Interfering With Play 15/04/08
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 15 Apr 2008
Welcome to this weeks Interfering With Play. For the first time, I am writing this article on my PDA, and therefore apologies for any blatant spelling mistakes. I am delighted to have had such a positive response to my comments regarding ISS and PES 2008. It was also nice to see some new names in my inbox and on the comments page. The whole purpose of this site is to get your views across, so keep up the feedback.
We’ve All Had A Drink
The Internet, as it is, is an excellent place to find out new forms of media and entertainment, a way of meeting new people and a way of finding out information. Sites like this allow people to express their views in an open and public forum, with now barriers or boundaries, and whether you feel this is a good or a bad thing is irrelevant to the fact of that is the way it will stay. One thing I have always appreciated about the comments and humor of this site is that they are taken in good faith, and no one really takes anything too personally. A comment made last week from abbafather claiming that he ranks PES2008 over his wife and kids is a prime example of this! People who actually believe a human being would rank a computer game over living people need to get out more, and realize that having a sense of humor is exceptionally important when doing anything involving the Internet. The other person, who undoubtedly is lacked humor, is Steven Gerard (Liverpool). Not the actual player, who is still proving himself to be one of the best centre midfielders in world football, but the person posting comments, and pretending to be him. As said before, I am pretty sure that Gerrard knows how to spell his own name (two r’s not one) and would not write in such a random way. The post was not only written in broken English, but made absolutely no sense to an English speaking public. The comment can be found at the bottom of the 10 predictions for PES 2009 post, written by Peter Willis a couple of weeks ago. People, keep up with posting, as I said above, but bear in mind to have a sense of humour whilst doing so!
PS3, The Debate
I own a Playstation 3. I purchased it the very same night that it came out, and queued up a good hour and a half on a cold March night to get my hands on the true next generation gaming experience. Personally, I have been very pleased with my decision. Being mere hours away from purchasing an X Box 360, I stuck by the Sony brand that has treated me so well over the past 12 years and spent the extra cash. I highly recommend the PS3 to any gamer, with many of my mates trading in their 360’s for PS3’s. I feel the library of games, excluding those backwards compatible, is ever growing and there are enough titles in the pipeline to keep me going well after 2010! These are of course my opinions, and like every one of you out there, I am entitled to them. What cannot be argued, however are the facts. At this moment in time, in the battle between 360 and PS3, the Microsoft machine is the market leader. It has a wider variety of titles available, a premium online service and a wider choice of consoles to suit different sized budgets. It is currently in the third circular of games; meaning the initial teething problems when developing for the console has been ironed out and now, the majority of games are bug and lag free. This is why, for PES2008, the 360 is probably the console of choice to play the title. The PS3 was still in its first calendar year, and on its first circular of titles, meaning the best titles available were ports of 360 games, and developers were yet to truly get the most out of the console. PES2009 will be a very interesting title when it comes to the next generation war. As PS3 is certainly finding its top titles, it will require a lag free online experience to compete with the market share that 360 is currently enjoying. I would love to hear the views of neutrals, people who have owned both consoles, as to which they prefer, and what makes them swing that particular way. If you are waiting for a next gen console, my personal advice would be a PS3. With titles like Gran Tursimo, LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid 4 all on the way, I feel that PS3 is the future of next generation gaming. I would not consider myself a Fanboy, and have played 360 a fair bit. I have been with Sony since Playstation began, and the overall quality is far superior to anything else. Again, my opinion, feel free to leave your own.
