Archive for November, 2009
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Sat 28 Nov 2009
I’d like to start this week’s column by saying a big thank you to MatTheCat, christos21 and Nobby04 for their support given the abuse which was left in last week’s comments.
I’d like to address the point MagicaRoma made about not talking to individuals in my articles. Basically this site is first and foremost a community site. We exist to not only provide information on the game, but to try to create a healthy environment for debates about issues with PES that we may have.
I like to interact with you guys, as it makes these articles more personal for many of you, rather than me just discussing a topic, and ignoring what you guys have to say about issues. The only restriction we place on the site is that people pay respect to everyone when on this site. It’s a small ask, but clearly beyond the grasp of the many people that have got themselves banned from the site.
The trouble for me is that some of these inconsiderate people actually have a good point underneath their ill-mannered ways. So I’m left with the dilemma of either trashing their comments for the abuse posted, or leaving it as they do have a good point. More often than not, I tend to leave the comments on the site against my better judgement, but this seems to come back to haunt me more often than not. So from now on, any abuse in a comment, no matter how valid the comment, and it will be deleted and I won’t address it. But I know this will lead to a backlash regardless, but we’ll see how it goes. The bottom line is that you guys make this site what it is. If we don’t get interaction and participation in what we have to say, then there’s little point in me writing for the site, in my opinion.
Anyway, I have to say that I’ve not seen as many comments and complaints about the online play as I expected. In past years, we’ve been inundated with lots of comments by people moaning about the online game, but at the moment that seems to be relatively low. So if there are more people who are not having a good time online, please do leave comments for me.
Now that people have had enough time to grow accustomed to PES2010, we will be approaching a period soon where we can provide Konami with feedback and improvement suggestions for next year. I expect to start the collation period fairly soon, so if you are interested in participating, then I’d suggest you guys start to analyse the key areas that you want to see improved in PES.
I’d also like to hear this week where you think PES should be in 5 years time. Do you have definite views on where you think the direction of PES should be? It has been on it’s current course for over 15 years now, and I think the format is definitely stale and in need of reinvigoration.
So where do you think PES should go? Should the game delve into management modes more, or concentrate on individual player abilities?
Or do you have other ideas of where the game should be? How many people liked the new Master League format?
Most people these days can pick up PES or FIFA and find they acclimatise to the control systems in relatively short time spans. It’s a very familiar format, and hasn’t seen much in the way of change over the years. If you could redesign the control system, what would you do?
I’m looking for ideas for redesigning the whole control system using the PS3/360 controllers. Let’s see what sort of ideas you guys can come up with for how to control play. For example, what if PES ditched the d pad control system altogether – how many people would be outraged at this?
I know there are a lot of players who still prefer the old school dpad for control – would they be willing to give it up, and learn to use the analogue sticks? Would this be a problem for people?
Finally, there are still a couple more weeks left of my PES2010 PS2 competition left, and I’ve only had a handful of entrants, so if you are thinking of going for it, then please hurry! The chances of winning one of the three available copies is very high, so get in there.
Thanks for reading
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Wed 25 Nov 2009
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH today announced its iPES – The Fan App is now available for free on the App Store. The app has been specifically designed to appeal to PES fans with an iPhone or iPod touch.
iPES – The Fan App allows users to collect credits in different sections and features four news channels plus a host of sub-games, each of which allows users to collect fresh points each day. Accessing the PES News, PES Blog, PES League and sports news streams will reward the user with 50 credits each day. There is also a daily quiz which offers users 50 credits if the Question of the Day is answered correctly first time, or 25 if they get it on the second attempt.
The app also includes videos of some of the greatest scored goals on PES 2010. Each month, three of the best goals scored will be uploaded and users encouraged to select what they consider the best goal in return for 750 points. There is also a ‘What Happens Next?’ sub-game where users watch footage from PES 2010 and pick from one of three possible outcomes. Getting it right first time will earn them 500 points, with 250 gained if it is guessed second time round.
Point credits from the app can be used to collect special PES 2010 cards. A pack of five collectors cards costs 250 points, and contains a mixture of tips and tricks skill advice, team cards, club badges, or stadia. Purchased cards are stored within the user’s All-Star Album and they can also swap, or trade, cards with other iPES – The Fan App users over Wi-Fi.
The iPES – The Fan App is a great way to keep in touch with the PES series and it has a strong social element as it can be set to download all new elements automatically and link with friends via Facebook.
iPES – The Fan App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore/. iPES – The Fan App was developed by Clanmo GmbH, Mobile Interactive Agency, Munich. For more information or assets, please contact Steve Merrett at Voltage PR on 020 7903 5122, or email steve@voltagepr.com.
All copyrights or trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used under license.
iPES – The Fan App
General
iPES is the iPhone App for PES fans.
Collect credits (points) with everything you do in the App and exchange the credits directly in the App for digital PES 2010 collector cards in a range of categories. You can browse through all the cards you have already collected in your album and see which ones you already have or how many collector cards you are still missing.
PES 2010 Collector cards
You need 250 credits for a pack of PES 2010 collector cards. Each pack contains 5 random collector cards.
