Archive for December, 2009
Posted by Dan Bolas in PES 2010 News on Wed 30 Dec 2009
This is the final post by myself for the year 2009, and a very hectic year it has been too. We have had 5 competitions on this very site, giving away a range of PES prizes from games to signed merchandise. We have had a great deal of contact with Konami regarding the future of their/our game, and hopefully this will begin to show in the end product. On top of this, we have had hours upon hours of debates, literally hundreds of posts and thousands of comments. And for 2010, we only want to get bigger and better. Change rarely works, evolution is the way forward, in both the PES series and within PESGaming.com, with 2010 being no exception.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, this time of year I always look back and reflect on the past 12 months, and the below questions are a sample of this. If you would like to take part, simply copy the questions into a comment, and then fill in your own answers. If any columnists or site members would like their’s to appear on the home page, please e-mail me your answers and I will update the post.
Gaming Moment Of 2009:
Player Of 2009:
Football Moment Of 2009:
Best Part Of PES2010:
Biggest Letdown Of PES2010:
Biggest Wish For The Year 2010:
Tip For Rising Star Of 2010:
Final Comments (A Short Paragraph About The Previous Year Of PESGaming.com)
Pretty self explanitory I think. As always, everything is open to interpretation, so feel free to be as honest and take what you like out of each question.
Gaming Moment Of 2009: Batmean Arkham Asylum. Maybe not as cool as Modern Warfare 2, but the moment when you first walk out of the Treatment centre, and the whole of Arkham Island pans into view makes you appreciate just how much of an awesome prospect awaits you. Plus it has raised the bar for super hero games, which is no bad thing.
Player Of 2009: Andreas Iniesta. Doesn’t get the goals of Messi and Ronaldo, but when it matters, time after time, he puts in quality performances. Semi final against Chelsea in the Champions League, last minute, ball breaks on the edge of the box, most players would panic, touch of class. Honourable mention to Ryan Giggs, who is an absolute legend of the English and World game.
Football Moment Of 2009: Two for me. The obvious one was seeing Wolves get promoted, and in the right way this time. No need for the drama of the Play Offs, we were the top dog in that league by some distance. Of course, it hasn;t transfered as liked into the Premier League so far but we are still in with a shout. And we’re not bottom at Christmas! Second for a single moment would have to be Liverpool 4 – 4 Arsenal. Not only did it show the sheer quality of Arshavin, but it also showed that the top four can play out exciting, end to end games without the need to cancel each other out, and as more teams start to press for that position (Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham) is is the hope that games remain entertaining and not stalemates.
Best Part Of PES2010: There are quite a few to be honest. Very much in love with the game at the moment. To pick one issue, and as trivial as it may be, would be the soundtrack. I love the game playand love the graphics, and these get alot of time in IWP, but the fact that Konami have licensed music that (accidentally or not) fits the football atmosphere and suits the game just gives the impression that someone, somewhere is listening. It is a step in the right direction, on a journey that is a long and dangerous one.
Biggest Letdown Of PES2010: Two and a half here. The first the the undenying crash element of the PS3 version of the game. The simple way to avoid it is to not watch the pre game cut scene, but this is a real game killer, especially as it is something that should have been eradicated in testing. Second is online mode. It is improved and at times playable, but still there is too much grey area, especially as both parties rarely have a delay-free match. It is taken further to an akward lobby system and dated menu process. The half point is whats missing. There are so may little ideas that could have been included. Managers, 5/7 a side, customising refs, or even stuff as old as all star teams and penalty shoot outs. These ideas aren’t new, and if Konami don’t do them soon, you can be sure EA Sports will, which in turn will make FIFA a much more attractive prospect.
Biggest Wish For The Year 2010: I won’t make this a personal wish, just instead a simple wish. There was a list I mentioned in the final IWP of 2009, outlining the potential improvements for PES 2011. My wish is that each and every improvement is implemented into the future game, and by doing this, vastly improving the overall experience of PES 2011. I enjoy the game play, and i enjoy PES, but I would love it to demand more time from me, becuse of a 5 a side mode, or because i could edit my own stadium!
