fails to deliver, then they will be wearing the footy title crown.
Enough of my ranting, back over to the FIFA converts – as much as you’d like to rub our faces in it, please do try not to gloat too much about how FIFA really is the better game – the wounds are still open…
I’ll be wearing the clan tag of “P4L” in 360 online games next to my tag – P4L meaning PES for Life – I’d like to invite all other fellow PES die hards to follow suit. I would appreciate some solidarity in what is a difficult period whilst we experience the current difficult period surrounding the world of PES.
Thanks for reading.
Dougiedonut
dougiedonut@pesgaming.com
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 16 Dec 2008
IWP League Champion 2008: Martin Ginnelly (River Plate)
Welcome to what is the final Interfering With Play of 2008. This column has been coming to you every single Tuesday throughout the year, with events such as holidays not being enough to stop its arrival. Therefore, along with the rest of the PESGaming.com columnists and bloggers, it is about time we had a well-earned rest, and the festive period is as good a time as any for this. Expect to see Double D’s column arrive this week, followed by a joint column posted on Friday 19th December 2008. With that said, lets move onto this week’s Interfering With Play.
“Oh Well I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday”
It is no huge shock that this time of year sees the majority of gamers spend the most time with their consoles and games. Not only do you have the lure of games in the form of presents, but for a great deal of people, gaming is a good distraction away from the constant family events and even a time killer for those who have days which would otherwise be filled with school, college, university or work. Therefore, along with whatever new titles you will acquire over the festive period, chances are a Master League or Champions League competition may also creep into your playing schedule, which can prove to be exceptionally addictive.
I know I am not alone in the use of ‘hidden gems’ within the Master League, as many of you out there send me lists of players you have purchased over the years that turned out to be superstars for your in game team. It could be you purchased a young centre back that turned out becoming a rock for your team, or perhaps a defensive midfielder who ended up the driving force for you success upon the game. With a lot of people taking this time to start up their ‘fictional’ seasons, my first point tonight is opening the floor to the PESGaming.com community, with any huge recommendations for those gamers out there looking for a bargain. I personally start every single Master League using the made up players, and buy myself a young, successful side from a collection of players who perform well against me coupled with a few regular superstars. My early tip for this season’s game is Manchester United’s Anderson, who is a defensive midfield player more than capable of mixing it up and scoring a few crucial goals when required. Whilst not a complete bargain, he will develop into a superstar and will be worth a fair amount more a few seasons down the line.
And with that, I leave it up to the PESGaming.com public. There might be a player who continually does the damage against you in the Champions League, or perhaps someone you have already purchased within your own Master League. This is not the place to rave about how great Messi or Kaka is, but instead to recommend your gems to other gamers out there. I will take a look back over the New Year upon some of the recommendations, as well as post a couple of those who my mates and I have found to be real deals.
“O Come All Ye Faithful”
The application period for those wishing to take part in the IWP Online League has no closed. Over the next 4 weeks, everyone who applied will receive an e-mail outlining the rules for the competition, as well as what the next steps are. As with last year, I take no part in the playing side of the league, and simply run it from an admin point of view. Therefore, it does not bother me which console the league takes place on, although a quick look through application forms see the majority of those wishing to take part are PS3 gamers. I intend to run a 360 competition as well, but this may come in the form of a knock out competition as opposed to a league, for the first season. Again, more information will be available on this via e-mail.
Finally, to those of you wishing to take part, but are yet to own a next generation console, there will be a final opportunity for you to do so mid January, when the application window opens again for just 7 days. I am fully aware some people will be picking up their PS3’s or 360’s over the Christmas period, and feel it would be wrong to exclude them because of this. More information about the league application process will be posted in this column next year. I would finally like to say a quick thank you to everyone applying. Numbers have totally eclipsed last year’s figures, and even if we only get a third of those who applied actually involved with the competition, it should prove to be an exciting and interesting league.
“Let Them Know Its Christmas Time”
It is going to be impossible to put the ‘online’ issues of Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 to bed. For every one good online match you have, there will be five or six that are simply unplayable. Whilst the majority of gamers are happy with the offline experience, there is no denying that, once again, Konami has dropped a huge clanger when it comes to the online environment. For weeks, both Double D and myself have addressed the issues provided by the games shoddy online options, with everything from team selection to lobby modes to the worst invention ever, the Konami ID. And whilst we live and pray in hope that PES2010 will feature huge improvements within this department, the realists out there know that this time next year, the Konami ID and poor lobby system will still be in place, and once again the same complaints and gripes will be made.
