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Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 25 Mar 2008
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. Due to a very hectic schedule, this week’s column will be slightly briefer than previous ones, with me having to miss out a number of issues that I would really like to address. I plan to cover them over the next few weeks, so if you feel that I have missed out on a major talking point, please bear in mind I will probably have something stored on them, in order for a quieter period in my schedule. With that said, let’s get cracking.
War Is Over
So, Blu Ray discs have finally won the much talked about HD war, meaning that for the next number of years, all big movies will be released on standard DVD and Blu Ray Disc. Personally, owning a PS3, this means I am already in place for the ‘big change’ and I am sure it will cause many people to follow suit, and maybe prod the neutral in the direction of Sony’s console. Microsoft, a company who offered a HD-DVD drive as an add on to the X Box 360, have come out saying that this is totally irrelevant, because in two years time, everything will be done via Digital Download. Whether this is sour grapes, or they have strong market research supporting these facts, only time will tell. But with Sony’s victory in this war, does it mean they are now going to focus on creating a top quality gaming system, in the same way they have done with PS one and PS2? As a gamer, a huge selling point of the PS3 was the fact that Blu Ray discs could store so much information, which when coupled with the power of the machine, meant for a top of the range gaming experience. On this front, I have not been disappointed. Many PS3 gamers, for all their grumblings and complaints, must appreciate that for the first 12-18 months of a consoles initiation, PS3 has provided a wide range and variety of games, with one or two real top included in that number, The hefty price tag is starting to lower and there is going to be a new war very soon, which will see a more direct head to head of Sony vs. Microsoft, a war which is good news for every gaming fan worldwide. But back to my original point, the war was Blu Ray vs. HD DVD, and now that is over, what difference will it truly make? I own one Blu Ray Movie, and despite the high quality and extra features, I could not justify paying four to five times more for a film on Blu Ray as opposed to getting it on DVD. Yes, I am sure some people, big movie fans, might want a huge collection of HD quality movies, and if this is the case, Blu Ray is the way forward, but as a gamer, and addressing the PESGaming.com public, how many of you will be shelling out the amounts to get your favourite films on Blu Ray?Your views, as always are very welcome.
Games In Hand
A point that has been raised by many people in various forms over the last few weeks, and a feature that has only featured briefly on PES is handballs. When brought in on PES3, the handball option was more luck than judgement, with seemingly endless scrappy handballs given in the centre of midfield, and then blatant goal stopping opportunities going unpunished. As a result of this, it drove many gamers to frustration, with most asking that it be removed from the next version. The handball feature was greatly reduced over the next few releases, and seems to have gone all together on PES2008, especially in the next gen versions. Like everything with PES, I feel the handball mode was the right idea, but needed consistency in order to be successful. There is nothing more annoying than having a stonewall penalty claim turned down, only for exactly the same thing to happen against you two minutes later, and the spot kick given. A number of ideas have been banded about on how the game could use handballs whilst still maintaining its realism. One suggestion was when chesting, the ball, one of the shoulder buttons had to be pressed in order for it to be done successfully. Mistiming this would result in your player sticking out an arm in order to bring the ball down. Another suggestion would be that handballs could only be given during or following a slide tackle. This is a seemingly simple one to implement, as when players slide or go to ground, they are committing themselves to that particular challenge or block. If a shot is going in, only to be deflected by an outstretched are, the player responsible for the slide must appreciate it was there choice to try the block, and a free kick or penalty could be awarded as appropriate. Taken further, shots that were going on goal but blocked with a hand could receive a yellow or red card, totally depending on whether it would be blocked by the keeper or not. Again, this may not be everybody’s choice, but as a avid football fan, I want realism, and if following a 20 pass move, my deft lob is blocked by a players arm, I want the full Monty as regards to punishment. It would also means blocks and tackles have to be timed better, and as long as its consistent, there would be no room for moaning from any gamers. Your views greatly appreciated.
Call The Red Cross
Great to hear from so many of you regarding injuries on the game and the frustration the lack of animation causes. I will address this again in a few weeks time, but just wanted to let comment leavers and e-mailers know I have read the opinions. It does make me smile when a player who has just been crunched goes off hobbling and holding their hamstring. Anyone who knows about the human body, or has ever injured their hamstring knows the most common cause is not an impact injury, but instead over stretching or in some cases not warming up properly. Things like this are not difficult to implement, but would help bring a level of authenticity to injuries, be they muscle pulls, blood injuries or even head wounds.
Video Killed The Radio Star
Finally tonight, I was surprised as many of you to see a first on PESGaming.com, a video compilation package entitled “What Football Means to me”. Whilst some people have given it some criticism, I highly welcome things like this, as it can show the quality of PES in a format that is being used more and more on TV and the Internet. I personally thoroughly enjoy making video montages like this, but am currently unable to capture images of PES onto my PC. If anyone has the ability to do so, and wishes to pair up to make a video package like this, please be in touch via my e-mail address and we can try and sort something out. All credit will be given where appropriate. With that said, I would like to point you all in the direction of something I found on the Console Goals website about 8 months ago. I am not sure as to whether as it has been posted on the forums of PESGaming.com, or how many of you will have seen it, I personally believe it to be the best piece of PES Video editing around. The footage is taken from PES6 on the PC, and features fully edited kits. It is a compilation piece showing the different playing styles of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I have included it on the column, but more videos like this are available at ConsoleGoals.com. I would once again like to point out I did not create this video, and all credit goes to FCB_87. Enjoy!
