WabeWalker
Registered User
Wow. I'm really undecided about this new PES.
I've just this minute finished playing a game of Pro Evolution 2007, having spent most of the evening toying with the new demo of the 2008 edition.
At least on my PC (3GHZ P4, 1GB RAM, 7950GT 512 OC) the two titles are shockingly different.
The 2007 edition is outrageously fun to play - it's so smooth and so quick; there are times during gameplay when you're just giddy with excitement.
The 2008 edition, on the other hand, plays a much more realistic game of football - the pace is generally much slower; no longer can you simply pass the ball to a superb dribbler and hit the gass and tear up the field for a cross to one of your forwards, or for a last second through-ball, or for a shot on net. Rather, in this new version you really have to work the ball. I've found that your team-mates take much longer to support you, meaning that you have to buy time and cross the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, and then advance - or, alternatively, just go route one right away to one of your strikers, and hope for the best. (I'm kind of surprised at how effective route one has been! The opposition closes in on you pretty damned quickly, but when you do break free from a long ball it's damned exciting! On more than one occasion I found myself shouting out loud at my monitor.)
I'm guessing that a lot of people, used to the old engine, are going to be shocked at how slow this new game is - it just goes to show, however, that previous versions of this series were a lot more 'gamey' than some enthusiasts were maybe willing to admit. (Let's face it, in the real world even professional players get tired pretty damned quickly - all this business about riding the acceleration button the entire time is really just a lot of nonsense.)
The thing is, I'm still not sure whether 'more realistic' translates into 'more fun'?
I've played the demo about thirty times now. All I can say is that I keep on seeing new things - some of the mistakes being made, both by myself and by the A.I., have resulted in some of the funnest goals I've ever scored (or had scored upon me). The graphics in this year's version are obviously superior, and this is particularly evident when you turn your player 180 degrees to shoot on net - it's a very realistic animation. Also, if you haven't actually played the game yet, wait until you score your first goal - the way that the ball interacts with the net, and the way that the netting bounces around when the ball gets shot into it, is simply one of the most amazing sights to behold in all of gaming. The net physics are the best I've seen in any game, period. (I can't believe I just wrote that.)
And yet, somehow, last year's version still charms the pants off me in a way that this year's doesn't.
I'll be damned if I can figure out what's going on here though?
That said, if you were to tell me that the game was in stock at my local software store right now, I'd be up and out of this chair in an instant. It's kind of odd that I've been complaining for so long about this game needing a face lift, but now that it's got one I find myself not completely satisfied by it. Is my middle name Ungrateful or what?
Or maybe I just need more time to absorb the mechanics of this new game? Or maybe I need to have the retail version in my hands! Like how about right now!
I've just this minute finished playing a game of Pro Evolution 2007, having spent most of the evening toying with the new demo of the 2008 edition.
At least on my PC (3GHZ P4, 1GB RAM, 7950GT 512 OC) the two titles are shockingly different.
The 2007 edition is outrageously fun to play - it's so smooth and so quick; there are times during gameplay when you're just giddy with excitement.
The 2008 edition, on the other hand, plays a much more realistic game of football - the pace is generally much slower; no longer can you simply pass the ball to a superb dribbler and hit the gass and tear up the field for a cross to one of your forwards, or for a last second through-ball, or for a shot on net. Rather, in this new version you really have to work the ball. I've found that your team-mates take much longer to support you, meaning that you have to buy time and cross the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, and then advance - or, alternatively, just go route one right away to one of your strikers, and hope for the best. (I'm kind of surprised at how effective route one has been! The opposition closes in on you pretty damned quickly, but when you do break free from a long ball it's damned exciting! On more than one occasion I found myself shouting out loud at my monitor.)
I'm guessing that a lot of people, used to the old engine, are going to be shocked at how slow this new game is - it just goes to show, however, that previous versions of this series were a lot more 'gamey' than some enthusiasts were maybe willing to admit. (Let's face it, in the real world even professional players get tired pretty damned quickly - all this business about riding the acceleration button the entire time is really just a lot of nonsense.)
The thing is, I'm still not sure whether 'more realistic' translates into 'more fun'?
I've played the demo about thirty times now. All I can say is that I keep on seeing new things - some of the mistakes being made, both by myself and by the A.I., have resulted in some of the funnest goals I've ever scored (or had scored upon me). The graphics in this year's version are obviously superior, and this is particularly evident when you turn your player 180 degrees to shoot on net - it's a very realistic animation. Also, if you haven't actually played the game yet, wait until you score your first goal - the way that the ball interacts with the net, and the way that the netting bounces around when the ball gets shot into it, is simply one of the most amazing sights to behold in all of gaming. The net physics are the best I've seen in any game, period. (I can't believe I just wrote that.)
And yet, somehow, last year's version still charms the pants off me in a way that this year's doesn't.
I'll be damned if I can figure out what's going on here though?
That said, if you were to tell me that the game was in stock at my local software store right now, I'd be up and out of this chair in an instant. It's kind of odd that I've been complaining for so long about this game needing a face lift, but now that it's got one I find myself not completely satisfied by it. Is my middle name Ungrateful or what?
Or maybe I just need more time to absorb the mechanics of this new game? Or maybe I need to have the retail version in my hands! Like how about right now!