Master League Madness
I am well into my Master League on PES2008, and love it, as I stated last week. Yes, the mode does need some new features, the inclusion of real world currency and interactive cut scenes would make for a much more realistic experience. The menus may be slightly outdated, and more stats should be made available, for example shots per game or tackles per game, when scouting another team. (Again see NBA 2K7 for how it should be done). With these criticisms though, comes one of the biggest praises in any game anywhere, and that is the sheer passion and replayablilty of the mode. The option has been available since ISS Pro Evolution Soccer on the Playstation One, and yet every year, I spend day’s worth of gaming time mastering my team, wheeling and dealing, and eventually winning back-to-back ‘Champions League’ trophies. I rarely buy big names, limiting myself to one or two per season, and try to find out new talent, viewed either on the Internet or via the Football Manager 2008 database. It may be taken for granted now by many players, but in a day and age where every focus is on Internet Gaming and Online options, Konami got the Master League mode right along time ago! Anyone interested in sharing their Master League Team for PES2008 with me, feel free to do so in comment form. Please note: I would much rather only see teams that have been started from scratch, in other words using Jaric, Ordaz and co. as opposed to taking over an existing squad. My team, which this time was Napoli is: Papadopoulos, Sidnei, Federico Fazio, Micah Richards, Diaby(c), Dudu, Ashley Young, C. Ronaldo, Modric, Benzema and of course Klass-Jan Huntelaar. (3-5-2)
Strike Up The Ban
My last point tonight is one regarding the age ratings computer games and why certain games are banned from being released. With GTA IV only two weeks away, the game that really started up this whole controversy, Grand Theft Auto, springs to mind. For anyone who ahs been under a rock, or is just too young to remember, Grand Theft Auto was a top down action game where, like the modern day equivalent, you had to do a number of illegal tasks, with the ability to free roam and basically do as you please. Picking up prostitutes, gun fights with cops and stealing motor vehicles were all seen as positive things and as a result, censors were determined to stop its release. Since then, a number of games have been lost, or severely edited due to adult content. We are yet to see sex in a mainstream game, and blood and gore games constantly receive bad press. It has gotten to the stage where Bully, a highly impressive game in which you play a school kid and have to complete a number of tasks, is receiving front-page media attention for promoting violence in schools. This is a product of belief that gamers are all aged 10-18, and sit in front of their parent-purchased consoles playing games, then being exactly influenced by the scenes in them. Censor groups would have you believe these games are the reason behind the yob culture in England, the gang culture in the U.S.A and in some cases, the glorification of war. Of course this is not true. All the aforementioned problems were going on long before the days of Pong or Space Invaders, and the same 10 year old children that grew up playing Mario and Sonic are now the 9-5 working generation that keep countries ticking over. For years, movies such as Saw and Hostel have pushed the boundaries of gore further than any computer games, and whilst I would not want to see a young child watching these movies, adults should be able to make their own mind up and see the films if they wish. Exactly the same with computer games. I am currently playing Condemned 2, a game that is exceptionally brutal and features some genuinely scary scenes. Under no circumstances would I ever try to recreate anything I have seen on the game, and I am sure many gamers would be in the same boat. The problem should not be banning games, it should be that age ratings are enforced much stricter, and international laws should be based so that, just like an 18 movie, young children are unable to get their hands on games that are potentially too graphic for them.
That’s your lot this week. I feel there is a fair bit to comment on, so feel free to do s. The e-mail address is danbolas@hotmail.com if you have any long comments or personal questions.
Thanks for Reading
i still believe that the master league is too easy to master…once a team has been built you just cant stop winning even with the highest difficulty…a much much more challenging masterleague needs to be implemented to keep games going with it.
i agree, i do like the master league but it becomes too easy. it should be changed so you can move clubs or have more than one player to increase the challenge. it just needs to follow the Football manager format a little closer, that is a game with unlimited longevity
I can’t see how the game Bully can be described as ‘highly impressive’, it is a cash in on the success of the GTA series taking the same concept and scaling it to a school environment. I fail to see how a game the game would interest anyone over the age of fifteen, so to say that it is aimed at the older demographics seems a little naive. This game is a travesty, purely due to idiocy of it.