Whilst over the course of the past few weeks, there has been ample opportunity to moan about the online modes featured in PES2009, I would like to draw a line under the topic and ask that it is spoke about only in passing as opposed to in depth within the comments section. Double D has expressed the views of pretty much everyone regarding the online situation to a Konami representative, and hopefully these will be taken into account when developing the next title. Moaning about the issues and making the same points again is going to start falling upon deaf ears, and will simply make valid points seem less valid over time. This is not aimed towards anyone in particular, as the past few weeks we have been asking for your suggestions and views on the online front, but with the year drawing to a close, I feel a fresh approach would be welcomed in 2009.
“Children Singing Christian Rhymes”
My final point of 2008 is one that I know will be of great interest to the majority of seasoned members on PESGaming.com. Due to the comments policy employed by this site, there is no username registration format and simply anyone can ‘pretend’ to be anyone. This can be taken further with the same person pretending to be four or five different visitors, or posting numerous abusive and irrelevant comments. My policy throughout the year has been to delete all comments that were in no way related to the topics or subject, yet show leniency to those who expressed their points in a colourful or aggressive way. Unfortunately, I have decided that the majority of users on this site are not mature enough to act in this manor, and therefore new actions will be taken.
From this week onwards, any comments, which may be portrayed as offensive, abusive or unnecessary, will be deleted straight away, no questions asked. For those who are less that computer literate, each machine connected to the Internet has a unique IP address. This IP address is non transferable, and whilst is not visible to those viewing the website, can be checked by any member of the PESGaming.com admin team. Should any posting of illegitimate comments occur, a note of the IP address will be made, and all future comments made on that address would be deleted straight away. Constant posting from the same IP address in this manor will see that IP address blocked from accessing the website. The software is now in place for all the above to occur, and whilst it is a shame to have to go down this road, the reputation and quality of this website depends upon it.
In the New Year, we will be discussing the possibility of having a signing in format, with protection being offered to those members who use this site in the manor it should be used. I know this has been an issue for many of our ‘regulars’ over the past two or three months, and columnists are constantly e-mailed or messaged requesting something to be done. It is a huge shame we have to go down this route, but as I said earlier, the maturity level of some posters is a lot lower than I first thought, and with the majority of people using this site being grown men and women, it is in the best interests of all involved the site keeps out little boys.
That’s it for this week’s IWP and indeed Interfering With Play 2008. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the majority of you for your contributions over the past fifty weeks. Averaging around 30 comments a week, that means I personally have received over 1500 comments, a very fair return for a column and credit needs to go out for all those who made their voice heard. I hope the immature do not put you off attending and intend contributing to this site, as I have spoken to many interesting people because of this column and long hope that continues. My e-mail inbox will be open throughout the festive period, interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk if you have anything you wish to speak about or get off your chest, and I will be frequently checking the site for comments over the next couple of weeks. A big thanks goes to Dave O for his trendy IWP logo design, and a special shout out goes to all those who took part in the IWP League 2008, couldn’t have done it without you! IWP will be back on Tuesday 6th January 2009.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2009 News on Sun 14 Dec 2008
Getting Colder
As the Pes ’09 furore dies down now a few months after release, my thoughts turn a little – but not entirely – towards what Konami will plan on doing to improve on a version which this year was largely a success, with the obvious exception of the online play. Dougie’s obviously gone to great lengths to attempt to get the majority of our pesgaming.com readers’ voices heard, and as you might know, has been successful in meeting with one of the Konami representatives from Europe. As Konami are Japanese game developers however, it remains to be seen how influential Dougie’s ‘List’ will be. Development for Pes ’10 will have started almost simultaneously as Pes ’09 was completed. I suspect that the online issue will either be – for Konami anyway – a top priority, or one which they’ve seemingly given up on. Japanese culture is obviously almost completely different to ours here in the UK, or that of a lot of our readers in the US. Maybe online gaming isn’t as much of a winner, or even of as much importance as offline gaming is in Japan? If anyone from Japan reads this column then it’d be interesting to hear your views in the comments section on how important online gaming is in relation to offline gaming over there, or even how well Pes ’09 plays online on the Japanese servers?