Tip For Rising Star Of 2010: Tricky one. Towards the end of this year, my rising star has been Alex Song from Arsenal. Absolute quality in the defensive midfield and IF Arsenal are to win the title, it will be because of his ability to do the snotty, dirty work. But my actual tip is one that has had me ridiculed by mates and work collegues, yet it might just be the dfference come June in the World Cup, Lee Cattermole. Great signing by Steve Bruce for Sunderland, still only a very young lad and reminds me of Steven Gerrard 10 years ago. Needs to add more to his game in the final third, but might be a surprise addition to the World Cup Squad (Hargreaves a liability, better than Jenas) and offers a ball winner than is slightly lacking with a Lampard and Barry central pairing. If he was at a bigger club, he would be getting rave reviews, but his performances for Sunderland (when fit) have been of a very high standard.
Final Comments (A Short Paragraph About The Previous Year Of PESGaming.com) Just a huge thank you to everyone who has made the last 12 months possible on PESGaming.com. We have an exceptionally good team here, both in the admin side and on the forums. The people who spend their time writting age long comments and then returning to reply to them. This is passion for a product. You don;t see people writing pages regarding Coca Cola or Walkers Crisps (UK), which once again proves that we have a dedicated and determined community, willing to get their views accross. As i said at the start, we have had a great 12 months, and hopefully the following 12 will continue to build. I’d expect a new columnist or two to help share the work load of me and Double D, and probably a couple more competitions, including the IWP League.
All I am left to say now is have a happy, healthy, safe and peaceful New Year, and hope to hear from you all in 2010.
For the final time in 2009, Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2010 News on Mon 21 Dec 2009
PES DLC and update hits today Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH will today release free content and an update for its PES 2010 title for PLAYSTATION(R)3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD. 3 new balls and 10 new boots are offered as additional free DLC. On the other side, the update makes it even easier to use the game’s comprehensive formation settings, and also adds icons to show the connectivity status of online players. All settings can now be saved and Stocked Data will be loaded automatically, speeding up play immediately. Likewise, the new connectivity icons will show the user as a Grey icon, with Green, Yellow and Red icons detailing the quality of the opponent’s connection, with red being the worse. The update also improves match making between users of the PC-DVD version of the game with different processors.
Posted by Don Sweey in Site Updates on Sun 20 Dec 2009
I’m sure those of you with musical taste will join the entire PESGaming staff in congratulating Rage Against the Machine for claiming this year’s UK Christmas number 1 with “Killing in the Name” after a hugely successful internet campaign.
On that note, an early Merry Christmas to you all from PESGaming.com!
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Sat 19 Dec 2009
It’s the final article of 2009 from me, and looking back, it’s been quite a year.
PESGaming.com has grown considerably over the past year, with a very strong community contribution which we are very grateful for. We’ve had lots of discussion points and arguments – myself in particular causing a fair few arguments and having to wield the banhammer on plenty of occasions.
PES2010 has had a very mixed reception generally, but i do hope you guys can see progress being made in the game. Perhaps not at the pace many would like, but progress nonetheless. We face a monumental year in 2010 when we will collectively begin and champion the cause all over again.
In spite of the challenges faced by Konami there is a very strong backing from PES hardcore fans for the series. We know what WEP are capable of, and we’re all out to try and help them achieve that. Regular readers will be aware that I’ve stated in the past that we will have to wait until PES2011 for a proper game representative of our expectations, and I stand by that. Last year’s involvement from the top PES fan sites was the first attempt to influence the process. This year we should have what I will term a bit more of a “well-oiled machine” in terms of interaction with Konami.
But we’ve plenty of time to get into the new year’s challenges next year, so for now the message from me is to keep the faith. I’m sure many of you will agree with me that PES2010 is the finest installment in the series to date, and can see that there is unlocked potential that we will be tapping into.
My biggest challenge, with your help, is to help provide as much assistance with the online side of the game as possible. I have set up a community mode called “www.pesgaming.com” which now harbours a total of 10 members. I would like to urge you all to please join the community and let’s gather our collective online experiences for Konami.