While I am yet to play Condemned 2, I have played the previous incarnation and thought it was fantastic. In no way am I suggesting games should be banned, as (as with the majority of products) banning games only increases their notoriety and fails in preventing their ownership. I also agree that age restrictions should be enforced, yet parents must also be educated. I have witnessed parents purchasing GTA:SA for a child that could be no older than ten.
My only issue is with your example of Bully, a game which as far as I can see has no redeeming features. Visually poor, orchestrally poor, intuitively poor and a concept that promotes disgusting behaviour in the exact demographic that you yourself implied was impressionable.
Are you sure Gerrard knows how to spell his own name? Doubt it somehow :D
Great article as always
Hey
I share the love for the masterleague. Default team is the only way to start.. Ordaz and co.. Buying young players. Hoping their development curves will give me the next Rooney. . Getting attached to certain players, disliking others and not playing them, they aren’t real people, well that’s what my wife tells me. Got to say PES2008 is the best it’s been, the fact your teams popularity impacts which players will come to your club is much better. Also the quit and you lose 3-0 thing is great, keeps me honest.. I agree with the stats comments.. I have to manually track appearances to judge who need to be transferred or released (that’s quite sad to admit to).
I’ve also converted an American friend to PES and he saying the masterleague really compares well to NCAA and the management set-up on that. He’s hooked big time and we spend a while everyday comparing who we are signing and the intricacies of 4-5-1 over 4-4-2..
article an excellent read as always.
Current ML XI (season 2010)
GK RAMON
DEF MALDINI (regenerated)
DEF DA COSTA
DEF GUIMARAES
DEF DEL HORNO
MID XABI ALONSO
MID SASAKI
MID DIEGO
MID ROSALES
MID LENNON/REYES
MID SCHWARZ
I’ve owned a PS3 and an Xbox360 (twice now!) and I agree with your comments about Pro Evo 2008 it does play a better game on the 360 (online and offline). The controls are that much more responsive and it feels more like previous versions.
I like your optimism about the PS3 and the up and coming releases for it. I too was optimistic, however, having looked at the release list for the next year apart from the titles you’ve listed there didn’t seem to be any other exclusive titles and so I traded back for a 360. My worry, as mentioned in previous posts, is that while developers find it so much easier to develop on a 360 they are much more likely to simply port the game to PS3 and thus not use the extra power.
@ anonymous no 1
i totally agree about the master league difficulty problem. Nowadays i limit the quality of players i sign, (with possibly 1 or 2 exceptions) ,to keep the game challenging. Therefore my master league team is:
GK McGovern
RB Ziv
CB Thomas
CB Nibombe
LB Nesu
RM Krajik
CM K. Nafti
DM Bos
LM McNamee
CF Guitierrez
CF D. Sorenson
Much respect to anyone who recognises more than about 3 of these players!
just noticed
@vasa76
you play with no strikers!!!???
my team is palermo and is:
G - Marcelo
Def - Kompany
Def - Jaric
Def - Kruger
CM - Muntari
AM - Shimizu
AM - Donanvan
LW - Marveaux
RW - Altintop
SS - Castillo
CF - Gervinho
Subs - Van den borre / camacho / burchet / schwarz / mavinsky / volanthen
GK Carson
RB various
CB Nyatanga
CB A. Ferdinand
LB M. Taylor (GOD)
DMF Kaiser
LMF Marcos
RMF M. Fernandez
AMF Schweinsteiger
CF Halil Altintop
CF Gignac
GK Federico Costanzo
CB Naldo
CB Leandro Castan
RB Ilsinho
LB Fininho
MC Georgino Wijnaldum
MC Yoann Gourcuff
AM Carlos Alberto
RWF Victor Obinna
LWF Giovanni dos Santos
CF Filip Djordjevic
I completely agree with your view on how to play a Master League. Only 1 or 2 big names. Right now I’m having fun in PES 6 with Napoli’s original squad (I wasn’t in the mood for Castolo and co), which is quite a mediocre team. In 9 games, I’ve beaten Inter (3-0!) and Milan (2-1) already, but lost 3-1 to Palermo… that’s what you get for playing with youngsters. I plan to keep the squad and bring in an experienced AMF, and possibly a youngster with good potential up front, that’s it.