The counter on the top right corner of the App shows you how many credits you currently have. The counter turns green when you have enough credits for a new pack. You can then open a new pack of PES 2010 collector cards in the “All-Star Album” area.
Each pack contains a random selection of cards.
There are cards from the following categories:
- Tips & Tricks (various tips and tricks to do with PES 2010)
- Teams (various club and national teams from PES 2010)
- Team Badges (emblems or flags of the club and national teams from PES 2010) and
- Stadiums (football stadiums included in PES 2010)
Collecting credits (points) / Features
You can collect credits by using all the features of the iPES App. A different number of credits are allocated for each feature.
News
iPES contains 4 news channels. PES News, PES Blog, PES League and UEFA News. You will get 50 credits each time you access a news channel, however only once a day!
Quiz
A new question is activated every day in the quiz. If you answer correctly first time around you get 50 credits, at the second attempt you only get 25 credits and there are unfortunately no points for the third attempt.
Videos
iPES has 2 video categories
Goal of the Month
This section contains videos of 3 PES 2010 goals each month. Simply select your favourite and you get 750 credits. You can find all previous goals of the month as well as the voting results in the archive.
What Happens Next?
Here you will regularly find interesting PES 2010 videos and you have to guess how each video ends.
Look at the scene and then decide on one of three possibilities. All possibilities depict a possible outcome. If your first guess is right you get 500 credits. If you don’t guess the correct solution until your second try you only get 250 credits. You unfortunately won’t get any credits if you don’t guess correctly until your third try.
You can find all past “What Happens Next?” videos under the menu option Archive if you want to play them again. There are however no credits in this case.
The All-Star Album
Here you can exchange your credits for PES 2010 collector cards and browse through the cards you have already collected. As soon as the collector card pack has a folded corner, this means that you can open a new pack (also indicated by the green-coloured credit counter). You can rip open a pack by swiping your finger from left to right quickly over the pack.
If you tap on the pictures display in turn at the bottom of the display, this takes you to the gallery containing the cards you have already collected.
Trading
You can trade collector cards with your friends via the Wi-Fi function of your iPhone or iPod touch. You must of course be within Wi-Fi range to do this.
Click on the Trade icon >picture< in the menu of the All-Star Album in order to start trading.
Then connect up with the telephone or iPod touch of your exchange partner. Now you can both select the picture that you want to trade. You can finally confirm the trade on the screen and the two pictures selected will be swapped between the two devices.
Settings
You can decide in the Settings whether you want to share your successes in the App with your friends on Facebook. You will however still be asked before every publication on your Facebook profile whether you consent to the publication.
You can also decide here whether the application should automatically search for new content such as videos, quiz questions etc. so that you don’t have to reactivate the application every time you start up.
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 24 Nov 2009
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. I will like to quickly start by addressing the below post, and that the first official Konami update for PES 2010 will be released on the 24th November 2009. That means that by the time most of you will be reading this, the update will already be installed and therefore you will have some idea of what exactly Konami have been working on for the past few weeks. If last years update is anything to go by, expect the aforementioned changes to the Champions League teams and a 99% accurate transfer update (there will still be one or two out). I will be very surprised if the game play, online mode and any other game modes will differ from their current state. What it is important to remember, however, is that to play against the majority of people, you will require to download and install the update, which can be done by going into System Settings on the main menu, and then selecting Download. I am sure many of you will leave your own comments and I will report back my findings on the update as of next week. This update also means I will be recommending potential option file downloads, to have all your kits and logos looking bang on. If you have been in any way involved with developing an option file, and would like me to promote your work, please contact me via e-mail, using the address at the end of the article. With this said, lets crack on with this week’s Interfering With Play.
“You’re A Heartbreaker”
I will openly admit I have not played anywhere near enough PES 2010 this week, nor Modern Warfare 2 for that matter. Whilst I have been busy, this is not the reason, nor have I gone off either game. I use this opportunity to warn all Playstation Three owners about the dreaded Yellow Light Of Death! If I am 100% honest, I hadn’t even heard of this problem 7 days ago. I always looked smugly down on 360 owners safe in the knowledge that Sony’s console had very few known technical issues and the Red Ring Of Death had ruined many of my mates X Box 360’s over the past 2 years. However, apparently there is a similar issue involving the older models of the Playstation Three, and in recent months, it is seemingly becoming more common.
I am not sure if this issue affects the PS3 Slim, but I have had my PS3 since launch day. I picked up a 320GB hard drive off eBay about 18 months ago and have had nothing but praise to heap upon the console. I regularly played for hours at a time, either alone or with mates, both online and offline, all with minimal problems and maybe a couple of crashes, most likely due to corrupt gaming data. Then on Thursday of last week, I turned my console on, only for it to turn itself off 30 seconds later. Then again, the same event occurred. I left the console, and went to work, only to return and now find that the console doesn’t even switch on. It beeps a few times, the power light turns yellow and then nothing. I can not access my files, the hard drive, nor most importantly get the Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 disc out of the drive! Repair bills for the system are in the region of £150 to £200 plus postage, which asks the question, would I just be better buying a new system?