We will set up as many community sites as is required to try to give the mode a proper thumping. I have to say that so far my experiences with the online game have been fairly favourable with games. I haven’t experienced much in the way of the dreaded delayed response. So I urge you guys to join the community and play against various people and let’s try to see what the game does for us. I personally can’t complain about the online mode as vociferously if I don’t experience issues, or if people aren’t telling me about their issues. On that note, thank you to the few people who have said that they are experiencing issues, your comments are being recorded for now.
Finally I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a fantastic new year.
Thanks for reading
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 15 Dec 2009
Welcome to the final Interfering With Play of 2009. For the past 50 weeks, this column has provided a variety of discussion topics and ideas regarding Pro Evolution Soccer as well as being the platform for keeping you up to date with the latest news from Konami and the football gaming world. I feel that with the game now in the majority of gamer’s consoles, and the festive period truly upon us, it is as good a time as any to take a brief rest period and take stock over what is sure to be a crucial 12 months for Konami and the PES franchise. After speaking to a few people regarding the differences between Winning Eleven and PES, it has to be said the results are inconclusive. Without playing the game myself, first hand, I am reluctant to pass any further comment on the issues, and those people I have spoken to offer widely contrasting views. With that said, I will leave this topic as ‘open’ for now, and if anyone wishes to have the two cents worth, they can do so in future weeks. With that said, lets crack on with a hectic Interfering With Play.
“I Have A New Idea”
To some of you, the following may have been a bit of a shock, but I personally found the information out too late to include it in this week’s Interfering With Play. Konami have commission a survey to register gamer’s feedback regarding PES 2010. The majority of the stuff is pretty self explanatory, with features ranging for improving online mode to the variety of game modes, but the one question genuinely fills me with hope for PES 2011.
Question 10 on the survey reads, If The Following Features Were Added To PES, Rate Them In Order Of Importance. Then a one to five scale next to each of the options. The options read, Stadium Editor, Customisable Cameras, Set Piece Editor, Interactive Cut Scenes, Interactive / Customisable Celebrations, Customisable Refs, Classic Club Teams, Challenge Mode, Scenario Mode, Advanced Training Mode, Online Master League, Customisable Managers, New Skills/Tricks/Feints, Second Division Leagues, More Licensed Leagues and More Than 2v2 Online.
The above list shows that Konami at least has some idea of ways to improve the game, and they need to work their socks off this year implementing ALL of the above! Couple this with a completely refurbished online set up, with dedicated servers, and (albeit a personal choice) some kind of Futsal/5 A Side/7 A Side game mode, and Konami would actually have a product worthy of its huge fan base and a game that would fulfil the potential it showed many years ago.
We all know Konami by now, and we know they have a tendency to remove one thing to include another (where has the PK mode gone?). The features they add must not be included at the expense of anything. Undoubtedly Konami’s biggest cash cow is Pro Evolution Soccer, and they have to treat it as such. These features mentioned now are in Konami’s mind. There is absolutely no excuse for them not to be implemented into future versions of PES, and namely PES 2011. If you took part in the survey, I would love to hear what you leaned towards, and if you didn’t I can only apologise for not finding out about it sooner!
“Dream World”
I must admit though, with the above taken into account, some people are along way off understanding where Konami need to be heading. I receive a number of e-mails on a weekly basis regarding PES, and what would turn it into a ‘great game again’. Over the past few weeks, many of these have been well thought out and structured, however there is a couple that are very wide of the mark.
One says that PES will be the best football game on the market if it includes a boot editor! Now, I believe a boot editor would be a nice inclusion to a game, and it certainly would improve the already strong edit mode, but it is hardly a game making feature. New game modes, new animations and new features would all be highly prioritised over a feature which simply improves the appearance of footwear.
Another big issue is regarding two player competitions and leagues. In all my time playing PES, I have never played a league or Master League with another human being. I have always gone it alone because when I have mates round, we tend to play against each other or in a Fix style environment. Yet there are gamers out there that say PES would be a completely different game if you could simply add the option to play two players in league matches, something which must only apply to a small percentage of the PES playing community.