New Features
In the last column I asked whether people would be interested in a Goal of the Month competition. I’ve been doing my research, and been in contact with those over at consolegoals.com, and sadly it seems that we’ll have to wait for the next-next gen consoles for it to be easy for regular people to upload videos of their best goals and replays, especially those who play on Xbox/Playstation versions of the game.
We can, however, run the lookalike section of this article. I’ll start with one here. If people suggest good lookalikes that haven’t been stolen off the internet, then I’ll put them up in the next column! A link to ‘Photobucket’ or something similar would be easiest by the way. This isn’t a very good picture of Voronin – but have a look at him in Pes ‘09, then you’ll see what I mean!
Commentators…
I do read all the comments, so firstly thank you for your responses to each article. Last week, people were talking about penalties in Pes ’09, saying that they found their penalties randomly going over or going wide. I find this happens to me about a fifth of the time. For those who find themselves missing almost every penalty, do you hold the directional stick down throughout the whole ‘penalty-taking’ process? Or for that matter, the power button? The way I take penalties is to hold the directional stick down, press the ‘shoot’ button for maybe just under a second whilst holding the stick in the correct direction, and then let go of both. This seems to serve me well! A bit of practice with regard to holding the power button down seems to be needed to get the ball completely in the corner of the net, but as I say, one fifth of the time the penalty will miss. Whether this is due to my bad taking, or because the game just does this, I don’t know. However, even the best penalty takers sometimes put it wide or over, so keep that in mind!
Christmas Pes
As I may have mentioned before, about a month ago I picked up Pes 6 for £4.50 from EBay. In the New Year I plan to review each of the titles in the series, beginning with Pro Evolution Soccer and ending up two months later with a brief overview of Pes ’09 and how the series has developed over the years, with a look to the future. I find it slightly saddening that even though two versions have been released since Pes 6 – Pes ’08 and ’09 respectively – it’s the former which I am still playing to this day, simply because of the success of its online mode. Anyone looking to get one of their friends – especially their Fifa-loving pals – a Christmas present which isn’t likely to break the bank, my recommendation would be Pes 6. The rest of us at Pesgaming.com will be following Dan’s example and taking the Christmas holiday off from blogging, so this sadly shall be my last column of the year! I’ve enjoyed blogging this year, and I look forward to publishing twenty-five odd (and not in the literal sense of the word, although you might be of that opinion…) blogs for the website next year!
As always you can email me at francis_newall@hotmail.co.uk and comments on your preferences to what I talk about, whether you liked it, or just general comments on the article, are all very welcome.
Thanks,
-Francis
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Thu 11 Dec 2008
As we hit a major lull in all things PES in terms of releases, I’d like us to focus for a couple of weeks on the Wii version of PES.
I don’t own a Wii, but have managed to have a bit of a play around at a mate’s house. I have to say that I was very surprised overall at how well PES played. I would definitely give the Wii version 10/10 for innovation in terms of controlling and playing the game.
The game’s controls definitely do take a while to get used to, as they require to you almost unlearn how you play it on conventional consoles, but sticking with it brings rewards. I’d be interested in knowing how many people own a 360/PS2/PS3 version as well as a Wii version of PES, and which they find themselves being drawn to more.
I personally think that schools/footballing academies should make the game a permanent feature on their curriculums. I’d also recommend it to some of the duffers I play footy with on Monday nights too, but it’s wishful thinking on part that they’d actually learn from it. The game really does teach you about team formations, movement, and how to use tactics to open up teams.
The ability to make players of your choosing in a formation make runs in whichever direction you want, coupled with some good passing is fantastic.
The game is not without its weaknesses, such as when opposition players stand off you, when you are about to receive a pass or having to shake the remote (could be the non-chuck, I forget) to actually shoot, to name a couple.
Whilst I am not a big fan of the Wii, and the endless tripe released on it, I think the direction Konami took with PES on the machine was commendable.
I’d be interested in hearing how many of you guys out there own the Wii version of the game, and what you think of it. Some mini-reviews, with pluses and minuses about the game would be interesting to hear about. I haven’t played it enough to have a concrete views on it, but the little I did play on it was promising.
Thanks for reading.