That’s your lot for this week’s Interfering With Play. You can get in contact via danbolas@hotmail.com, or simply leave a comment at the bottom of the article. As I said, a slightly shorter column this week due to a very busy few days previously, and over the next few weeks, I will hopefully be able to cover all features raised by the PESGaming.com community.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Steve Smith in PES 2008 News on Wed 19 Mar 2008
Explaining the essence of football through PES2008 by manpe
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 18 Mar 2008
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. This week, I am taking a look at some of the less major aspects of Pro Evolution Soccer, features that have never been included on previous titles, and things that over the next few years of games developments, would be a welcome addition to modern titles, regardless of their genre. Your views on these ideas, many of which are from my own mind as opposed to research, would be greatly appreciated, either in comment form, or in an e-mail, whichever you feel is appropriate.
Tearing You Limb From Limb
Last week, I sat down to one of my many Master League gaming sessions, and struggled to grind out difficult victories against AIK and Celtic, using the default Master League ‘stars’. Following a run of decent results which saw my rise to third in the table, and with still a number of games to go until the Negotiation Period, I found myself with a the difficult task of going against a well organised FC Basel side. Around 20 minutes into the game, Minanda, the aging playmaker picked the ball up on the left side of the pitch, only to be crunched to the ground my no nonsense Basel centre back, Daniel Majstorovic. Immediately, I pressed pause and wished to view the replay straight away, and following Minanda’s tricky side step, what I witnessed was a horrific, studs showing and making contact challenge, landing directly on the joint of my number 10’s ankle. Again, I feared the worse, figuring I would have lost Minanda to an injury, figuring he would at least need some time off the pitch to recover from the challenge, and that Majstorovic would be appropriately punished. When I resumed the game, I was relieved to see Minanda get to his feet, but then when no card was shown to the offending player, it made me question the whole level of decisions given by PES referees. More often than not, my players are booked for mistimed block tackles, whereas straight out lunges or pulling of shirts rarely receive a free kick. This is something which I feel has caused a lot of frustration among gamers all over the world, and whilst I can perfectly understand why a conservative tackle is rewarded with a yellow card, if used to break up an attack or from behind, I can not understand why blatant moments of dangerous play are not further punished. This could be advanced further with a more comprehensive injury system. Anyone who has played a recent WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw game is well aware that the game splits your characters body into four areas, and different moves cause specific damage to different areas. So an arm bar would cause your arm to get injured, with a power bomb putting more damage on your back. This feature has been in place for around five years now, and has provided a more realistic gaming experience. Surely, the impact of tackles on different parts of a player’s leg or body could also benefit from this system. A ankle snapping challenge like that I experienced could have seen Minanda been out for a longer period than say a mistimed trip, and the consequences could be far worse for the offending player. Many gamers have been critical of the fact ever time a player goes off, he does so hobbling and holding his hamstring, well this would be a beneficial way of solving the problem. Your views, as I said before are most welcome.
One True Voice
As I have said over the past weeks and months, I find the commentary on the latest PES to be the best the series has ever experienced. Pack in the days of ISS Pro Evolution Soccer, the way the commentators said the word Nigeria bordered on the racist, and since then well recognised commentators has been brought in, only to be both underused, and given poor quality scripts. Jon Champion, whilst far from being the best commentator as regards to TV football matches, took the work seriously, and it shows in the end product. Mark Lawrenson is not the right man for the job, and whether he is analysing on Match Of The Day or co commentating, on the FA Cup, he lacks the kind of passion and enthusiasm that transfers into the gaming environment. In my opinion, bringing in someone like Alan Smith from Sky, or even Gerry Armstrong from the La Liga commentary would add a bit more atmosphere, and boost the high levels set by Mr. Champion. Compare this with the scripts given to the best commentary team Tyler and Gray, in the latest FIFA title. Normally, EA Sports provides its commentators with a top of the range set of appropriate comments that add both colour and depth to enhance the gaming experience. In this year’s title, they spent pretty much half the game talking about St. James Park and Newcastle United, when the two teams playing were both from League One! My one request for PES2009 commentary, and indeed all-future games involving commentary, other than more scripts, is to have more names available when creating players. Looking through the PES name list, I could not create a player with the commentary name Jones or Smith, annoying as I have mates with both names. I am not expecting them to have wild names, or even foreign ones, but a collection of a couple of thousand from a local phone book would make a lot of people very happy!