So I ask you, the PESGaming public, as the final major ‘homework’ question of the year, do you play league and cup competitions alone or with mates? I am fully aware that PES in a social experience, but is it one you like to do co-operatively or competitively? E-mail or comment in the usual way, all views will be taken into account and will let us get a picture of the demographic we have on our side.
“Crash Bang Wallop, What A Video Game”
Again, having my PS3 back, it may just be teething problems, but does anyone have a problem with Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 crashing? It normally occurs during the games loading period and offers a screen freeze which requires a hard reset of the console. This is the first game that I have experienced this on, and owning over 50 games, I believe this is more than just coincidence. If anyone else has this problem, either for 360 or PS3, let me know and I can put it as an official complaint to Konami.
“Where Do We Go From Here”
So another year over, and for some of you, another year of supporting PESGaming.com. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your comments, discussions, arguments and points over the past 12 months. It may sound clichéd but this site runs because of you, and I am proud that in spite of our new found relationship with Konami, we can still be as open, honest and impartial as ever! But what does the future hold, and how does this site continue to expand?
I personally tried to change the layout of the site, but due to a poor knowledge of Word Press, I reluctantly gave up. However, content as features will be added well into the New Year. Double D is going to be setting up a number of cup competitions, and old favourites such as PRO-ve Your Skills and the now famous IWP League will return. Starting in January, we will be working on our content to Konami, which will hopefully be delivered face to face again in 2010, and we will be taking a great deal of time to ensure the views of the community as a whole are taken on board.
But arguably more important than all of that, we will maintain to be an impartial and honest source for PES news and opinions. We don’t ban talk of FIFA, and we encourage constructive comments, be they positive or negative. We encourage different views, and hope that arguments continue, as long as they remain within the spirit of this site. We will try to remain as official as possible, leaving rumours to the other sites and only posting news that you guys actually care about. I can only speak for myself on this point, but I am proud to write for PESGaming.com. 2010 will be the beginning of my fourth calendar year writing Interfering With Play (I started mid 2007) and my 7th year involved with the site (forum member since 2003). As long as Konami still make a quality football game, and as long as PESGaming keeps its current stance regarding news and opinions, I will continue to be part of it!
That’s your lot for this week, and this year! I believe Double D will be posting on Saturday 19th December 2009 (this hasn’t been confirmed) and then there will be an end of year post between Christmas Day & New Years Eve. Interfering With Play will return to your browsers on Tuesday 5th January 2010. If you have anything you wish to get in touch about, the e-mail address as always is interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk All it leaves me to say is have a very Merry Christmas and a safe happy and healthy New Year.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Sat 12 Dec 2009
I’d like to start this week’s column by congratulating the three PS2 PES2010 (PAL) copies:
Simon Mcdermott
Steven Victor Lyness
Ebendo Ejechi
I did forget to mention that the copies are for PAL region copies, so hopefully they are still valid for them. Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition. There were a few very good entries, and it was a tough call deciding on the final three. There will be plenty more competitions to run going into next year with hopefully some fab prizes, so please do keep your eyes open.
Can the three winners please email me their addresses so that I can post the games out to you as soon as possible.
Moving on, I have to say that I am still not satisfied with the level of feedback I’ve been getting with regards to the state of play with online games.
Some people are complaining that it is completely broken, others are saying that they have response lag issues. I am not getting the volume of complaints against the online mode as I would expect. I think a good reason for this is probably that not many people have particularly bothered playing the game online – myself included. If you are amongst these people who don’t play the game online, I’d really like to hear why.
Personally I don’t like the whole online interface. There’s no obvious easy option to play a 1 v 1 friendly by default. This is a major issue for me.
I don’t want to set up a game room and pray for someone to come across the room by chance and then play against me. I can envisage waiting for quite a while for that to happen.
Anyway, I think we need to collectively do more to use the online side of the game. I have created a new Community called: PESGaming.com which I invite everyone to join. I want to try to give the mode a shot. I am looking for as many players as possible to join it please. The purpose of the community will be to hopefully get gaming and see collectively just where the issues with online gaming are. The intention is to provide valuable feedback to Konami on what we think of the current online system, and to hopefully suggest ways in which we would like to see it improved.