I had commented earlier that there was no football game in my PC, but I’ve recently installed PES 6 and, after having played PES 2008 for a few months, I’m having a lot of fun, and definitely think 6 is much better. Sorry, but 2008 was just too easy in my experience, and it ruined the whole thing.
On the subject of censorship, I must say I’m completely against it, and think it solves nothing nor does any good. As you point out, you can see movies which are highly sexual and violent, so why not games? As long as everyone respects the ratings, there should be no problem. In my opinion, anyone who tries to imitate the kind of stuff you see in Hitman or in any movie with similar themes is not in his/her right mind, and was going to end up doing it anyway. A book/game/film cannot drive you out of the blue into killing people or becoming a pimp or pornstar. It’s stupid to think so.
That point aside, books are not rated! I remember reading a couple of them in my early adolescence which surely were way off for me, and it didn’t turn me into a serial killer or a sex maniac. I think it’s OK that movies and games are rated, but books aren’t, and even though its images are just as powerful or more, society has not submerged in chaos because of it yet…
I continue here to avoid making such a large comment (sorry, your article deserved a long answer!)
Next year I’ll be buying a PS3. I’ve always been a PC maniac, and my current system can run Assassin’s Creed, Gears of War, etc @ full detail without flinching (so as long as 360 is the market leader and ports don’t suck, I’m OK).
The reason I’m doing it is that I’ve done some simple math, and maintaining a gaming PC is much more expensive than shelling out for a PS3 and then enjoying games for 5-6 years. My current system (bought less than a year ago) was worth a bit more than what a PS3 60 GB costs right now, so you can readily see it makes no sense.
My processor, fast and great for today’s world, is the weakest link (and future bottleneck) in my PC, and to replace it I’ll also need to replace the motherboard, the memory, and probably the video card (all because of new slots/sockets/DDR standards). How long will this system be good to play games as they should be played? 1, 2 more years? Then I’d have to spend approx. the same amount to renew it. So in 5 years, I’d be spending twice what a PS3 would’ve cost me for starters.
Having found out that you can connect a keyboard and mouse to the PS3, there’s really no excuse for not owning one if you’re into gaming. You can even play FPS the way they’re meant to be played!
So, why a PS3 and not a 360? If I had considered buying a console a year ago, I’d have probably gone with a 360. Much cheaper and greater value. But today, the PS3 is picking off with its titles, prices are dropping, and I can be sure now that there are no nasty overheating issues or anything of that sort. Besides, Sony’s console’s life is just starting, while the 360 is in its final years. If a 360 runs the same games with just 3 cores, then the PS3 has a lot of potential for the future years under its hood. Simple as that. Today, the best option is a console, and a PS3 at that.
I’m really surprised how hooked i got to the new PES… When i first saw it i wanted to kill myself it was horrible, but i guess PES still PES… Master league is great but need to get some improvements off course… Is just not fair lol… took for ever to get there but is all worth. Have anyone got Rooney? Seems to impossible ofter the limit plus “Hugo Samtz” witch is old but a great player, still i can’t get him transfered to my squad. Why can’t you even change the emblem? that time emblem is just too ugly… And when you see a replay doesn’t even have the right Uniform… Still i’m loving it!
My super squad… 2010
GK Cech
CB A. Ferdinand
CB Dacosta
CB Lell
CB Felipe
CM Lindgren
AM Lennon
AM M. Taylor
RW Halil Altintop
LW Elcherino
CF Hugo Sametz
BTW Dotan was the best player to get first!