“Next Year Will Be… The Perfect Year”
This sections title, before we go any further, relates to a song by 90’s songbird Dina Carroll, and in no way reflects my views or anticipations of the next Konami offering. With that said, the big debate from last weeks column was whether or not gamers would be willing to wait another 18 months for a new PES, or would it make them turn to a rival title. I think the genuine view was that they would be willing to wait, but feel it shouldn’t be a case of having to. Yes, there is a rumour to only be a handful of people involved with creating Pro Evolution Soccer, but there are far many more names if anyone takes the time to watch the games credits. I, like many, want the best football gaming experience and at the moment, for all its flaws, I still find that to be PES2008. What cannot happen is Konami cannot rest on their plurals and churn out an update 12 months down the line, changes need to be made, bugs need to be fixed and problems need to be sorted, and if that takes 18 months then so be it, if it takes 9 then that’s great too. I appreciate all e-mails and comments on the subject from the past week, and hope for all gamers sake the game released is the best one yet, whenever that may be.
Whatever The Weather
My final point tonight now is something that, because of Internet gaming, may not be too far off. Anyone who owns a PS3 and users the default menu skin, will know that throughout the day, the background starts to change shade and colour, until finally at night you end up with a black and white ensemble, very trendy and very modern. The idea way first used on the PSP, whereby each calendar month, the background would automatically change to a different colour. These real life events, albeit linked to the systems internal clock, meant that the console was representing its interpretations of real life, and is a feature that I would love to see in computer games, especially football games. The option of being able to set conditions to real time, would mean that if you were playing the game at 3:00pm the ground would be basked in sunlight, or playing at night would mean the floodlights were on. This could be taken further by the use of weather conditions. It would be difficult, but not impossible, to have the weather of the cities in which the stadium was located, to be reflected in the console counterpart. For example, if you were playing against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, be it in an Exhibition match or even a League game, the game could look up the actual weather conditions in Barcelona via the Internet, and transfer them into the game for you. Therefore, if you play against Sparta Moscow in Russia, you are more likely to be playing on a cold, hard pitch than say if you were up against River Plate, where it would be a hotter game with more draining conditions. These conditions could then effect the players, in other words, Stamina, proneness to injury or likeliness of slipping over and the game itself be it the ball swirling in the wind, the way it bounces or holds up in the puddles. With there only being 15 stadiums currently available on the next generation version of PES, this would be a good time to try and implement something, and although it may act as a novelty, it would make games more realistic, and would require you to think more tactically when picking your team, i.e. playing long ball on a windy day or using pace players when the heat will tire them quicker. Any views on real life conditions in gaming would be greatly appreciated.
Again, that’s all for this week. It was drawn to my attention that the link I offered for the PC games was incorrect, so the correct link is http://www.classic-pc-games.com, if any of you get round to using it, please let me know your experiences of the website, and the games you play. The e-mail address, as always is danbolas@hotmail.com, and if your going to add me to msn, please let me know who you are first via e-mail, as I have hundreds of adds each week and then never speak to any of them!
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Thu 13 Mar 2008
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has finally made it’s annual appearance state-side, some 5 months after being released in PAL regions. The game, which is seemingly unchanged from it’s European counterpart, has been released on every format but the Wii - that version will follow next week (some 10 days EARLIER than Europe!).
Transfers are completely out of date, Sunderland’s star striker Kenwyn Jones is not even in the game. Meanwhile no January transfers were complete. Even the transfers made near to the end of the August deadline have been inexplicably neglected.
So, to our readers in North America - how are you enjoying your PES 2008 experience?
——
Don’t forget, gamers from around the world can enter our GOTM March/April contest.
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 11 Mar 2008
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. So far, I have had no feedback or comeback from the Seabass letter, and am in the process of sending it to a number of different sources that will help further its progress. If anyone has a message board, forum or website they wish to display the letter on, please feel free to contact me and I will send you the finished version. With that said, let’s crack on with this week’s column.
“Hi Kids, Do You Like Violence”
I want to take this opportunity to once again clarify a few points regarding both PESGaming.com and myself. I appreciate that for regular members/readers, or those who have been involved with the site for some time, this will act as repetition, however there are many people unaware with the formula of how this site works. Peter Willis is the owner and responsible for the overall content of this site. He is the editor if you will. Whilst at the moment, he may seem to post less frequently than me, as more news becomes available regarding PES2009, or whatever the next Konami football title is called, he will become the leading contributor to PESGaming.com, providing links to other sites, articles and images involving the next game. He is also responsible for informing the PESGaming.com community of the Goal Of The Month competition. He does not run the competition, nor have any overall casting vote over who wins the final prize. I am Dan Bolas, and have been contributing to PESGaming.com as a site for around four years. I started to write Interfering With Play on the PESGaming.com forum, and have since moved on to writing it on the main page. My views and opinions are totally my own, and do not reflect those of Peter Willis or the entire PESGaming.com community. The column itself features news and discussion topics from both the football and football gaming world, and can be used as a starting point for debates, which in recent months has included the football vs. rugby refereeing argument, the PC vs. Console argument and has touched on major issues such as money and racism in football. Like many people out there, my views are pretty strong, and are founded on hours of research and a large footballing and football gaming knowledge. However, they are not to be considered the law. They are totally open for debate, and whilst I tend not to write comments on my own articles, any topics rose via e-mail or comments will be addressed in the following weeks article. PES has a huge fan base of loyal, football fans and most gamers who spend time playing the game are the ones who either play the sport themselves or follow their local team religiously, with a combination of the two being most likely. The belief that this site should singly only address PES and Konami not only limits a vast community’s discussion topics, but also is narrow-minded as to regards what will one day constitute the ‘perfect’ football game.