The more numbers we get of people banding together and bouncing ideas off each other, the more the chances of us improving our game.
I would like to remind people that we are stakeholders in PES, and we should do more to exercise our right to opinions on what it needs.
As usual, keeping all criticism/complaints constructive is the only way to do things right. I don’t want to have to start pulling out the ban hammer, it’s been locked away for a little while now, and please help me keep it there!
I am going to have to cut this one a little short this week since I have a lot going on in my real life, so apologies for not providing more of a read.
Please do join the online community with us, we look forward to seeing you on it.
Thanks for reading
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut)
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 08 Dec 2009
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. It seems every week I am having to start my column apologising for something, and this week I am once again working on a very busy timeline. I am fully aware that there are people out there who look forward to reading my weekly column on their lunch break or with a cup of tea in the morning, and therefore I try to meet each deadline. With the weeks coming up to Christmas, PESGaming normally falls onto its annual winter break, to give bloggers and contributors time off. The forums still do a roaring business over the festive period; however next week will be the final Interfering With Play of 2009. There will be our annual review of the year posted at some point over the Christmas period, and this column in particular will return on Tuesday 5th January 2010. With that said, there are still two weeks worth of talking points to discuss, so lets crack on with this week’s Interfering With Play.
“Been Around The World”
Having openly asked the PESGaming community for their views on Winning Eleven (the Asian brand of Pro Evolution Soccer) I received a fair few e-mails, many of which were either in a foreign language or too difficult to translate. The ones that I did get to view were very complimentary about WE, saying it is a superior all round game to PES 2010. Without experiencing the game myself, I would always reserve judgement, but the views from the majority of people who have played both tend to lean towards the Japanese game as opposed to the EU equivalent.
So my question is pretty simple, why even release a different game over the course of two regions? Correct me if I am wrong, but Call Of Duty plays the same no matter which side of the Atlantic you reside in, or Faith still jumps buildings to the same quality on varying versions of Mirror’s Edge. If I am honest, my experience of Winning Eleven is limited to video footage and word of mouth, but from my experience each year’s version seems to be a slightly more polished version of PES. Why?
With the above said one issue that remains universally weak are the online modes. The people I spoke to have all said their games suffer from delay or lag, and this has genuinely affected their gaming experience. There will be a great deal of talk on this site in the new year about potential ways of solving this problem, but for the time being, I am very interested to hear more from anyone who has played both versions of PES and WE, and most importantly, language aside, which version they prefer. E-mails can be sent as always to the usual address.
“Sing For The Moment”
Finally, I have a new PS3, and at the moment a borrowed copy of PES 2010. That means I have actually managed to give a look over the downloadable content released just a couple of weeks ago. Before we take this point any further, I would like to point out that, as with many of you, I was aware that this download would have no affect on the actual game itself other than the inclusion of teams and transfers. If I had been going into viewing the DLC with that attitude it would have built up a false pretence for actually what it was, which was a pretty solid update of transfer information. Yes, there are new teams available in the Champions League mode (I know, calm down!) but the real reason I had been waiting for this edit was because it updated the ‘rosters’.
That is all well and good, and hats off to Konami for doing it and making it free of charge, but the huge question is, why is it such a big deal that Konami have shown such after care service. Taking a month to bring out an update is one thing, but then to leave countless PR drops and blog entries promoting it seems a little bit self gratuitous. In a day and age where video games are revolutionised by DLC (Grand Theft Auto) or given extra lifespan (Call Of Duty Maps, Burnout Paradise) it should be noted that Konami’s offering actually does neither.
I am not a huge fan of nailing Konami for moving forwards, and the offer of DLC is something which Konami made new last year, but it still feels that Konami are genuinely doing the bare minimum to compete. There are no new teams, editing options, boots or competitions. No new stadiums or music packs, it is simply an update. And it has taken a month. People at Konami are now very much looking to the community as a way of heading forwards, and the improvement towards the online gaming aspect is something that has been spoken about to great lengths, but issues such as downloadable content and new game modes can not afford to be ignored either.