Having done my research, I believe the problem relates to overheating. I am not big on the technical side, but if certain parts of the console get too hot for a prolonged period, circuits can be damaged and become unusable. There is a simple way to prevent this, apparently, the USB fan. Upon purchasing my PS3, I laughed at the concept of a fan that you plug into the PS3 to cool it down if you used it too much. I considered myself (at the time) a very casual gamer whose PS3 was rarely on for long periods of time. However, the console had become my CD player, DVD player, Jukebox, Music TV Channel and gaming console over the 30+ months I had it and as a result, it was spending a lot of time on.
I therefore urge anyone who has an older version of the PS3 to seriously consider investing in one of these fans. If you haven’t already, there are a tremendous range of games available at the moment, and having them sitting in their cases unplayable is a truly heartbreaking experience. It is too late for me now, and I am going to have to dog into my pockets and buy my 2nd PS3, but I would hate for people to have the same problem. If you have experienced a similar problem, please feel free to share your pain, and if you have anything that may help my plight, I would be more than grateful for your e-mails!
“Kick It, Old School”
Because of the above mentioned dilemma, I decided to hit back and take on some of the gaming challenges from yesteryear. My attic is full of old, battered consoles and video games, and following a brief stint on Sensible Soccer, I came to rest on using an Emulator to play the Playstation classic, ISS Pro Evolution Soccer 2. Having sat playing for a couple of hours, I must say there are a number of issues that can be looked at. Firstly, it is incredible to think that back in these stages, the Konami franchise restricted you to playing as only International teams. It seems mad that nowadays, maybe one in thirty matches I will play as an England or a Belgium, but my go to teams are always club ones. Yet back in these days, there was no choice. Do not get me wrong, on my day I could give anyone a game with my Croatian machine, with Suker and Boksic being borderline unstoppable on their day, but it makes you realise just where the franchise began, and where it really all started.
Secondly, as with PES 2010, I actually found myself struggling to put the controller down! Every match had that one more game feel, and there was no complaint about the AI just running past me. I had to work hard for my openings, keep patient and break teams down, and if I didn’t, I would lose matches. I will hopefully have my PS3 back in a few days, but I am thoroughly glad I spent the time playing ISS Pro Evo 2, because its game play was as good for its time as anything, football game or otherwise.
The final point though, was one that dawned after the sentiment had worn off. After I stopped looking at the game as 10 years old and comparing it to today’s title. With all the nice things said above, there is no way I would PES to revert back to that game in any way shape or form. The term evolution is one that has occurred many times on the forums, and the argument that PES has evolved as much over the past few years. But looking at the bigger picture, and seeing where the game actually has come from the evolution is huge. If you are into emulation, please get in touch with me, as I would love to speak to a few people about a Playstation 2 emulator, for side project I am working on.
“Why Don’t You Come On Over, Referee”
After I mentioned it briefly last week in IWP, I think it’s only important I follow up with the views raised about the referring on PES 2010, especially in the light of the Henry incident from last week’s qualifier against the Irish! I think it is important that on a football game, occasionally the ref gets it wrong, as a robotic ref would spoil the game. There have always been times on PES where you have got away with a debateable tackle in the box then seen your star striker red carded for winning the ball! However, this years game seems to be almost too lenient, meaning it is more acceptable to play a ‘rough’ style of game. I know for the purists out there, the people who like to spray the ball about, this feature has angered you, but finding a happy balance between physical and fair is still not present.
My first suggestion would have been to have a number of sliders, similar to those from the tactics, to determine how you want the referees to govern the game. A strict referee would blow for a lot, a lenient not so much, and then there would be varying degrees in between, which would be related to yellow cards and sendings off. Furthermore, there could be settings for speed and positioning, which would in turn see the ref occasionally give throw ins the wrong way, or even miss a challenge because their view was impaired. The complaint with this would be you could almost fix the game, and then two player games would be more tailored towards whoever had the say over the referring stats.
This lead me on to why not have referees, in a similar way to we have players. Each referee could have a number of stats, which would relate to their on pitch performance, and even allow for stats to be tracked, seeing which referee has given he most cards, penalties etc. I know there was a feature in previous years whereby the refs were named before each match, however I don’t feel the personalities changed too much, and the decision making was very much like for like. I can understand why Konami would be reluctant to use real life referees, as any poor ones would be highlighted, but 20-30 fictional referees from different countries would be just the ticket. I don’t expect this to happen any time soon, but it is something I would like to discuss further. Therefore, if you can think of any useful attributes for a referees on PES (realistic please!) leave them in the comments section below. I will further address the issue next week!
“Closing Time”
The application period for the IWP League 2010 is now closed. Over the next few week’s, I have the thankless task of working through the hundreds of applications, finding a final number of people to play in the qualification rounds. This will be to determine connection speed, match quality and overall player ability. I am leaning towards running a European and UK League this year, with more information to follow in a couple of weeks.