Please Release Me
This was a topic that has both been fuelled by immense rumours, and was previously lost in a recent article due to the dominance of the Seabass letter. The subject, the fact that PES2009 may not be released until October 2009, gives Seabass 18+months to work on the game, and 2 years between releases of PES titles. In my opinion, and from my early PES memories, ISS Pro Evolution Soccer was released every two years during its time on PS One, and only became an annual release to coincide with its launch on PS2. The advancements between games were large, but in today’s modern market, shouldn’t a game producer be able to churn out one title a year, especially when it is arguably that companies number one selling title. On the other hand, waiting for a title that could end up to be the pinnacle of Next Generation football, is surely worth chalking off another 12 months on your calendar, even if it does mean slumming it with previous versions until then. Your views would be greatly appreciated. Are you willing to wait 18 months for the next PES? Would you resort to playing Fifa? Or do you feel Konami and Seabass have to release a game in the 2008 calendar year in order to keep up with EA Sports? Comments can be added at the bottom of the page.
Shock Therapy
Just a huge congratulation to Barnsley and Cardiff for shaving Premier League scalps in the FA Cup this past weekend. The talk of the ‘magic of the FA Cup’ is always up for debate, with foreign managers seeming to prefer to rest their big stars for the tournament. However, both Manchester United and Chelsea fielded very strong sides in the quarterfinals and were beaten by sides sticking to a game plan and working exceptionally hard. I only hope, like so many other neutrals, that the two sides which make it to the final put on a show, a la Liverpool vs. West Ham, and don’t try and bore the opponent into submission, a tactic employed by Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal in previous finals.
One For The Old School
My final point in this weeks article acts as a siren to all those fans of retro gaming. If, like myself you grew up played games on tapes and floppy disks, and have fond memories of games such as Daley Thompson’s Decathlon or Emlyn Hughes International Soccer, you will be pleased to know there is sites available where these games are available for free download. Getting your old Amiga or C64 out the loft to find it broken or water has leaked into your collection of games is gutting. I personally sold my Spectrum ZX at a Car Boot sale for £30 with over 300 games, and am now painfully aware of the collectors value some of those titles had. There is a lot of contention about what is legal regarding Roms and Emulators, a topic I will touch on in a future article, however, I recently signed up to a site called Classic PC Games. I say this as a gaming fan, and am in no way working with the site or trying to give the place free advertising. I feel as many old school gaming fans contact me on PESGaming.com, I would take the opportuntiy to point you in the direction of a place where these games are available. The site works in a unique way whereby to obtain 25 free downloads, you must write a review of one of the games featured on the site. With 1,000’s available, its not difficult to find one that you will have played, and with games like Sensible World of Soccer and Metal Gear Solid just one review a way, it is definatly a productive procedure. Type in Classic PC Games on your search engine, or hit the link www.classicpcgames.com to find out what its all about. If you do spend the time doing so, could you let me know of your experiences here on PESGaming.com, as it would be nice to see who is downloading what games!
That’s your lot for this week. Very appreciative of all your feedback, in particular from all the Newcastle fans! I am waiting for a few weeks before I follow up my comments in last weeks Interfering With Play, but will be more than happy to reply to any mails personally. danbolas@hotmail.com is the place you can send private comments to, or click the red comment button below this article to express your views in public.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Steve Smith in GOTM on Wed 05 Mar 2008
In association with ConsoleGoals , PESGaming welcomes your entries for the March/April Goal of the Month Competition.
- All goals must be from PES 2008
- Score the best goal you can on the hardest difficulty (we have final say as to who the 6 finalists are)
- Record your goal as a movie file on your PC
- Upload your goal to www.consolegoals.com and check the box next to ‘PESGaming GOTM Comp- Mar/Apr 08‘ when you are on the upload page.
- Post your goal in the GOTM forum as a new thread with a decription of the goal in the subject line (starting with GOTM Mar/Apr), which can be found here
To post your ConsoleGoals video’s directly into the forum, copy the Forum BB code that can be found on your ConsoleGoals video page under ‘SHARE DETAILS’ and then place it in your post/thread - It should end with [/cgvideo]
All goals MUST be submitted in the correct format and on ConsoleGoals to be considered.
WINNER WILL WIN A GAME OF THEIR CHOICE ON ANY CONSOLE FORMAT OR PC
In the event of a tie, the deciding vote will be left with ConsoleGoals/PES Gaming staff.
Good luck!
Last winner of the PESGaming GOTM competition:
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 04 Mar 2008
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. More so than ever this week, I feel like I have spent a great deal of time reading, writing and having conversations about the state of PES2008. The Seabass letter, now completed is being sent today, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of people who have been any way involved with its compilation. I have featured a slight section about it in this weeks Interfering With Play, but am hoping the next time it is discussed, it will be with regards to a Seabass response. With that said, let’s get going.