Dougiedonut (dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 09 Dec 2008
IWP League Champion 2008: Martin Ginnelly (River Plate)
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. Unfortunately, the flu bug that hit me hard two weeks ago caught up with me again late last week, resulting in another bed-ridden weekend, which is both counterproductive and very boring indeed. The absence of a laptop was enough for me to miss a great deal of the weeks goings on online, and this morning was the first opportunity I have had to read the comments and e-mails from the past six or so days. I would quickly like to pass a comment about PC gaming before I move onto the article. Whilst I fully appreciate a top gaming PC can cost upwards of £2,000, bit parts and a graphics cards to turn a three-year-old PC into one capable of playing the current crop of games are a lot cheaper overall. I would argue that items such as controllers and games also come across cheaper when being purchased for PC, making the overall process of playing games on your PC cheaper than outlaying for a next generation console. Of course, if you wanted a specific ‘gaming’ PC then you would spend a lot more money on the hardware and the costs will be considerably more, but PC gaming is still the easiest way to access and play the newest games on the market, albeit maybe not in as high quality as the developers intended. Hope that clears it up, and lets move on with Interfering With Play.
“Papa, Can You Hear Me”
I’d like to start this week by acknowledging the contribution of one Simon McDermott in last week’s column regarding the option of combating the ‘Barca boys’ in online gaming matches. For those out the loop, or who never play online, on both Fifa and PES, when playing against a variety of opponents, the majority will pick to be Barcelona for the simple fact they have the four or five quickest players on the game. Even after beating these Barcelona boys, it is still very disheartening to play another match against the same team, albeit controlled by a different opponent, who try and do the same thing, with varying degrees of success. Fifa has a huge selection of teams, whilst PES has a fair amount, yet if Konami or EA were using online matches to judge team usage, their research would tell them its simply all about being one of four or five sides. Not very realistic, and to be honest, a little boring when playing against the same team four or five times a night.
Last week I brought this topic up, and whilst some interesting points were raised by e-mail, Simon’s offering of a solution was both well structured and practical. He is an individual who provokes a fair amount of criticism on this site, but when his or any views are we; thought out, backed up and open to suggestion, it is only fair they are acknowledged as such. The option of a ‘fantasy football’ mode is something I could really get on board with. Having a limited amount of money, you could buy a team, which would result in losing out on some huge stars to compensate for consistency, or gambling on the big names and being weaker elsewhere. Of course with Konami so far behind in the online department this may seem a long way off, but increasing diversity within the online game is something that needs to occur.
The problem though will always remain the same, especially if it ends up with the varying points system for using different teams. For example, winning a game online as Barcelona or AC Milan could be worth one point, but winning with Hull City could be worth five points. The problem here will simply be people playing with Barcelona five times to get those points as opposed to playing with Hull once. Perhaps a negative effect should be brought in, whereas losing with a top side drops you more points than losing with a lesser side. At the end of the day, just like with any online game, gamers are going to play it to win, and if a certain aspect greatly increases your chances of winning, you will have that aspect working for you. The IWP League will continue to ignore the cry of the top clubs, and for the 2009 season, will still exclude all the major European footballing superpowers.
“I’m Down On My Knees”
As many of you know I game on PS3, and do not own a 360. I have limited access to the system, and have a number of mates who use them or play on them, the majority of whom are more than happy with the console. At this time, the 360 v PS3 debate is dormant, and intend for it to stay this way, but a huge observation has occurred to me over the past few days. I have spent the majority of this weekend drifting in and out of sleep, all the time in bed and the majority of the time with the TV on. I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed the sheer volume of adverts for the X Box 360 and its variety of games. In fact, the majority of multiplatform games end with the 360 Jump in catchphrase on screen. Is it just the fact I have been subjected to more TV than usual due to illness or is X Box marketing exceptionally aggressively this festive period? The adverts must appear 7:1 for every PS3/PSP advert and even 4:1 for every Wii/DS advert. Anyone who has noticed this let me know in the usual ways.
“So Now, The End Is Near”
Just a quick reminder the initial registration period for the IWP League 2009 closes a week from today. If your interested in taking part in the online competition, which this year will be bigger than ever, please get in touch via e-mail citing your name, age, location and console. E-mails will be sent out over the Christmas break, with the league tipped to begin in February. All being well, the league will feature its own sub site, have some cool gadgets and features and perhaps even the option of a prize for the winning participant. Plus, like Martin, you will be forever etched into the IWP Hall Of Fame. Entry, as with everything to do with this site and IWP, is free and there will be a second window mid January to sign up, for those who may be getting their consoles as Christmas gifts. This first window basically gives me an idea of the demand for participation and the option of including a first and second division.