Over the next 48 hours I will be closing the application form. If you are interested in taking part, please e-mail me with your details, and I will put you on the waiting list. However, those people who have filled the form in will get priority on any places. The league will kick into action in the first third of 2010, so keep your eyes peeled in your inbox for the latest news.
That’s your lot for this week. As I said, I have been shot down by the Yellow Light Of Death, please take precautions to at least read about the problem, especially if you own a ‘classic’ PS3 (mine was the old 60GB model). interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk is the place to direct any e-mail to, and please leave your views on the downloadable content, along with anything else you have read in this article.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Mon 23 Nov 2009
PES 2010: New DLC Confirmed which updates team rosters, UEFA Champions League elements and kits Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has released details of the first free DLC content for the PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD versions of PES 2010. A primer update is available to download now, and will ready the relevant hardware for the full DLC update which will be released on November 24th. The initial download will ensure that any PES 2010 Edit data the user has stored on their hardware will not be affected by future Konami DLC, while the November 24th data enhances a number of elements in the full game and also revises the club team rosters in line with those of all current transfers, all major transfers made after the game was completed will be rectified. Furthermore, four new teams will also be added to PES 2010’s UEFA Champions League mode, with Atletico Madrid, Olympiacos, Lyon and Fiorentina all added to the competition in their official Champions League kits. Similarly, the DLC will also update the home kit of the Japanese national team, which was recently changed. Konami is committed to releasing further updates for PES 2010 via DLC in the coming year, and is continuing to work with the PES community to see ways that the game can be improved via future content
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Sat 21 Nov 2009
Once again someone has got up my nose with their comments left last week. This time it is the turn of a certain Deadweather. He clearly has issues with the online side of the game, but seems to deem it acceptable to have a pop at me and Dan. Normally I just get rid of comments when they are rude/offensive, but yet again he has a genuine concern, but lacks the manners and decency to raise his issue respectfully. So on that basis I’m not going to address his problem.
That would be the sensible thing to do, given the respect he has shown us guys, but we’re more than capable of conducting ourselves in a mature manner. Just because you have the freedom to express yourself however you see fit, does not mean you should get offensive. We don’t ask for recognition or praise, but at the same time we won’t tolerate abuse. You’re one more dodgy comment away from a straight ban from this site mate.
Anyway, on to the issue of online play. I would be interested in knowing just how widespread this issue actually is.
Basically I would say that online issues seem to be sporadic with people. We don’t have the widespread online problems as associated with PES2009, but there still are areas where people are not getting decent games.
We would like to know the types of issues you are getting, along with the country you are from which may help to build a better picture. I believe the lag issues of old (teleporting players, juttery action, ball all over the place) are not seen as much, but response lag is the main culprit. Please do leave comments describing the nature of the issues, so that we can attempt to get some feedback from Konami on what they intend to do to address our issues.
It’s fair to say that we have no such general issues with online play with most others games, so this is something that konami need to pay more attention to. There was plenty of noise being made pre-launch about online play being sorted, so let’s get across the extent of the problems to Konmai. It will be interesting to hear the common types of complaints you guys have out there.
Personally speaking, I have yet to fully explore the online game, but will be very shortly launching our very first online tournament via www.pesrankings.com. This tournament will be on the PS3 only initially whilst we get used to running online competitions, so expect many more events moving forward should this turn out to be a success.
In fact, I’ve just thought that if there are people who are willing to play me on the PS3 just to see how we get on, then I’d very up for that. I’m in London, and so would appreciate people getting in touch from around the UK, Europe and beyond. This will be a very good test of seeing how well the game performs, and I will be making a note of the status of games to report back. So if you’re interested in partaking, please email me at my usual address, and we’ll try to arrange some mutual times to play.
I should also state that the primary reason I haven’t played online all that much is because I am going nuts on the Master League mode, which I am finding all consuming! The game’s depth is just amazing, and I’m loving it!
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading.
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 17 Nov 2009
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. Due to a busy week in the real world, this column will be slightly shorter than usual, but hopefully will still address the key issues from the past week’s discussions on PESGaming.com. It is also good to see PES Matters back, and from a personal point of view, in a better place of a weekend posting. So as it stands, PESGaming will have two regular columns, IWP on a Tuesday and Double D’s PES Matters which will be posted on a Saturday. Hopefully between us, we will provide enough in the way of talking points and interesting topics to keep the huge and ever growing PESGaming community happy. With this said, lets move on with this week’s Interfering With Play.
“Passing The Buck”
Following the comments made on The Second Phase (posted on Saturday) and the previous week’s Interfering With Play, I feel a few things need to be cleared up. Firstly, I am not disillusioned enough to think Konami have made a good online game. Of course I am not, the PES series on PS3 are by far the most lag filled and problematic games I have in my nearly 50 game collection. The reason for this lies with two parties, firstly the people who develop and produce the game, and secondly, the medium of its online connection, be it the PSN or X Box Live. Whether it’s a 1 v 1 scrap on Smackdown vs. Raw or a thrash off on Guitar Hero 3, (both games that require immediate button timing), I have personally had no problems with lag, delay or slowdown. Therefore I have to, like so many of you out there look towards Konami. Metal Gear Solid Online didn’t suffer from any noticeable lag, and therefore the question remains why PES has, for three years, failed to provide an online experience worthy of its offline counterpart.