The Seabass Letter
As was expected following the posting of this letter on PESGaming.com, many people seemed to air their views about the style of writing, and in some cases the points that have been featured. I am well aware that some people are very annoyed with this years Pro Evolution Soccer offering, especially it being the first multi format next generation release, and would have preferred a much more aggressively written letter. I have tried to get the general opinions of the game, coupled with an overall overlook from the PESGaming.com community. Seabass himself knows issues such as lag and online play are far from acceptable, and doesn’t need another rant or even over critical e-mail landing in his inbox, fresh for deleting. For all those who are infuriated and downright hate the new PES, there are many who are still playing the game, and many who feel it needs tweaks more than complete overhauls. At any given time, my friend’s list will feature at least 2 people playing Pro Evolution Soccer, be it 9 am or 11pm, and I personally have had a number of multiplayer evenings and spent a good couple of hundred hours playing the game. Yes, it is frustrating it’s not a better game, but Seabass has come out saying PES2009 will be a complete overhaul, and knows what is wrong with the fundamentals. I have tried to write it from a point of view, which reflects conversations, comments and e-mails I have received, and hopefully have constructed a letter than will give Konami and Seabass food for thought.
“I Can See Us Holding Hands…”
For mother’s day, I bought my mother a Nintendo DS with Brain Training, thinking it would be a nice change from the regular perfume and chocolates that have been given pretty much every year! Since then, I have played Brain Training regularly and find it an excellent novelty idea, even though it doesn’t really class as a computer game in my eyes. It is aimed entirely at the casual gaming market, an area which Nintendo have pretty much sewn up over the past 18 months, and a market that will either get tired of the trend and disappear altogether, or will begin to find the majority of the hardware’s titles unfulfilling and move on to the more intense Sony or Microsoft gaming experiences. But since looking at the DS as an overall product, I am shocked it has received so much acclaim and success ahead of the Sony PSP, a product that I have owned for the past 3 years. The DS has a touch screen, which can be very appealing to none gamers or for certain game types and a limited Wi-Fi chat ability. Compare this with the PSP, a system that allows MP3 and Video play back, full Internet Browsing and Internet Radio via Wi-Fi, the ability to connect a Camera and Microphone for video chat, and a much clearer screen, with familiar Sony controls. Couple the above with the ability to download classic PS One games onto the handheld from the PS3, and a gaming catalogue featuring a wide variety of established classic titles, such as Worms, Grand Theft Auto, Crazy Taxi, Pro Evolution Soccer, Metal Gear Solid, Football Manager and Tomb Raider and you have what is seemingly a winning formula. Even the price of the PSP is very reasonable, retailing in similar fields to the DS. Have I missed something amongst gamers that the PSP is a poor piece of hardware? Is it due to its slightly bulky size, a problem that is more apparent with so many modern day gadgets ‘slimming down’? Or has is just been completely missed by the gaming community? As I said, I am a proud owner of the system, and would highly recommend it to anyone. The ability of playing Football Manager on your lunch break or Pro Evolution Soccer on the way home from work is too good to miss, and it works well as an MP3 Hi-Fi or watching downloaded videos! Any comments about the system, as always are very much welcomed.
Handbags And Glad Rags
Just a quick point regarding Frank Lampard’s sending off at West Ham on Saturday. Throughout this season, there have been a number of horrendous, dangerous and downright dirty challenges performed by Premier League stars that have gone unpunished, or in some cases received cautions. Both Lampard and West Ham’s Luis Boa Morte were up for the contest, the former due to his early days with the hammers whilst the latter had been involved in skirmishes at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season. Lampard did rake his studs over the back of Boa Morte, and the Portuguese kicked out at the Chelsea man, which probably should have seen both receive the same punishment. A yellow card for that incident would have clamed down what was turning into a fiery encounter, and kept meant that Chelsea kept there full contingent on the pitch. The referee could have applied some common sense, as opposed to wanting to make a name for himself as ‘The Man who sent Lampard off at Upton Park”. In the context of the challenge, with Dirk Kuyt’s kung fu kick vs. Everton, Joe Coles horrible Achilles lunge against Man United or even Makelele going over the top on Faubert later in the same match, the skirmish was a non event, and wasn’t even worthy of being a talking point. Neither Boa Morte or Lampard were in danger of being out due to serious injury as a result of the incident, and the FA need to concentrate more on cutting out the tackles that are going to, sooner or later end someone’s career.
The King Is Dead
I have refrained from making too many comments regarding Newcastle United over the past few weeks, as I don’t want to be seen as picking on a club I grew up loving to watch. However, there is no denying they are in a lot of trouble. Yes, they have had some difficult games, and the next few weeks will see them up against fellow strugglers, but for another season, the Geordies are going to have a trophy less season, and will definitely not being playing in the UEFA cup next term. The honeymoon period, if you can call it that was cut short, and Keegan has proven himself inept tactically once again, being unable to close off games or in a lot of cases play the kind of attacking football his side used to be renowned for. He was unable to convince Jonathon Woodgate to return to St. James Park, and will be relying on his reputation, not potential in order to make a go of it in the Summer Transfer window. He has a squad, which is not his fault that is full of players who were not good enough to play in the Top Four teams and has struggled to motivate them in the same way other managers could have done. But unfortunately, the problems stem much deeper than that. Take the example of Everton. David Moyes was brought in as a manager with a great deal of potential, and wasn’t given a great deal of money to start with. He took over an aging squad with few real stars, and a handful of youngsters waiting in the wings. As a result, he struggled to get a start in the league, and found his side struggling in relegation. Instead of panicking, the board backed him, stuck by him and supported him. He has worked things his way, bringing in young players from lower leagues that are hungry for success, and coupled them with hard working seasoned professionals that have the experience to get them through the more scrappy games. This has meant he has been able to attract genuinely top players, such as Yakubu and Arteta, without breaking the bank or gambling too much. When a player has stepped out of line, for example former Inter Milan star Andy Van der Meyde, he has thrown the book at them as if they were a 17 year old on their first day of training, and not allowed himself to be pushed around by wantaway stars. At the start of this season, Sam Allardyce told Newcastle he had a three to five year plan to make the club a top force, and got until December. It would be just desserts if Newcastle were to end up relegated this year, as a benchmark that sometimes belief and loyalty should still stand for something in this countries football, because it does at Goodison Park.