“Somebody Call A Doctor”
The song, for those old school emo’s out there is a little classic My Chemical Romance, prior to the success of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, but the topic is definitely one for the football fans out there. Upon my (now much publicised) bed-spent weekend, I tuned in to a great deal of NFL on Sky Sports. Granted, had I been well, my patience would have got the better of me but with nowhere to go and nothing to do, I really started getting into the games. For those who care I am a Cowboys man, as I just like the sheer arrogance of T.O. But upon feeling better, my unsurprising first port of call was Madden 09 on my PS3, with a much deeper understanding of the sport and how to play the game.
Now I have raved about Madden before and how its presentation values eclipse anything on any other sports franchise, perhaps bar 2K Sports’ NBA offering, but the one feature that has been drilled into me more so over the last couple of games has been the Injury set up. For those who haven’t played the game, the following will just allow you to appreciate what is possible within gaming and what Konami and even EA Sports for Fifa need to start looking at. Upon a player being injured, the camera cuts to a very shoddy looking big screen image of the word INJURY. Think Fifa 95 when you scored a goal, and you wouldn’t be far off the mark. This simply acts a loading barrier though, as after a couple of seconds, the camera pans down in HD quality to the fallen player. Then, the impressive stuff starts, a CSI style screen pops up and zooms in on the injured body part, showing and explaining what is wrong in the style of the TV Show. Ligament damage, muscle tears and bone breaks all are accurately depicted, along with text to indicate issues such as back spasms, bruising or bleeding (as showing bleeding could make the game require an older age rating). Upon explaining the injury, it gives a estimation how long the injury should take to heal from, be back soon, meaning the player will be available in a matter of minutes, to any number of weeks, resulting in a replacement needing to be brought in.
All of this is then cross-referenced to likeliness of reoccurring injuries within a season, and realistic animations showing the player nursing that particular body part when leaving the field. It’s a site that oozes both dedication and research, but really adds to the in game atmosphere, especially as you nervously wait to see the injury report of your quarter back, only to find out he needs stitches and will be back soon! Why this feature hasn’t been implemented into football gaming yet is unknown. Football Manager has a huge injury database that proves this aspect of the game is just as important as any other, yet both Fifa and PES continue to acknowledge holding your hamstring as the only injury every footballer ever gets. Since the introduction of on screen physios and stretchers on ISS 98 for the N64, the injury situation has been the same, and surely it is time it was improved. Views, as always, greatly appreciated.
“I Can Do It Better”
Finally, my apologies must go out for the lack of comparison article available. Due to my situation, I simply haven’t been at the computer, and therefore just not been able write anywhere near what I wish to express. I will try very hard to make it available for next week, hopefully before next week’s article. Next week also sees Interfering With Play’s final edition for 2008. As is tradition, following 50 weeks of solid writing each and every Tuesday, Interfering With Play closes down for the two ‘Christmas’ weeks, in other words the 23rd and 30th December. So next week will be your final opportunity to get your views in to me for any potential discussion topics in 2008.
That’s it for this week. I have pretty much covered everything I needed to, and will therefore finish with the regular housekeeping tasks. Comments can be sent by clicking on the comment button below, the e-mail address for IWP application or any other basics is interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk I can’t reply to everyone, but try my best to those I can. Dave O, as always, gets a huge shout out for the IWP Logo, and I will be back here next week for the final IWP of 2008!
Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Thu 04 Dec 2008
I’d like to start off this week by thanking everyone for all their feedback on the online issues we’ve been facing. The information was compiled and sent to Konami.
I’ve listed all the information that I sent, and I hope it meets with most people’s approval – there’s always someone that won’t be happy… So without much further ado:
The two biggest fundamental flaws which would make the online game bearable are:
1. Connection issues
Many people are saying that even having a green connection does not guarantee a quality game. Playing with a green connection against an opponent on anything less is a waste of time.
There must be ways to address the lag suffered in games by most people playing online.
Online play now counts as a major factor in selecting a football title to play with friends. As things stand, FIFA2009 is converting many, many PES fans purely because they want a reliable online game. Fixing this must be made a priority for both the current version of the game, as well as for the next version.
2. Online difficulty
Please put the game difficulty level up to “Top Player” immediately. A quick online update can’t be too hard to fix. Right now, having the difficulty fixed on “Beginner” is more conducive to having cricket scores, rather than realistic football results.