PES 2010 is the best offering in the online stakes so far, but that is not really a complement. Unlike in other games, where a second of lag might affect a kill streak or a swift turn, PES is filled minute after minute with button delay, and slowdown during certain matches. If you have experienced these problems, you will obviously be on the same level, but I know there are many people out there who only have a minimal number of games that suffer from any delay. I do not, for one second shift the blame onto the gamers, but at the same time, put it to those that are suffering with delay that other people out there genuinely don’t. This is arguably the most frustrating thing of all, that not everyone is on the same boat and therefore online gaming is not a level playing field.
Secondly, the term blacklisting wasn’t meant to come across as a witch hunt or a negative thing. Just like on Windows Messenger, you can block users who you don’t wish to speak to, for any reason, surely there should be a similar moderation for PES. If members of this community play a lot of online games, the knowledge can be passed amongst us to avoid lag filled matches. Surely we all want to play games against people who have a decent enough connection to make the match fair? I will keep this topic open before making a decision on the final option of a ‘black list’.
Finally, and this may be down to my personality, but people feel PESGaming should be going absolutely mental at Konami about the online mode. I am of a different view entirely. There will be a time over the next few months when we as a website will be given time to speak to Konami directly. When this time occurs, you can have my word that whoever meets with Konami will give a frank and honest opinion of the PES 2010 online mode. If it’s me personally, I will echo the views I have given over the past two years on both PES 2009 and more recently 2010. Any our opinions and views will hopefully count towards something. I am of an opinion that you are better to say something once, and say it to the right person at the right time, than to keep on saying the same thing over again to everyone who is willing to listen. I know that is not an opinion shared by everyone, but it is one that I believe will win the PES online battle in the end.
“Murder On The Dance Floor”
Just a quick point which will hopefully lead to a more avid discussion when I have more time, but is it more or are the referees a little bit too lenient on this years PES? It is typical that for years, they have been criticised for blowing their whistle for ‘non-incidents’ but if anything, now I feel my flair players are no longer protected as they are hacked down. In all the matches I have played, online and offline, in both cups and exhibitions, I am yet to give away or receive a single penalty kick, and often feel blatant fouls go unrecognised. Just something to open the floor up to, and see if anyone has any opinion on the issue. Is this lenient refereeing a good or bad thing? E-mails and comments, as usual, are always welcomed.
“Big Numbers”
Scarily, we are pushing 200 applications for next years Interfering With Play League. The registration form will be live for the next 7 days, and then will be taken down. In answer to some frequently asked questions, I will review a couple of the rules once again. The game will take place on the Playstation Three version of PES. I am, at the current moment in time, not running a 360 or PC competition. Secondly, you must be using the European version of PES 2010. This includes the UK version, as the UK is part of Europe! I know, but seriously some people! Finally, I am currently on the school of thought to run two leagues, one for mainland Europe and another for the British Isles. This would be to allow for more applicants and an overall fairer gaming experience. More information on the league structure will arrive in due course. To confirm, the closing date for applications will be Tuesday 24th November 2009.
“You Think Your Special”
Finally this week, it would be very naïve to miss out on Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I was lucky enough to have a pre-release copy on Monday (I wrote last week’s IWP on Sunday night) and I have to say it is the standard of the first person shooter being raised all over again. Comparing it to a game like PES or either GTA isn’t fair, because the story mode is very much a linear experience, but one that is action all the way, and for those 5-10 hours makes you feel part of a blockbuster movie. Of course, the short career mode will annoy some, as Call Of Duty 4 was criticised for being a ‘half finished game’, but with online multiplayer, the title offers more lifespan that games with twice as long story mode. The inclusion of a new special ops mode also adds slightly more life, combining Hollywood set pieces found in the Main game and the camaraderie and teamwork of online multiplayer.
One thing that pretty much every game can learn from, excluding maybe GTA, is Infinity Ward’s production values and attention to detail. You can see in near enough every aspect, the game has been improved from the first Modern Warfare, whilst at the same time not forgetting what made the original great. Whether it’s a new feature, or an old one revitalised, it is clear that Infinity Ward have added, without taking away, and that is something that Konami need to remember for every future PES.
That’s your lot for this week. As I have said many times, I write this column in my free time, and sometimes my job and social plans do actually get in the way! interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk is the place to direct your e-mails to. Feel free to comment on anything you have read here, whether you agree or not! If you want a personal response, or even just a little two way on your own views, I will only reply directly to e-mails. I believe the online issue is something that will run for a few weeks, and will wait to hear Double D’s views before I carry on further next week. There is a scheduled maintenance for PES online on Tuesday 17th November (which will have probably already happened by the time you have read this). If anything changes following this maintenance, it will be reported on this site.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Sat 14 Nov 2009
Just when I thought I would change the day I post my articles to space them out a bit more from Dan’s IWP articles, I clash with his article earlier today again! I think i will change to either Fridays or Saturdays to give IWP more prime space before I kick in.
