What a missed opportunity!
This really could have been the year where Konami re-establishes itself as the preferred football game for sim fans.
However, the game (or at least the demo) is bugged with some absurd programming, which ultimately ruins it.
But first the positives.
For large parts, the gameplay feels fantastic. Never before have I felt the realism of the game being transferred so successfully on a console controller. The weight of the players, the fluidity of the game, the passing – everything works very well and is joined together fluidly. Even the new weight shifting system works well for most parts, especially when you learn how to use it.
The other positive is how the virtual players feel like their real counterparts. And I am not talking about their faces or body models, but their playing style, way they actually move, interact with the ball, pass and shoot, the positions they will choose to take on the pitch. The resemblance between the virtual and the real Pirlo is so close, it’s scary. He will pass the ball with the same zip, he will move towards a ball carrier to ask for the ball, he will hold exactly the same position on the pitch as the real man does.
Visually, everything looks great, the colours are realistic (unlike FIFA’s over-saturated colours), the shadows are great, the crowds looks, feels and sounds better than before. The announcements in the stadium are so real when played through a 5.1 sound system. Top marks for visual and audio presentation.
The re-addition a the customizable camera is also a nice touch. Why did they ever take it out is a mystery.
Yes, the game is slower, but in mind that’s a good think and after a while it feels totally realistic. I love the way the game flows. Don’t forget you only get to play a few minutes in the Demo, so it’s normal that most games end goalless.
And now onto the inexplicable gaps and errors…
Like I mentioned earlier the passing works very well, but the same cannot be said about the shooting. Shots feel meek, floaty and uninspiring. You miss that zip when your striker connect with a ball sweetly and the ball just flies in.
Also, the weight shift – whilst a good idea - it is too slow to actually activate. There is a noticeable delay between the pressing of the sticks to actually engaging the move and seeing the animation. What’s the point? It’s almost like you have to pre-determine what you want to do 2 seconds in advance and hope that the animation will coincide with the action 2 seconds later. Football is a dynamic game, frequently you take decisions on the spur of the moment. This concept is missing here.
The cursor control / movement / selection does not work. Even on auto or semi-auto cursor changing, frequently an AI-controlled teammate will totally ignore a ball travelling towards him. This is very evident on counter attacks when you pass the ball forward. If the AI has decided that the ball will be received by a certain player, the ball will literally go through a better positioned player, just so that the pass continues to travel to that AI-chosen player. It’s so counterintuitive, it’s ridiculous. And you can’t override it because the cursor control this year requires you to hold L1 and the move R. It’s so cumbersome.
However my biggest gripe is with the way player speed has been implemented (and ruined). During 80% of the game’s action all the players would move at a realistic speed and here I also account for the speed changes, such as the burst that you activate through the dash button. That’s fine, that works. However on through balls, ball recipients will just take off like rockets, increasing their speed 3,4 fold in a total unnatural and unrealistic way. And here I am talking about both CPU and your own AI-controlled players. You might be annoyed by this but still accept it. What is unacceptable is the way the breakaways have been destroyed. Let’s say the CPU sends a player towards goal with a through pass. You are chasing with a defender and are 2-3 body lengths behind. By all physics laws you have no chance, not even close enough to take the striker out with a lunging sliding tackle. In order to compensate for the rocket speed described earlier, Konami have had the “brilliant” idea of implementing an artificial catch up logic, so all of a sudden your defender will be equipped with the rockers and the CPU striker will inexplicably slow down allowing your defender to catch him and take the ball away. And this is on Top Player level. This happens every single time a player is through on goal – both for CPU and human controlled players. That ruins the game totally.
Last year people had problems with the CPU sending strikers through on goal too frequently. So this year, instead of fixing that problem, Konami have addressed that by implementing this artificial catch up mechanism. It’s what is commonly referred to as “compounding of errors” and in this case it is game breaking. If that is not fixed for final release, this game will be a flop.
Some other minor gripes.
Keepers take way too long to pass the ball with their hands.
The dots system on free kicks might be a good idea but is poorly implemented
There are still occasions (though less compared to 2013) where balls and players will go through one another as if they are not there.
The referees do not play the advantage rule in 90% of the cases, even if a player is through on goal.
Even on Top Level, the game is not challenging enough.
SO all in all, a mixed bag. PES 2014 has some very good things and some very thoughtless things. I sincerely hope that they fix the above mentioned speed issues for the release!