Other factors which are affecting the whole online experience are:
Online Lobby
1. The whole interface is very clunky and not very intuitive at all.
As usual, most fans will point Konami in the direction of FIFA presentation to see
How they have mastered the interface making the whole experience enjoyable.
2. People would like to see a system that allows the players to restrict selections to be outside of the Champion’s League elect. Currently the system allows you to refine teams to be either club or national sides. Having a new filter which allowed only teams outside of the CL bunch would be very useful.
3. It can take a long time to find a suitable match. Instead of spending time playing games, people are spending time trying to find people with suitable connections and get good games.
4. When attempting to pick teams, if you find that your opponent has a red connection (or even amber) whilst you have a green connection, there is no way to back out the game, other than rebooting.
5. Restricting people to local regions only may be a good way forward. Even restricting games to people’s own countries may be a drastic but good measure to ensure good quality of games. Is that a possibility with PES2009 in the February update?
6. Some people are complaining that even trying to host a room is problematic. The error message “An error has occurred” is displayed, and means they can’t play online. Surely these types of issues must be addressed?
7. Get rid of this “Konami ID” agreement – its pointless!
General online play improvements
A better rating system where all teams are graded (could be A to D)
Where the number of points awarded for winning with a “D” team are a lot higher than an “A” team. Example “A” team: Barcelona, example “D” team: Wigan. All teams should be graded upfront. This could help encourage people to move away from the very big teams that virtually guarantee wins.
2. Goal replay times need to be shrunk. If people really want to rewatch them – they can store them for themselves. Having idiots scoring easy goals, and then replaying them to rile players is really annoying.
Everyone that has provided feedback pretty much says that they are happy with their net connections, and do not really encounter chronic lag on any other online game, other than PES. We couldn’t make it any more clearer that the online issues are a major Konami problem that needs addressing immediately.
The future of the series rides on a working online game.
Please go to the following link to read details of individual responses to the question about lag, if you so wish:
http://www.pesgaming.com/blog/pes-2009-news/335/pes-off-13th-november-2008/
OK so that was everything that I sent to them. Fingers crossed on whether this information is used!
I am interested in trying to get some discussions on tactics and tips on how to get the most out of PES 2009, so will look to kick that off in the near future.
In the meantime, I was wondering if people could help one our site visitors Blake in telling him how to do the Ronaldo heel flick with the ball to change direction. I don’t play with Ronaldo, and so don’t know how to pull the trick off. Can anyone enlighten us?
As usual, if anyone has any questions, then please don’t hesitate to email me at: dougiedonut@pesgaming.com. One final note – for all those people who have found themselves banned from commenting on the site, if you send me a suitable apology and assure me that future conduct will be in line with what we expect of individuals, I will be happy to reconsider reinstating them in the near future. No pressure.
Thanks for reading.
Dougiedonut
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 02 Dec 2008
IWP League Champion 2008: Martin Ginnelly (River Plate)
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. A few brief housekeeping points before we get into the meat of the column, the first of which being how pleasing it is to still have a bustling community following the game’s release. Six weeks after a game goes public, interest in promotional material unsurprisingly decreases, just look at titles like GTA or LBP. The fact we have a sire still receiving thousands upon thousands of hits a day is a very good thing. Secondly, the promised comparison article between Fifa 09 and PES 09 has been delayed, due to my own health. Having been ill to the point of being stuck in bed since mid last week, I have been unable to put the necessary time in writing a comparison article I would be proud of. Well on the road to ‘full fitness’ now, I plan to have the article ready for this weekend, and thank those of you who have waited for it. Moving on lets roll into this week’s Interfering With Play.
“Stuck In America”
I start this week on a subject that I have naïvely avoided for so many weeks and months, especially as the game was leading up to release, that subject being the number of American’s playing Pro Evolution Soccer and the ‘issues’ they have playing the game both online and offline. Having made contact with a fair few of these individuals, and with even more voicing their concerns on the forums and comments pages, I feel I should bring the information into a public domain. Just to fill those of you in the picture who are unfamiliar, the game is now available in the U.S, features the same ‘online’ experience and is currently (at the time of writing) running on version 1.10, which is the one prior to all the shiny transfer updates the Europeans have been enjoying for the past few weeks. Whilst, to my knowledge at least, features no specific differences from the one we are playing over here, the American’s still had to wait longer for the game to be released, and still have been seemingly ignored within the patching process of the game.