At the moment I am still going crazy on the Master League and with essentially players with poor skills relatively, so the game is very challenging and not as rewarding as it will be when I sign better players and train up talented youngsters. Once I get to a stage where I am playing with decent players, I will take time out to spend some time playing the latest FIFA game to once again devote some time to comparing these two giants of footballing games.
I know I courted controversy the last time I compared PES and FIFA, and it is a difficult and emotional subject to broach, but I intend to try to be as tactful as well as honest as I can. I am aware of the fact that this is a PES site, and my allegiances truly do lie with PES, but I believe that in my capacity on this site, I should be challenging Konami to produce bigger and better. Anyway, the actual comparison won’t be for at least another six to eight weeks, since it’s only fair to play FIFA for a fair while to be able to guage it’s good and bad points, as I am currently doing so with PES.
In the meantime, I am pleased to announce that we have been given three copies of PES2010 on the PS2 by Konami, which I will be giving away in a competition. I was thinking about running another “Beat the Blogger” type competition, but have decided to run this one a little differently.
If you fancy a copy of it on the PS2, all you have to do is to tell me in no more than 200 words why PES is the game for you.
It’s that simple. The best three entries will bag a copy of the PS2 game. Email me at my usual address below. The competition end date is the 14th of December 2009. The sooner I get three winners the sooner the games go out, so get sending your entries.
This talk of competitions leads me nicely to my next topic of regular online competitions. We are going to be teaming up with www.pesrankings.com with lots of exciting prizes. We are looking to establish a permanent presence on pesrankings.com, so this should be an exciting time for everyone involved with our site. We will be looking to create a trial competition on the PS3 very soon to see how we fair. Hopefully we can get pretty efficient with running them, and have regular competitions for everyone to join in on.
That’s all I have for you guys this week, so I look forward to getting some entries in soon for the PS2 copies we have available.
Thanks for reading
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by Dan Bolas in PES 2010 News on Sat 14 Nov 2009
Welcome to the Second Phase. Basically, with PES being slightly void of posts at the moment, I thought I would produce a second column that focuses solely on one issue. This will not be a regular occurrence, and the Second Phase will appear occasionally and when I feel it is required. Interfering With Play will still be available for your reading pleasure every Tuesday. Following some of the discussions on the forum and comments, along with the numerous e-mails I have been sent, I thought it would be important to address the issue of online play.
To start off, I have been playing PES online since Pro Evolution Soccer 4. The PC version of the game was arguably the most successful online offering to do date, with minimal to no lag present, and solid, decent connections. It lacked any kind of lobby system, and as a result separate software was required to arrange matches, but upon actually playing the game, the action shone through. PES 5 was also very enjoyable online, again on the PC, before PES 6 started to show some of the lag issues that have plagued the game ever since. I refused to play PES 2008 and 2009 on my PS3, for the simple reason that in my experiences, the game was borderline unplayable.
That brings me to the current state we are in, namely PES 2010. I was very optimistic about the experience during the pre-release phase, the news of no Konami ID system brought a new level of hope, and the beta testers all reported positive things. In fact, I lost my first game online 2-1, but I was beaten fair and square, and not because of any slow down or button delay, something which I can stomach. Since then, I have played around 30 games, winning just under half and registering 8 losses. Of those eight losses, I would say I was beaten by a better player four times. Here in lies the problem with PES online.
No one likes to lose at video games, and PES fans are as passionate as anyone in this. Unlike games such as Modern Warfare 2, where there are 8 gamers all after the victory, the 1 v 1 aspect of PES makes it a real winner and loser affair, and with most PES gamers being able to beat the computer teams on a regular basis, defeat isn’t something people like to experience. However, losing by means out of your control is what really brings the frustration. And PES has this in spades. As I mentioned before, of the eight games I have lost, I would give four opponents their dues. They out played me and whether or not it was simply with Barcelona or Real Madrid, they earned their victory. Two of my defeats where down to me disconnecting, simply because my players weren’t responding to the controls. This is down to the dreaded button lag, and meant my players were moving three to four seconds after the command was pressed. In my opinion, if a match is suffering from button lag, you are more than entitled to quit, because the 3-0 defeat looks a lot better than the 8-10 nil defeat you will end up experiencing if you stay and play. The other two matches I would claim my game lagged at crucial points, simply not registering my commands or freezing entirely. The majority of that match was still playable, but it was normally down to losing by the odd goal, at a moment when I had possession of the ball.
For these bad games, I have had a number of very enjoyable games online, most of which I hope showed me as the better player as opposed to my opponent suffering from the above mentioned problems. The question regarding online play is simply, why is it so inconsistent? If you are a gamer that has problems every game, the chances are that is down to your own connection, but if you don’t have problems with other games, then why should you with PES? Is there any point at all in the Red, Amber and Green lights? As mentioned, in the 30 games I have played I have had 30 games of orange lights, whilst my opponents have been orange (in a good game) or red (usually the games that suffer from button lag). Yet all my other online games simply play fine, without the need for traffic lights.