He was Capitan and raised 7 Cups scored 140 goals for my team between 2007-2009, Scored most in 6 cups, and had more assistance 4 x, best average player 3 x, just when Halil start to top him on 2009 i decided to sell him out…
PS3, 360? I understand your support for the PS3 Dan, but, my issues before I embark on a purchase relates more to technical issues that appear to be build differences between the two machines and spec.
It would seem, from reading many reviews, that cross platform games are always better on the 360. Almost without question, when the 360 glides through a game, the PS3 chugs. HD is another issue. The method of anti-aliasing that the 360 uses to upscale graphics etc, gets more done than the PS3, so, power isn’t the problem, the problem appears to be one of application of both technologies. Are game makers really going to spend more cash on developing on PS3 then porting to 360 rather than the cheaper (more profitable) option currently being applied i.e visa versa? I just can’t see it!
Life cycles, you mention PS3’s, but, I’m not sure you are accurate, remember, Japan had it a good year before Europe, so, you could say it should be coming to the end of it’s second generation of titles! Are the exclusives out now anything to shout about? Are the upcoming titles that you mention really that exciting? GT5, Metal Gear & alike are exciting to think about, but, are we really expecting anything more than Devil May Cry 4, let’s face it, that was just a better looking PS2 game.
You have a 60G with BC machine and many have the 40G machine without BC. Many people will be a bit pissed off knowing that I’ll be able to purchase an 80G with BC machine for about the same price as the 40G was when it came out which was not that long ago. How many more versions of the machine are on the way in the ten year lifespan that you mention?
You cannot question the build quality of the Sony machine against the 360 (have you ever driven an American car?). The Sony machine makes the 360 look like a toy and I expect that as soon as I take the plunge, the 360 will be condemned to my son’s room. I know I will buy a PS3, it’s almost inevitable, but, in the main, I tend to think that Sony may have just got this one wrong.
Oh, my apologies I forgot something! Where is Dual Shock 3. I cannot buy a PS3 without Duel Shock. No feedback in a controller is just not on, why oh why did Sony do that? I cannot imagine playing games without it, you may say you don’t notice, but, I wouldn’t believe you!
i agree wit leko dotan was awsum wen i got him socred loadz, hon yam kim was an awsum keeper wen he cums up on the rookies list n i dnt no if iv missd but no 1 seems 2 hav the centre back/sweeper Bos ? hes absolutley mental ani ways gr8 article lol
@ jk
he’s in my midfield if u look really closely………………
Hey Assache, Stay cool, the Dualshock is on its way. Unfortunately Sony had to contend with a big court case where someone was claiming Sony had stolen the Name/Hardware (can’t remember which!) Thats finally resolved so dualshock should be coming with the next round of PS3 models!!! ;)
Pacman, I disagree with your lifecycle theories for the Xbox 360. Look at how long the PS2 lasted for starters, hey they’re still producing games for it! Also if you are right and Xbox 360×2 (or whatever it’ll be called) is on the horizon don’t you think it’ll follow Microsofts easy to develop on software with ramped up hardware such that it is more powerful than the PS3 (v1 not subsequent iterations I’m sure we’ll see!) If thats the case and given the market share and massive backing from developers it already has I think the PS3 has the potential to be one of the biggest flops since the Saturn (sorry to Saturn lovers!).
ha soz didnt see him lol well fair play
GTAIV Exclusive episodic deownloadable content on the 360. I don’t know about everyone else, but, apart from PES the GTA series has probably stolen more of my time than any other game. Will the DLC be coming to PS3???
Great article, I remeber a couple of weeks ago you were talking about how people consider PES 2008 to be a disappointment but it still ends up in our disc drives.
This is totally true, having not been into 2008 as much as I have previous PES titles, it is suddenly virtually the only game I am currently playing on my 360.
I started a new ML the other day aiming to win Division 2 to go towards my ultimate player achievment (I think I have played over 400 games and scored around 800 goals) I still want it to be a challenge though and have also started with default players, thats what ML is all about!