That’s all I have time for this week, mainly as I am just about to sit down and watch the Champions League. Many thanks for everyone’s contributions over the past few months as to regards the Seabass Letter, lets hope we get a response, and it results in the best PES game ever in 9 months time. Comments about anything you have read here will be gratefully received, along with e-mails at danbolas@hotmail.com
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Fri 29 Feb 2008
This is the letter i have written to Seabass, using e-mails and comments from members of this site. The letter will be sent on Tuesday 4th March 2008, so any errors noticed, or things that i have completely missed out should be commented on at the bottom before then.
“Firstly, thank you for taking time out your busy schedule to read this letter. I am writing on behalf of PESGaming.com, a very popular online Pro Evolution Soccer community that has been running for a number of years, and a website in which I personally write a weekly column, titled Interfering With Play. Since the release of next generation PES2008, and following your own personal comments regarding the game, the community has joined together to offer suggestions and ideas for the future of PES. These views are not just my own, but are of hundreds of gamers based all over Europe, and in some cases the United States of America.”
“Most people over hear see PES as a certain purchase come the end of the year, and each year, it very rarely disappoints. As far as a football game, the realism and game play is better than anything currently available on the market, and over the past few years, the graphics have started to equal other sporting titles out there. With that said, this years offering, especially as it was the first multi format next generation release, failed to live up to the hype many people had created. The game is definitely not a bad game, by any stretch of the imagination, and still is played by many gamers, but after a number of weeks of playing it, each has raised many of the same points, and PESGaming.com decided to unite together and give the hundreds and indeed thousands of regular visitors a voice, hopefully one that may influence some of your future game making decisions.”
“Pro Evolution Soccer as a game has always been the football fans choice, and not been particularly favoured by arcade based gamers looking for a quick fix. The next generation audience have felt that the latest offering of PES is far too quick, and that it almost falls into the unrealistic category. Football can be played as a build up game, with long stringing passing moves, and this is something PES has always been excellent at. The speed of the game is something that could definitely be addressed for the next offering of the game. ”
“One of the biggest complaints from every gamer who has played PES is the lag that everyone has experienced at one stage or another. To Konami’s credit, patches have been released to rectify the problem offline, however many gamers won’t even play the game online. With the whole emphasis of the next generation being online gaming, and bringing the gaming community together, lag free gaming is almost as crucial as being able to play multi player on the same system. The potential for online tournaments is massive, and marketing opportunities from having a successful online community are immeasurable. Couple this with the huge social networking culture currently running wild, and the sky is truly the limit. Gamers would take pride in their profile, which could be used to display their best goals and track records, and would be happy to keep up their rankings in order to be entered in to big money, sponsored tournaments. Add to this the ability to create your own leagues with mates, and you could have a thriving online community, with very little effort on your own part. I am sure you are aware of the potential for this, but this is also what a great deal of gamers want to see and experience, and PES is the one place they would love to do it.”
“The commentary aspect is something that has greatly improved over the past few years, and many Pro Evolution fans now claim it to be the best available. However, with so many next generation console owners having a wealth of MP3s stored on their systems hard drives, surely the option of allowing custom play lists during menu screens would be both practical and time saving on your part.”
“The game modes featured in PES are all very popular, but surely with the capabilities of Blu Ray and HD DVD disks, more modes could be included. Modes such as an indoor mode of 5 a side, or a 7 a side mode, both styles of football that are very popular in the U.K would add slightly more variety to the game, and would also attract more of a casual audience, who maybe are not looking to play through lots of league or cup competitions, and are slightly overwhelmed by the hundreds of players on offer. More players and teams, will be welcomed by most PES fans though, and whilst many admit that the Master League is one of the best modes in any current computer game, simple things could be done to make the experience more realistic. One of the biggest gripes is the use of points, when currency, even if its fictional currency would add to the realism. Also, making the option to train your players slightly more in depth, even with the possibility to work on set plays in training, triggering runs that then can me made during the following week’s matches. The whole argument most players base this on is that PES has potential to be a massive game, but lacks both the variety of game modes or the sheer number of teams to attract those gamers who are more concerned with quick fix football.”