Before we go any further, I would just like to point out to everyone that I am fully aware that the U.S.A get games weeks before the EU release dates in some cases. It os very rare a game is released among all three regions at the same time (EU, US and Asia). The reason for this is to help gage supply and demand within the different regions, as well as ensuring each region is appropriately stocked for that release date. Nintendo are the one gaming company that currently still try to do worldwide releases, and quite simply their stocking and supply ratios are embarrassing, just try getting a Wii Fit board for Christmas! This is no the fault of Konami, who are simply following the lead of every game developer and publisher on the land, and during time purchasing games for PS3 on the day of release, which includes all the big ones, I have never been disappointed by lack of stock or the game being sold out, proof that the system is obviously working. Therefore, a game like Pro Evolution Soccer, which is geared more towards a European market, will tend to have an earlier EU release date than over the pond, with an NBA or NFL game seeing the release dates switch around. Further, games like Little Big Planet and Resistance 2 all were scheduled for release dates in the states weeks before European release, proving that overall, the big picture would be US gamers get the majority of ‘big’ games earlier!
The patching issue is one that will simply follow suit. Whilst no doubt exceptionally frustrating, the patch will probably still take three weeks or so to come into implementation from the games release, so in other words, with the games official American release date being the 12th November, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see version 1.20 popping up within the next week or so for the U.S. It is, unfortunately, not as simple as using the same patch for both the EU and U., S version, as the region settings on your console need to be adhered to. This is particularly an issue for 360 gamers, with Microsoft’s strict policy on data sharing. Therefore, to all those angry American’s out their waiting for their update, my advice is as above, just wait it out, because you won’t have to wait too much longer.
“Whose That, Get Off The Train”
That’s right, over 100,000 words written in blog format and I have finally used a Blazing Squad lyric for a heading, the humanity! Before everyone gets outraged, I don’t follow or like blazing squad, it is simply there to illustrate a point. Almost as an advert now, but this sort of time every year, with people asking a for the usual lists of iPods and mobile phones, I always bring up one Christmas present idea that I am shocked isn’t more popular, the PSP. Yes, I do own Sony consoles, but I also own Nintendo ones and have had a huge variety of gaming machines in my house over the years, so do try to be as unbiased as possible, but even Microsoft fans could take a look into this piece of equipment if your struggling for a present this year.
Because of the incredibly easy to use Nintendo DS, the PSP has seemingly fallen to the back of a pecking order of two. It is far superior in 95% of ways to the Nintendo machine, but touch screen pen of the DS has allowed pensioners and kids to get involved in the already mentioned casual gamer generation, making the DS a huge success and obliterating the competition. But from a technical point of view, I am surprised more people don’t own a PSP, with those that do not using it to its full capability. The new PSP has a built in Microphone, to go along with the Wi-Fi link up, Mp3 Player, Mp4 Player, full Internet browser and Internet radio set up. There are also free links to demos and video’s on the Playstation Store, and the ability to download PS One classics at the touch of a button for cheap, saving them on your system for ideal ‘on train gaming’. Couple this with optional Sat Nav and TV packages, and what you end up with is your own portable entertainment system.
So why no love for it in the mainstream media? TV adverts have started showcasing what the machine can do, but its been around now for nearly four years, had two damming obituaries already against its name from the powers that be, yet continues to lie down and die. It has been well documented that certain games don’t translate well, and yet developers seem to continue to make these titles for the PSP. FPS are less than ideal for handheld, yet they still come through in abundance, whilst some PS2 game ports just simply aren’t equipped for the lack of shoulder buttons. My suggestion is as follows, buy games that are easy to drop in and out of, so playing them in-between train journeys or on lunch breaks is easy to do. Football Manager Hand Held has got me through many a quiet period at work, and my Bojan / Vagner Love forward line is starting to run wild in the Premier League! Worms and Crazy Taxi are also excellent alternatives, and last but not least, Pro Evolution Soccer is also available.
My point here is pretty simple, people always are looking for Christmas ideas, and most people seem to ignore the PSP, but since having one, I have been able to dip in and out of playing it with ease, and highly recommend one to any gamer.
