Where do I even start???
For starters, I really don't care about 10 vs 10.. they cannot even get 1 vs 1 right, so it seems ridiculous to be thinking about 10 vs 10.
More Licenses -- Again, I don't care about Licenses, Licenses was never the reason why I loved PES.
Better Graphics -- Always welcomed, but isn't a priority for me.. Gameplay is much more important.
More Stadiums, Boots, etc, etc -- I don't care about any of that.
What I would like to see??
You can improve the movements, the graphics, you can secure all the licenses in the world, you can have flawless Online Play -BUT- if Konami doesn't upgrades their Foundations, the Core Gameplay will remain unchanged.
So with that in mind, I want NEW STATS, I want a revolution in the Stats.. the game needs more realism and substance. Everyone does the same tricks, we need new DRIBBLING STATS, amongst many other.
PES needs a host of New Stats, in particular TACTICAL STATS. The game needs more Tactical Attributes, and tactical attributes need to be much more important in-game.
Stats such as "Dribbling Accuracy" and "Dribbling Speed" are ridiculous generalizations, excessively one-dimensional, and definitely out of date.
And so are "Top Speed" and "Acceleration".. There is more to running, I think the game needs New Physical Attributes as well, such as "Explosiveness" which would add yet more realism and differences between individuals.
There is the old "Acceleration" Stat that determines how fast a player reaches his Top Speed. Why not elaborate on it and make it deeper and more realistic?
Like for example, include a Stat for determining an individual's "Explosiveness" when he goes from "Stationary" to "Running". The more explosive the individual the better he'll be in short sprints, in small spaces, when changing pace, or when shifting from stationary to sprinting.
Meaning that once the player shifts a few gears the "Acceleration" Stat should then take over. But in the Lower Gears, or when changing from "stationary" to "sprinting" the "Explosiveness" stat would be much more relevant.
The old "Agility" Stat simply doesn't cut it in this respect, because agility really haves nothing to do with "explosiveness". There are plenty of world class players, who are agile and fast, but do not posses that same "burst of speed" when going from "stationary to moving".
Meaning that an individual can be agile and fast, but if he doesn't haves that "explosiveness" he won't make the most out of that agility and pace. Or at least won't be as much of a threat as he would be if he was an explosive player.
Compare the Brazilian Ronaldo with Cristiano Ronaldo.. The Brazilian Ronaldo didn't seemed as "agile" or as "quick with his feet" as Cristiano Ronaldo -BUT- R9 had an "explosive burst of speed" that made him lethal.
You can make the same comparison between Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi..
Acceleration, Agility, and Top Speed are simply NOT enough to define such differences. We need more physical attributes.
If a Stat for "Explosiveness" and "Running Technique" was added -alongside- "Agility", "Top Speed" and "Acceleration" -- the game would be Significantly deeper.
We need New Stats such as:
- Cutting the Ball
- Body Feints
- Weak Foot Dribbling Ability
- Shielding the Ball
- Finishing
- First Touch
- Step Overs
- Flicking the Ball
- Nutmeg
- 360ª Roulette and 180ª spins
- Avoiding Tackles
- Running Technique
- Explosiveness
Other than that...
I want to see new Concepts such as an in-game "Confidence Level" gauge to measure the confidence level of each individual throughout the game, throughout each play.
The sum of all the Individuals will make the Team's Overall Confidence Level, and the momentum will be in favor of the Team with better confidence.
Meaning that the "momentum shifts" would rarely be the same, maybe in one play the momentum is overwhelmingly going against you.. whereas in other plays the opponent will only have a very slight advantage in momentum.
This alone would be a great addition in my opinion, players with "low confidence level" will not run as much off-the-ball, and consequently some of their Stats will go DOWN momentarily.
On the other hand, a player with "high confidence level" will tire less and some of his Stats will go UP.. So if you have Riquelme or Fabregas with a "high confidence level" chances are that their Passing will be even more accurate than in normal conditions.
A Cristiano Ronaldo with a 90% Confidence Level will be more likely to score a goal or dribble past one or two opponents.. On the other hand, a Cristiano Ronaldo with a 60% Confidence might not be so lucky, and may disappear for some plays.
The confidence level of the teams, or in other words, the "momentum shifts" throughout the game would be different in each Play. Meaning that the Confidence Level would go up and down continually, for the whole 90 minutes.
Maybe in one PLAY you have Cristiano Ronaldo with a 90% Confidence Level.. whereas by the 70th minute of the game Ronaldo could have a 60% Confidence.
It would affect both Individual performances and Team performances, in a deeper and more realistic way. This would get rid of the random "Momentum Shifts" that we have in all PES games. There would be solid reasons for the sudden momentum shifts.
Instead of:
* John Terry suddenly beating Fernando Torres on PACE.
* Your Defensive Players suddenly stop moving, for no particular reason.
* Your players become significantly slower and weaker than the opposition.
There would be a reason for all those scenarios.. if John Terry beats Fernando Torres on PACE, that would only be possible if Fernando Torres haves a Low Confidence Level in that particular Play or Match.
Point of the matter is that we would have reasons behind every AI-Action. Somehow seeing John Terry running and accelerating past Fernando Torres is highly unrealistic and annoying.
Other than that..
I want Less Time and Space on the pitch -- PES09 is too SLOW TACTICALLY, you have too much time to think whatever it is you want to do.. this becomes boring very fast. PES needs to be sharper and faster in this aspect, it needs to be Mentally or Tactically Faster.
Another thing that needs improvement is the one-on-one play. It's time to add a Distance Gauge or something like that, to measure the distance between Attacker and Defender -- Distance is key when Attacking or Defending.
A gauge for measuring the distance between Attacker and Defender would definitely add a new element of Space and Timing into the game. This would add some much needed substance to one-on-one play. We would have to master getting "in range" for dribbling or defending.
Other than that..
A very important aspect that I have never experienced in any Football Sim is in how you "Intercept Passes".
In PES09 it requires zero thinking, you just; run, run, run, run, and release some buttons when the time is right.. and eventually, or most of the time, you end up winning possession back.
Defensive Play in PES09 is excessively straightforward, one-dimensional, and boring.
In real-life "intercepting the ball" is a very important part of the game. You have to make split-second decisions and react in-time.. which is very involving and addictive if you get the hang of it.
It is a gamble, first of all you need to have good awareness if you want to intercept a pass, and secondly.. you need to chose Left or Right or Center. You have to anticipate, and sometimes you get it right, other times you don't.
This is something that I have always find lacking in all Football Sims, and something that in my opinion is extremely important in Real-Life Football.
I think a "Distance gauge" would also work in this respect, because you need to be "in range" in order to intercept a pass, and once you are "in range" you need to decide (very quickly) which way you're going.
By doing this we would get a new dimension of Tactical Play, because if we are "in range" to anticipate against a pass, and we choose to cover the Left Lane.. we could force our opponent into passing the ball to your Right.
It suddenly becomes a Mind-Game.. you can manipulate your opponent into making some decisions.
Or as in many cases, if you anticipate correctly and time it right, you might end up Intercepting the pass.
PES needs little details like this, and because you would need "good Awareness" to get "in range" -this- would make players like Steven Gerrard more useful in-game.
And players like Riquelme and Fabregas would be far more appreciated, if konami includes New Passing Stats.. because they have the ability of passing the ball without it being intercepted.
It would not be just about skillful players with PACE and Acceleration, like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
And of course...
Just like everyone else, I think the 8-directional Movement and Passing needs to go. It makes for very Rigid and Unrealistic play, it's because of this that PES09 lacks so much intensity and feeling.