“One thing most gamers, including myself, can not understand is why every year something seems to be removed from PES, after having a successful year. Features such as the in depth edit mode with pixel editor for logos, random selection mode, the ability to base copy players, the PES shop, the ability to swap shirts and shorts to give different kit combinations and the ability to play a penalty kick match. These modes were all exceptionally popular, and all would be heartily welcomed back into the next Konami football offering. The edit mode in particular is a huge loss for many gamers. Everyone understands that licenses cost a lot of money and sponsorship deals are not that easy to come by, so the ability to make the logos and strips for yourself is crucial. Most people have not invested in the camera for their console, and even then 8 spaces is far to few. This can be taken further, with the ability to customise managers, referees or even a stadium editor, as a way of getting around the licence problem, whilst still giving gamers the most realistic football experience around.”
“I will say again, these views are not just of myself, but are the views collected from gamers all over the world, and have been sent to me in the form of hundreds of e-mails since the start of 2008. The game play and fundamentals of Pro Evolution Soccer are still there, but now as it is a next generation game, many of the above features would be most welcomed by the PESGaming.com public.”
“We ask that the next PES offering is completely lag free, be it online or offline, and maintains the high standards set in previous versions, and keeps the top quality game play that has seen the title stand the test of time, albeit with a slightly slower tempo!”
“Thank you very much for your time reading the letter, and we hope that some if not all of the ideas have offered some kind of inspiration towards the next title. I personally can be reached on danbolas@hotmail.com, and will be more than willing to discuss these issues further if you wish. The website I write for and the home of many of these brilliant ideas, is www.pesgaming.com.”
Yours truly,
Dan Bolas
Interfering With Play
PesGaming.com
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 26 Feb 2008
Welcome to Interfering With Play. This week will see the writing and finalising of the Seabass letter, but due to the overwhelming and frankly huge response I have had from e-mails, messages and MSN chat, it is going to take slightly longer than first thought. I hope to post a copy on this site before Friday, as I am now in the process of collaborating all the points together now, before finally turning it into a piece that ill not bore readers. I apologise for anyone desperate to read it, but for the sheer volume of information that needs to be included, it is, in my opinion, better to take the time and get it right than rush it and waste the last few months’ work of hard work. With that said, enough has happened in the last week in order to keep Interfering With Play more than full, so lets get rolling.
Showing His Studs
Undoubtedly the talking point of the week, especially as regards to the English Premier League was the challenge on Arsenal’s Eduardo by Birmingham City defender Martin Taylor, which caused a horrific double break of his leg and torn ligaments. The tackle itself was nowhere near as bad as some of the challenges that have occurred this season, and was more a case of bad timing than intent to hurt the Croatian. Those who view Sky Sports News on a regular basis will see that Martin Taylor is far from a dirty player. He has received a total of 2 red cards in nearly 300 professional games, and averages a booking every 39 games, a very respectable record for any footballer, never mind one who plies his trade as a Centre Back. Arsene Wenger has since retracted his statement that Taylor should be banned from football, and most players and managers, including Eduardo have cleared him of blame for the incident. But I ask, how long before such a thing happens to a Rooney or a Gerrard, and England loses a key member of their side. Croatia would have probably been considered with an outside chance of winning Euro 2008, and now have lost one of their star strikers. Couple this with the fact it was an English player who had made the tackle, and you realise that although it was undoubtedly a horrible injury, it could have fallen so much worse for the FA, and given the media a field day. Players like Essien and Mikel are both renowned for leaving their foot in, or even occasionally going over the top of the ball in a tackle, and had they done so to an English player, I am sure the media would be called for more hefty treatment of these players. Kuyt managed to get away with a yellow card for what is arguably the worse tackle of the season so far, and this again is an area which is far to inconclusive for the modern game. Bans need to be greater for reckless play, and the FA should be able to hand out extended bans or even review incidents after the referee has taken action. At the moment, whatever the ref decides regarding a caution must stay as that, and this means yellow card tackles that deserve red are not getting punished. Couple this with the madness of a four game ban for Alliadiare, who whilst slapped Mascherano, did not cause any physical injury, and you realise that the system is both flawed and highly outdated. Any views on this subject, an issue, which is on most people’s lips at the moment, are more than welcome.
Welcome to My Empire
2008 will see the launch of a whole new world of gaming, as for the first time ever, there will be an interactive multi sport online community. For those of you who are unaware, a title called Empire Of Sports is going to be released for PC in the middle of this year. The game is to follow a similar role to the exceptionally popular World Of Warcraft series, in which you create your own character and move him or her round a virtual world. However, instead of fighting battles and collecting experience points, you work out at a gym and play in online sporting competitions to increase your rank. Sports range from Football to Tennis to Basketball and even more extreme sports such as Skiing, and are coupled with time spent in the gym to help you build up your athlete’s stats. The difference is, of course, every player you will play against will be another human being, be it in a 1 on 1 tennis match or a full scale 11 a side football league, with your team mates being real people playing the game just like you. For many sports gamers, something like this would seem to be the Holy Grail, and in my opinion, it does seem to be very interesting. I have never dabbled into the World Of Warcraft, but since my PS3, would consider myself a regular online gamer and love the idea of competing against real world opponents. The idea of having a team with mates, which you would pit against another team is one that I have personally been looking forward to for years, but I still feel that, although the idea is an excellent one, it still has a long way to go to make itself a must own game. It is due for release in May / June of this year, and anyone with anymore information would be welcome to post it as a comment, or send it this way via e-mail.