So, to get us in the mood for next year, and to put a few ideas out there, the question I ask this week is pretty simple. What would you like to see Konami make available as downloadable content? Let your imagination run wild with this one, as the sky is pretty much the limit. It might be a handful of new graphical inclusions, or maybe a story mode for Become A Legend, or perhaps an entire new game mode (I am itching for 7 a side football!) Leave you comments in the usual manner, as downloadable content is the present and future of video games. Konami need to realise this!
“It’s Tricky”
Some top views raised about the difficulty levels last week. I would agree that I don’t see too much difference between professional and top player, as I find them to be much of a like. I also found it very interesting the way changing the sliders for your opponents could affect the way they play against you, especially from an attacking AI point of view. This is something I will look at over the next few days.
One thing I think people miss out a bit is that playing against AI teams such as Barcelona and even Liverpool, there are ways to use their weaknesses and exploit them. For example, Dani Alves always seems to push forward and get caught out of position, which is idea for using a pacey left winger to exploit the space. If you play as Burnley or Hull City, teams that lack pace, you are going to struggle at playing against Barcelona, whereas if you are a Real Madrid or Chelsea, you will find it easier to exploit the space. People then go on to moan they struggle to get a result against teams such as Burnley themselves, and lose games against weaker sides such as Portsmouth. This is because these sides tend to be very narrow, which in turn pushes your play down the wing. They also have tall, imposing Centre Backs that are good in the air, which means if you have a Van Persie Or Eduardo in the middle, you crosses will normally be intercepted by the defenders. If you can adapt you way of playing between a variety of styles, you may find yourself winning against all comers, but it is wrong to criticise the game for offering different styles of opponent.
As regards to the next level of difficulty, superstar or 6 stars, the suggestions of making unlockable or even downloadable would be welcomed by myself. However, PES has always played like a game that is both realistic and fair, and I would hate to feel like I was going into a match without a chance! I am quite happy to leave the issue of difficultly open for a couple more weeks. Get in touch in the usual way.
“Old Timers”
In regards to some comments made about Classic Players last week, I have to say I totally agree with the views made. I am a huge football fan, and fully respect the great players that have played the sport. However, I have no urge to play as Pele and co. on PES, especially against the modern teams on the game. I have always blocked the option to allow these players to be used in Master League, and although I have unlocked the majority of these Classic Teams year in year out, I never play as them. I would much prefer the option to play as dream teams from the various leagues and continents and opposed to stars from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
What would appeal to me, however, is the ability to have these teams play either in old style tournaments or just simply have a larger collection of them in a different game mode. I have spoke before about including classic Champions League teams, and I would be more than happy to jump on board a scenario mode whereby you play as classic teams in a series of matches to rewrite history (as seen in the exceptional concept but terribly executed WWE Legends Of Wrestlemania game).This could be even taken further as PES goes back to its international roots. I would be delighted to play the 1966 World Cup Final again, especially in black and white, or even try and stop Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’.
I believe modes like this would not only add another dimension to the PES franchise, but would also appease fans who like using these classic players and teams in game mode more suited to its fantasy element. Your views, as always are greatly appreciated.
“League Of Our Own”
Finally this week, I will be running a qualification period for the IWP 2010 league. Everyone who has applied and been successful will receive an e-mail between now and January explaining the next steps. If you do not wish to take part any more due to commitments, or simply feel you can not play PES 2010 properly, you will be excused without any problems at all. Obviously during this busy festive period, it is difficult to fit everything in, but I hope to have these e-mails out no later than the second week of January.
That’s your lot for this week. I have downloaded a couple of option files, and am trying them out over the next few days, as to give you guys an informed choice. I know there are people out there who have waited patiently, so I owe it to you guys to make the best decision I possibly can. As always, interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk is the place to direct e-mails to, and I look forward to next week’s column looking back on the comments you guys have made.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Sat 05 Dec 2009
I am interested in getting some PES online competitions going via www.pesrankings.com for PS3 players initially. I think it’s about time we started to run regular competitions which are open to all. I know Dan runs his own little league, and I shall try to get him to follow into running it via pesrankings too. We will be getting prizes to give away to winners too, so there should be a goal worth going for.