First and foremost, PES 2010 is a below average online gaming experience, however, games that don’t suffer from any lag just offer enough incentive to make me keep on playing one more match. So here is the plan, over the next few weeks, I am looking to sort out some sort of community page for PESGaming.com where you can post you PSN ID or Konami ID and meet other gamers. It will also give you the opportunity to rate other gamers on issues such as connections and button lag, if any. Hopefully, this will allow for more matches between gamers who play with decent internet connections, and blacklist gamers than constantly cause the game to lag! So help out, if you are a regular poster on this site, let me know in the comments section your online experience so far (rated out of 5) and which console you are playing on.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 10 Nov 2009
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. Of course, this week sees the release of Modern Warfare 2, and as a result, I am sure it will be spending a great deal of time in many people’s consoles, more so than Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 in some cases. Whilst I know its technically not a topic for discussion on this website, Infinity Ward’s game, which has already smashed all kinds of pre-order records, is the perfect example of how to create an improve a game for the next generation. Games like Pro Evolution Soccer can learn a huge amount from the way the Call Of Duty franchise has adapted and then improved on the current platforms, treating online and offline modes in equal stead. On a personal note, I would put myself in the awful bracket of the online shooting games, but thoroughly enjoy playing them. Last time out, I held back from purchasing COD 4, and ended up having to pay full price for the game just to keep in line with my mates. If you are lucky enough to pick up a copy on or around the release, and as a one off, feel free to use the comments section to let the community know your views on this epic title. Also, as a special one off, I will allow for the posting on PSN iD’s and X Box Live iD’s in the comments section, to allow you to meet up with fellow gamers online. With that all said, this is still a PES and football gaming website, and therefore I will revert back to a football gaming topic for this week’s Interfering With Play.
“Rival Schools”
For the past few weeks, and including the review of PES 2010, I have quite deliberately not mentioned FIFA 10. Obviously, as has been said before, when you have two rival franchises in direct competition of each other, comparisons are unavoidable. Yet when reviewing games or simply discussing one title, it is not always the best cause of action to look straight across the table, usually because the differences don’t always express themselves at first glance. However, I am now in possession of FIFA 10, and feel it would be both naïve and irresponsible of me not to offer my views in the form of a review for this site. I did so last year, and plan to do so over the next few weeks.
I am not a fan of ‘initial impressions’ and therefore don’t want to dwell too much on the experiences I have had so far, but would like to offer the simple option for all members of the community, both fan boys and the rational amongst you. If you have played both FIFA 10 and PES 2010, I would like you to pick one single positive from each game that you think is genuinely better than the other. Feel free to elaborate if you wish, but by doing this, the picture will be painted for both my review, as I will have a little bit more of an idea what people want to hear about, and will also hopefully show in which areas both games need to improve.
Of course, if you haven’t played the full game of both titles, you are less likely to be able to provide an honest opinion, but I still ask you give it a go. You can do so either by sending a direct e-mail, or simply leaving a comment in the usual manner.
“Tick Tock, Tick Tock”
This last week saw the release of PES 2010 on the PSP and more notably the Playstation 2. Again, going on personal opinion, I have not played the Playstation 2 version of Pro Evolution Soccer since PES 6, however sales must still make the game a valuable part of Konami’s gaming catalogue. My question to the community is now; do we really need Pro Evolution Soccer on the Playstation 2?
When the original Pro Evolution Soccer came out on PS2, it was met by a certain level of uncertainty. ISS had been released a year before on the console to mixed reviews, and PES felt very different. So much so, it took the franchise a couple of years to really kick into its groove, with PES3 being the first game to really be accepted as the overall king of football games. Since then, the franchise produced some of its best work, with 4, 5 and 6 still receiving hours of game time from many players on a weekly basis in the year 2009. However, like Michael Owen, the game has now seemingly peaked on the PS2. Sure, its still there, but its not reaching the levels it once did and nostalgia seems to be ruling logic. So much so, that many reviews and gamers believe the game has hardly changed over the past couple of seasons, and instead Konami are churning out a yearly update for fans to spend their money on, albeit with one or two extra features.
This is one of the biggest PES communities in the world, so I will ask you guys the question, is there anyone out there who still plays PES 2010 on the Playstation 2? The PSP version is slightly different as it is obviously portable and has different novelties and fills a different market, but the PS2 version is seemingly a direct alternative to the PS3 or 360 versions of the game. Maybe you are a fan who simply can’t afford a new console, and still want to play PES? Or perhaps you are a more causal gamer who chooses to stick to their current console? Maybe you even feel that the game on the PS2 is still improving year in year out, and is actually better than any other version? Bottom line is every different format of game, i.e. Wii, PS3 and PS2 all take different timescales to develop. Would Konami be better ditching the older games to spend more time and man power on newer titles? Or is there still a call out there for the last generation versions of the game? Get in touch in the usual way!
“Finally It Happened To Me”
10:30pm on Saturday evening it finally happened. After a handful of genuinely enjoyable online games, I played against an opponent who had the dreaded button lag. Up until this point, the game had run exceptionally smoothly for me online, and I genuinely believed people were making mountains out of molehills. But upon experiencing the game on Saturday night, I have to say that it is genuinely a case of picking your opponents wisely.