And We’re Heading Live To The Rumour Mill
Rumours this week have struck of PES2009 actually not being released until 2009, and even reports from a couple of sources that it will be Seabass’ last PES offering ever! Before we go any further, can I point out that most gaming rumours change on a daily basis and that one minute a game due out in 2009 turns up next week, with another game being delayed til 2010! The problem with a medium like computer games is the fact that is built for a generation that hates waiting. Game players are the same people who have been brought up on Cash Machines, Fast Food and Ready Meals. We have 100’s of channels so there is ‘always something on’ and we don’t buy CDs, if we like a song we download it that minute, legally from iTunes of course! As soon as any news of a slight delay occurs, immediately annoyance steps in and we get very frustrated. Many people were furious about the delay GTA IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 both experienced, yet movies have 6 month or 12 month set backs all the time. Therefore, as soon as any rumour hits the Internet about a delay, some people will see it as gospel, and some sites have even already printed that PES will not be released this year. I am personally far more sceptical. In an industry that moves so quickly, 6 months is a very long time, and more news about the next PES instalment will be far more accurate at that time. The other factor, which needs to be taken into account, though, is would PES gamers wait another 12 months for a new version of PES, if it irons out the ‘problems’ with this seasons title. EA Sports will have released three new titles (four including FIFA Street) by the time the new PES is released, so whether the game comes out in October or January may not be that important. What is important is that the game reaches the exceptionally high standards that it has set itself, and the Seabass and Konami take on board the views of football fans when making the game.
Ask The Experts
Moving on from the above point, I wonder how many experts actually work on a set game. For example, Call Of Duty 4 brought in a number of ex-military members, who all put their input towards the game. Wherever possible, Infinity Ward took their views and replicated it in the gaming world, and as a result what occurred was one of the most realistic and best war games on the market. But there were changes that had to be made. Simple things that are the difference between games and reality that needs to be added for effect. The grenades that you throw out should take 5 seconds to explode, however, the developers thought 5 seconds was too long for gamers to wait, and despite taking the advice of the experts, shrank the time delay down to three seconds, resulting in an increase in speed, even if it does sacrifice realism. This is of course, not possible for all genres of game, and indeed not for all titles. It would be impossible to take the views of a 13th Century Assassin on board when making Assassin’s Creed, and games like Stuntman: Ignition require a more user friendly interface than just diagrams and drawings presented to a real stuntman. However, with most gaming developers having not experienced many of the things they design games about, surely there is a call more than ever for experts to be brought in. Ray Houghton, ex-Republic Of Ireland and Aston Villa midfielder plays a huge part in the tactical development of Championship Manager, so surely working with professional coaches will help give a greater understanding to the AI in games like PES and Fifa. Your views on this subject would be, as always, greatly appreciated.
‘Keep On Rolling’
Comments made on the previous Interfering With Play have led to the question what will this article feature once the Seabass letter is done and dusted. This weeks article made very little reference to the aforementioned letter, and is as long, if not longer than previous weeks offerings, however, Interfering With Play’s future is totally in the hands of the PESGaming.com public. Every week I receive e-mails commenting on something someone has read on the site, and every week I sit down on a Tuesday with a list of ten or so topics and have to shrink them down to 3 or 4 in order to save time. I plan to continue writing for a while yet, as I still have a number of talking points that can be discussed, and have no intention of packing it in. With that said, I appreciate that over the summertime, there may be a point of a few months were Interfering With Play will go on a summer holiday. I hope that should this happen I will return in time for the build up to the future PES, with the latest news and dealings from the gaming world. So in answer to the question, I have a few topics to still discuss and write about, so you won’t be getting rid of me just yet!
That’s it for this week’s column. Hopefully the Seabass letter will be up for your viewing pleasure on Thursday, but it may come slightly later, depending on work and time restraints. As always, comments are more than welcome at the bottom of the page, along with e-mails, which can be sent to danbolas@hotmail.com. I also have to apologise for any people who may get deleted of my PS3 friends list in the next few weeks. I have too many people on there at the moment, and with some of my mates buying PS3’s in the next few weeks, I need to streamline it slightly. Send me a message on there in the next few days shouting out who you are and that your read the column, and I will not delete you!
Thanks for Reading.
Posted by Peter Willis in PES 2008 News on Wed 20 Feb 2008
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will finally be making an appearance on Sony’s PSP on February 29th. The game, which is being released some 5 months afters it’s console counterpart, will retail for around £17.99 - Buy with Play for release date delivery.
IGN have published a favourable 8.9 review, which you can read in full here.
A bona-fide PES game on the PSP, PES 2008 admittedly only takes small steps from last year’s title, but it takes all the right ones. If there is anyone yet to be converted to Seabass’s formula, this isn’t the game to do it. However, for PSP owners who already worship at the temple of PES, this could well be their mana. In improving upon PES 6 it marks itself as the definitive sports title currently available on the PSP, and for those of a certain inclination it’s therefore one of the best games there is for Sony’s handheld.