I have tried to post a competition for this weekend, but so far haven’t had any interest, and probably because I haven’t advertised it on this site.
So, if there is anyone interested in joining in this weekend, look for the “PESGAMING CUP” taking place today and tomorrow.
I am looking to get a few trial cup runs going to get used to the format and to administrate them before launching proper competitions which prizes up for grabs. I’d appreciate some assistance from you guys with it, so please do give it a bash.
Dan has mentioned recently in his column that we will be looking to collate our criticisms/suggestions/ideas for PES2011 in the new year, so I think it would be a good idea if you guys could use the rest of this month to systematically go over the current game and start to put your thoughts down on paper ready for the big initiative we will be driving.
I know there will be people stating that Konami don’t listen and won’t do what we want them to, and if you seriously believe this, then please don’t even bother to post comments back. We do believe Konami are listening to us, and so we want to try to help shape the game by getting our concerns addressed. I’ve said it in the past, and I’ll say it again, pessimism and negativity won’t change anything positively. But if like us, you would like to try to make a difference then please join us and I know for a fact that we’re being listened to.
I have a good measure on what I consider to be the key issues with PES2010 for me, and I will be listing them in the new year.
For now, I have to say that there aren’t enough comments reporting back about the online issues that PES has. I personally don’t like the whole online implementation, with regards to creating match rooms and having to wait around in them for people to connect to and play.
I think the whole online interface needs a complete overhaul, but I need to sit down and pretty much list the important factors that it should have.
If there is anyone interested in helping us to design the online interface that we think would work, then please do give us a shout.
I know we won’t get the whole system changed as per our idea, but we should give ample food for thought at the very least.
Finally, thank you to the few people who have taken part in the PS2 PES2010 competition, I will be announcing the three winners later this week, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Thanks for reading
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 01 Dec 2009
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. Unfortunately, due to the dreaded yellow light of death, I have not been able to play a single game on Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, which means no direct feedback on the update nor any of the latest news on the option file recommendations. Because of this, I will do my best to post a “Second Phase” at some point this week highlighting the update, as I have managed to pick up a new PS3 in the last 24 hours, and will hopefully have a new copy of PES 2010 in the next day or two. I would like to thank the numerous community members who offered support, advice or simply just a sympathetic ear regarding the YLOD problem on PS3. Your help really made a huge difference towards selecting my possible options, and if you are someone who ends up suffering from the problem and needs advice in the future, I will do my best to pass on my wisdom learned from these past few weeks. Finally, because of the situation, there is really a limit to what I am willing to discuss in this week’s IWP. I would find it slightly hypocritical to be discussing PES when my last game on it was over 14 days ago. I will pick up on a couple of issues, hopefully to provide for a bumper sized edition of this column next week! With that said, lets crack on with this week’s Interfering With Play.
“All You Wanted”
I will genuinely ask the question, how many people were sat at home playing with their iPhones and thinking, wouldn’t it be great if their was a Pro Evolution Soccer app that in no way enhanced the gaming experience, or provided any unique or relevant information? Of course, I would be very surprised if the answer to this was yes, but the release of the iPES app is one that I genuinely offer mixed feelings about.
On one hand, I thoroughly understand the frustration posted on this board. Not only has this app taken time to develop and produce, it has no actual bearing on the video game itself, apart from featuring a handful of well edited videos. This is not a condensed version of Pro Evolution Soccer for the iPhone, for example to rival Real Football or the FIFA 10 game, but instead it seemingly acts as a mix between ‘Match Attacks’ (UK Based trading card game) and an instruction manual. I have no idea how long or how much man power it would have taken to produce such an application, but surely Konami would have been better putting these bodies into developing the actual game as opposed to a bit product that really offers very little in the way of entertainment or purpose.