If you haven’t had a game of this nature yet, I assure you it deems the game unplayable. I prime example would be on a goal kick, where I counted allowed to four between pressing the button and the kick being taken. I had to plan moves three or four seconds in advance at a time, because the delay was that bad. Shooting or crossing was out the question entirely, and I am not proud to say I ended up turning off my console at half time. My opponent, on the other hand, was bringing out fake shots, stepovers and drag backs, and finding the game a heck of a lot easier. I know this was not my connection, but instead my opponents, however, I urge all gamers to run the Konami online systems check (its a few posts below). If you have problems playing online, there are a few pieces of advice I can offer.
Firstly, try and use a wired connection. I know this isn’t always practical, but if you can, there is no benefit to being wireless at all, especially when gaming online. Secondly, don’t use other online programs when playing online. This can range from using Microsoft Messenger or downloading a file of the Playstation Store. My opponent who I experienced the lag against was on microphone, and I heard in the background the sound of an instant messenger. It is very frustrating and very unfair on opponents. Thirdly, try playing at different times of the day. I usually play after midnight, and find the gaming experience to be much better than I did at a peak time on Saturday night. As a result, I will no longer play PES online on a Saturday.
Of course, these tips aren’t guaranteed to work, but in all three cases, they are definitely worth a try to improve your online experience. As I play more online, I will keep the community updated, and I urge you guys to do the same. If you have applied to be in the IWP League, make sure you have a consistently good gaming connection, otherwise you will be removed from the league during the play testing stage. Please leave comments regarding your online experiences, so other community members can use them for their own reference.
“That Goalies A Wall”
Just a quick follow up from last week’s piece about goalkeepers. I received a huge total on one video regarding the goalkeeping situation on PES 2010. This can mean only one of two things, either that all people who have had issues with the goalkeepers no longer play the game, or the problem isn’t as bad as first made out. Watching Match of the Day, it’s exceptionally common that goalkeepers flap, parry and push out the ball and in some cases not even move for it! Of course, this is frustrating on a football game, but at the same time, it reflects the real world game. My inbox is still open to these goalkeeping bloopers, and I have experienced one ‘error’ in my past week’s worth of gaming, but I will not be holding my breath for future indiscretions.
The one error I have received a query about is the R1 dummy for goalkeepers. For those of you unaware, or using the 360 version, when you hold down the sprint button before your player receives a pass, and don’t press anything else, said player well let the ball run through his legs. This is a great little attacking move, especially to create space in and around the penalty area, but a genuine hindrance when your goalkeeper does it on a back pass and lets in a goal. It has happened to me once in maybe 7 years, but a community member says it is a regular occurrence between him and his mates. Whilst this isn’t an AI issue, anyone who has any views on this can get in touch in the usual ways, and let themselves be heard.
That’s your lot for this week. Once again, some real issues for you guys to get your teeth into. The response to the IWP League has been huge, with over 150 applications in the space of 4 days. I am sorting through them at the moment, and obviously will be doing so for the next few weeks. The application form is just a few posts below, so if you haven’t applied already, you can do so by filling that in. Please only fill it in once, as multiple applications will be deleted. The league has no maximum age, but there may be a minimum age, depending on applicants. Finally, games from Australia and America will only be welcome if they are using a European version of the game. If you are using your native version, it cannot be used against the EU version, and therefore you application will be declined. The application process will continue until the end of November. interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk is the place to send e-mail, and as always your comments are welcomed regarding anything you have read during this week’s article, or anything regarding PES. Lastly, we are yet to receive official confirmation about the update for PES 2010. As soon as we do, it will be posted on the front page of this site.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Fri 06 Nov 2009
Sound progress for PES 2010 Konami unleashes PSP® and PlayStation 2 versions of acclaimed football series As Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH releases the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation 2 versions of its popular PES 2010 title, it has released full details of the game’s fully licenced soundtrack.
PES 2010 is released for PSP® and PlayStation 2 on November 6th, and shares many of the attributes of its next generation cousins. Both games enjoy much improved player and team AI, while the visuals have also been significantly enhanced. Every aspect of the game – from close control, through to commentary and presentation – has been thoroughly reworked, and follows a year of feedback and discussion with the PES community.
The use of licensed tracks was just one of the many requests asked by the PES fan base, and the Tokyo-based WEP team has incorporated over 25 well-known and specially selected tracks that suit the game perfectly. Tracks include ‘Dakota’ and ‘A Thousand Trees’ by the Stereophonics, ‘Again and Again’ by Keane, and Paul Weller’s anthemic ‘Come On/Let’s Go.’ PES 2010 is already available for PLAYSTATIONR3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD, and as Konami releases its new iterations, the publisher is already discussing future plans with the PES community for ways to take the series forward.
PES 2010 will be released for PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) and PlayStation 2 on November 6th. For more information, please contact Steve Merrett at Voltage PR on 020 7903 5122 or email steve@voltagepr.com. All copyrights or trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used under license.