As for games age ratings, I will be getting GTA IV next week, I am 20 but have owned all GTAs since 3 and so have played them under the 18 rating, throughout my teens, I suppose most people have but I have never wanted to re-enact anything I have seen in a videogame and have never been involved with ‘gangs’ or anything like that.
Playing Gears of War online, its funny when you hear really young kids voices through your headset, you wonder how they have accessed the games and perhaps parents have bought them without questioning them.
One gamer’s bio I looked at on their gamertag said that they were aged 6 and their favourite games were Gears and COD 4!
How can people praise the ML so much? It’s so outdated & it’s as far from reality as possible with no 2nd divisions, fictional players and 2 groupstages in the CL. I get bored after a couple of seasons, always the same players: buy Schwarz for 30+ goals a season, get your topplayers who play at mediocre teams (Cassano anyone?) etc, etc and after 3 or 4 seasons you’re unstopable and it gets boring, and that’s WHEN you start with default players. You can’t skip matches, even if you’re nr 10 with 10 games to go, you HAVE to keep playing them. I want REALISM, the career mode of FIFA comes way closer to that, a shame that the gameplay is not worth playing that game for me…
ps: I don’t play PES anymore, put COD4 in my drive and have been playing that for 3 months now, with the odd day of FM2008 (season 2015/2016 now): THOSE are addictive games that keeps you coming back for more, not PES2008. Still, 2009 can only get better…
When it comes to age ratings the only deciding factor is parenting. My son is 10 and does play games outside of he’s age group. The main deciding factor for me as a parent is the manner in which the game was rated; was is violence, language or sexual content.
I consider myself a good parent and as such I take every single game on it’s merit. Sexual content is always a complete no no, trust me, you do not want to have to explain that one to a 10 year old boy and if you as a parent have had to, I would say adjust your parenting!
Language; well I consider most swear words as part of the English language and therefore valid, I do not believe a child should be too sheltered from the world it lives in, but, should understand it and understand lifes complexities of what is appropriate behaviour, to teach this to a child, the child must understand how to digest what is right and wrong. A lot of music has swearing, but, if you consider music to be art, then you have to grasp what context the swearing is placed. My son has heard swearing around him for most of he’s life, but, trust me, I have never heard him mutter a single swear word, why? Because he understands context and surroundings.
Violence is easy; if your child has not been educated well enough to understand the difference between fantasy and reality you have a problem and there is no age rating that’s going to help you now. The GTA series for instance has always been a no no for me, but, when San Andreas came out I soon discovered that if you actually turn the sound down, it’s really not much more graphic than a comic, but, unfortunately for my son GTA is still on the no go list. Gears of War is my sons’ favourite game, lets face it, you are kicking alien arse that are trying to destroy you from the inside out, if my son is ever arrested for doing this type of thing, I’d be a little surprised!
The overall point I’m trying to make is intelligence, if you are an uneducated (by educated I do not mean academic)bafoon who has no social conscience and can barely look after yourself you are likely to breed generations upon generation of idiots (the stupid ones always breed the most), but, equally, if you have no concept of the world you live in and you subject your child to a sheltered existence you to are creating a dumb generation, you may have a good bank balance, a good (academic) education & a nice middle class lifestyle, but, that Daily Mail you are reading is gonna kill and or corrupt you before any video game that I have ever played (or my son).
Getting back to the master league teams i think it is still as good as it’s ever been,not saying its perfect far from but it is still a great buzz building a team and trying to dominate all competitions.I am now onto my second master league team and fancied a challenge so went for Real Mercia in La Liga, no disrespct to Real Mercia but it was tough and i support SUNDERLAND! here is my team at the moment-
Gk- Carinni (c)
LB- mathiew
RB- walton
CB- bos
CB- paco peno
DMF- denilson
RMF- nasri
LMF- nani
AMF- ben arfa
CF - chopra
CF - luque
and thanks for the mention in the letter good to know most people have a sense of humour.