However, on the other hand I can almost see what Konami were trying, albeit failing this time out. PES is well known for having a large community of fans, and an app would have been a good way of maybe sharing your PES data with your mates, be it in the form of showing off your Master League team or maybe even the replays of your best goals. These features would, of course, require some collaboration with either a third party software, or Sony and Microsoft, people whom Apple are less than renowned for doing business with. This would have given the application a personal touch though, and allowed you to take your PES stats with you, something which I believe many fans would like to do. The trading card idea also falls flat on its face for the simple lack of purpose, yet with a little bit of implementation it could have been very interesting. Perhaps you could collect points in the game, and in turn use these to buy trading cards on your app, which could then be used to play Top Trump style battles with other iPhone users. Again, this would require some communication between your console and your iPhone, technology which may still be in the pipeline, but it is for this reason I am not ‘rubbishing’ the iPES app completely
The app increases brand awareness, and has set a starting point from which future apps can be built any perhaps incorporate some of the ideas mentioned above. The goal of the month competition is a very good start, and hopefully this will lead to a future online video gallery, showing off the best goals from the PES Community. Also, the what happened next and quiz features are enjoyable enough to pass a 5 minute break at work, albeit with slightly average rewards for a correct answer! As the app only applies to a small area of the PES playing world (those with the iPhone or iPod Touch) it might be a little to soon to call this a step in the right direction regarding add on content, but it is certainly a crawl towards a destination Konami may be wise to head, whilst still remembering the number one concern is the quality of the game itself!
“It’s All Gone Quiet”
Can I just put myself on record as saying that in 2010, we will be offering ample opportunity for you guys to get your views over to Konami. Both myself and Double D have spoke about holding off until the New Year, then sorting out the best way to get our voices heard, and providing a united stand with the PES community. The time will come when constructive criticism will be rewarded by being put directly to the people who make the game, and hopefully we will help influence the future of the franchise. One question I personally would love to know the answer to is how much time is spent on the EU product in relation to the Japanese game? I know this question has come up on the board, and I would love to play a copy of the latest Winning Eleven just to see if it differs at all from PES 2010. I would also love to know just how good the online is in Asia in relation to the European game. If anyone can help me out on this issue, e-mails to the usual place!
“Easy, Easy, Easy”
One feature I feel that has sorely been missed on PES 2010 is a 6 star difficulty rating. Playing ISS Pro Evolution 2 on the PSOne, I noticed there were only three levels of difficulty, and therefore the step up to five levels is one that must have occurred following the move to the PS2. I can honestly say I have never played a single game on PES 2008, 2009 or 2010 below the Regular setting, and therefore question the whole difficulty setting topic.
More and more games are starting to offer a Call of Duty style challenge, whereby the difficulty of the game is determined by your ability to complete a number of tasks, a feature that may just work well on PES. Imagine the game evaluating your performances every couple of games, by looking at the stats and making itself better as a result. If you score a lot of goals from crosses, imagine the game doubling up on your winger. If you try to pass the ball out of defence, imagine increased pressure on your centre backs. I am sure this is what Konami were dreaming of with the much criticised ‘Team Vision’ feature, but at the moment the level of difficulty rarely fluctuates.
People mention a 6 star difficulty, which would be one level above ‘Top Player’ on the current version. However, I would be quite happy to keep 5 levels and simply make each level slightly more difficult than previous years. For example, Beginner would be scrapped, and Amateur would be the lowest level. This would allow for another level above Top Player, and stop compensating for people playing the game on a ridiculously easy level!
Out of interest, I would appreciate people stating which difficulty they are currently playing the game on, just for this site to get a feel of the standard of gamers. I know everyone will be inclined to say ‘Top Player’ but just be honest. More about difficulty in next week’s article.
That’s your lot for this week. As mentioned I will hopefully be back amongst the PES gamers in the next 48 hours, and will post a recommendation towards option files following my experience of the latest DLC update. interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk is the place to send any e-mails to, and you can leave comments by simply clicking on the comments text below. Finally, I would like to send out another quick thanks to everyone who provided their advice and support regarding the YLOD. There are too many names to list, but everyone’s opinions and experiences were greatly appreciated!
Thanks for Reading