“Baby, I’m Addicted”
Now, I am well into my Become A Legend career mode on PES 2009. Bolas is a first team regular at Stoke City, occasionally losing out to the frustrating Michael Tonge, and setting up moves from midfield is proving to be very rewarding indeed. The game mode could definitely have benefited from a more simulation style menu environment, including more training mini games and the option of a sim’s style apartment, like ISS 2000 used to have, but as a whole, is actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Those who are yet to experience the mode yet, I strongly recommend, like so many other have, to limit your match time to 5 minutes a game to help whiz through training matches or games when your substitute, and just simply get stuck in. I have started to find myself caring about the results a performances of other players within my team, knowing which players have which strengths, who to launch the ball to and who to play in behind. When I have been sub, I would sit their willing my team mates on to get a goal, hoping that my influence will help steady up the ship and keep the score line a positive one. And I have found myself verbally yelling at Michael Tonge for shooting when a simple pass was on!
With all that has been made of Fifa’s BAP mode and the 10v10 online, and Pro Evolution Soccer’s online Legends mode, it would have been easy for Konami to do a very average job of this mode, making it too easy to get your stats up and just let people play a substandard game setting, but, whilst still far from perfect, they have included an addition to the series that is both beneficial and a stepping stone for future versions of the franchise, which in my opinion, is always a very good thing.
“Obviously, She’s Outta My League”
With PES 2009 frustrating me online at the moment, (to the point where every time turn it on and see the awful Konami ID screen, I log straight back out) I have decided to opt for a few online matches of Fifa 09. As my review stated, I am a fan of the games online experience, and whilst don’t play many games in the offline mode at the current time, I will log on and play against all the Fifa regulars and those whose passion is the game, with the view that I should get destroyed by a variety of beautiful footballing styles.
Or simply, by every single opponent picking Barcelona! I know this was a problem of PES online, but there are still a choice of maybe four or five options to go for, with teams like Inter Milan and AC Milan being just as effective. Seemingly not on Fifa. In 6 different lobbies, with 6 different individuals everyone was Barcelona. In the be A Pro online mode, the game was Barcelona v. Barcelona, and quite frankly, with the selection of teams made available on Fifa, you would hope that people learned to play with someone other than Barcelona.
So here is my question, how would you recommend levelling the playing field when using teams online? Realistically, a team like Barcelona would win the majority of the games in real life, so surely the online counterparts would do the same? But realistically, AC Milan would beat Portsmouth every time. Football isn’t that predictable, and there has to be a way of either encouraging gamers to use different sides online, or a greater reward system for those gamers that do use lower teams in a online game. Any suggestions or ideas to this topic would be greatly appreciated.
With that said, the teams used in the 2009 IWP League, will once again be randomly assigned by me, and all of a similar ability. Last seasons sides included River Plate, Marseille and Celtic, which leads to contrasting styles of play and not simply relying on pace or flair players in order to pick up a result. Closing date for applications is still two weeks away, but get your initial forms in now to avoid disappointment, because places will be limited!
“The Children Of The Revolution”
Just to end on a quick point regarding the comments last week about removing Pro Evolution Soccer from a number of different formats, most namely the PS2. I would like to start by saying I play Pro Evolution Soccer on PC and have done for a number of years. In my opinion, the PC version should always be made as an alternative for those who cannot afford or accommodate a major console. PC gaming is an easy moneymaker for any developer, and doesn’t require the same stringent advertising as required in the console market. I was simply raising the point to see how many of you still followed the game on its PC format.
Some people also seemed very unhappy that I suggested getting rid of the PS2 version, with one forum member pointing it out as a stupid question. To be honest, it is time for the PS2 mode to vanish now and allow Konami to concentrate on the next generation. Eight versions of a game on any one system is an excellent achievement, and the progression that has been made over that period of time is highly commendable. Whilst leaving the series alone on PES6 on PS2 would have been taking the system out of the running on an all time high, Konami stopping PS2 development after 2009 would be seen as bowing out gracefully. Yes, this will frustrate a lot of younger gamers out there who are yet to buy into a next generation console, but with the 360 being cheaper than most pre pay mobile phones, and the PS3 also dropping deals lately, the option of going next gen has never been cheaper. Put simply, if you don’t move on from the old consoles, your newer games improve less, and this is something that needs to happen for the good of the series.
That’s your lot this week. Huge thanks to Dave O for the IWP, as per usual. interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk is the place your e-mails can reach me, along with my comments, which I read, and moderate as appropriate. I don’t moderate opinions; I moderate relevance, so keep it on the subject of PES or risk being deleted. Please take the time to check out www.thefootballforums.com if you have a spare 10 minutes, and sign up. It’s free, and it’s the upcoming place to discuss footballing matters.
Thanks for Reading
