Before I quit the other day I played my friend, who was drunk - he kept sliding around and it largely worked which is a complete joke considering how careful you need to be normally/offline (AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE HE WAS TELLING ME HE WAS HITTING THE WRONG BUTTON! – so he was making consistent mistakes that were working out for him, nice!) I would try to play the passing game (where I retain the ball through using short-range efficient passes all the while looking for gaps and runs) but of course my men would not make space, no runs, no options, nada! Whereas when my friend got the ball he simply sent long balls up the pitch and guess what, with glaring consistency he ended up one on one (after my defender just runs out of the way of, or gets miraculously sucked behind, his forward) with my keeper….AGAIN AND AGAIN! He would just do one or two long passes and boom he’s through, it was retarded considering how bad a player I know he is and he would admit himself, he was actually laughing at how he was getting into these positions considering he could barely see the screen --- I had a few chances to score (not clear chances), simply because he was so drunk, and when I pressed the shoot button the delay was so bad it almost took 3 seconds before the shot left my players foot from the time I press, and the outcome/shot (even though I was using no power) was always blazed over – feels so pointless, but not for him as his shots were quick and snappy and if anything because he was drunk he didn’t score more. I watched when he took a shot (we were on comms) he had no delay and his shot behaviour was normal (i.e. how it behaves when offline on easy mode, in that there is no delay)
Also, my crossing just decided not to work (my player just kept slicing the ball out) even though I would take my time and not rush them again and again. Any rare cross that I got off he simply out-jumped me without any competition.
On the flipside, he sends in one cross and of course it’s perfect he then heads it into the top corner totally unchallenged even though two of my defenders barge into him. 2 mins later another cross, carbon-copy outcome.
Eventually he won 3-2 but I had none of the options he had and I had to work so hard just to make the basics work, I changed formations, tactics and blah blah but none of it did squat because at the end of the day this game is governed by scripts and it is too much to take.
I know my friend and he is a very bad player, on PES 13 I win like 20-0 on PES 14 it’s like 10-0 when we play (he may get the odd goal because there is the advantage system (scripting) in the previous titles but to a much lesser extent, it’s just not enjoyable to be fighting against an outside force, being forced to play handicapped, being powerless while your opponent is handed a goal(s).
It’s like the computer wins for him and even corrects his mistakes, how can people take this, seriously? Offline is completely different but I have witnessed the scripting offline also but to a lesser extent. But it just makes me so frustrated because of what you are up against, the computer just decides when to turn things on their head and it’s a joke for my friend walks away laughing that he beat me while drunk but I know underneath what is going on and he knows about the scripting too because he was sick of it in previous versions (sometimes in PES 13 there is just nothing you can do and in 14 if you take the lead by 3 goals you are given so much scripted advantage that you may as well restart the game) but because he rarely wins at this stuff he can gloat away, which he did and that’s fine but I think this is why Konami made this system the way it is.
It’s lazy and costs little to them because it is inherent, the same AI system, in all their games so no changes needed = saving on money, and of course it creates and maintains competition whereby idiots can beat good players and lures people into playing more as the computer assists them. The goals don’t feel earned or fun, overall I feel like I am handed my goals, as if momentarily the advantage turns for me and I get my chance, i.e. his players start tripping over themselves and suddenly shoot works again.
Nah, in all honesty it’s a joke and I refuse any further to be lulled into this nonsense, it’s just not fun and not a real portrayal or implementation of what I can do, which is what I hate the most. I have personal vision, creativity, intelligence and decent reflexes and an ability to read the game and I often try to think of playing unorthodox (thinking outside the box), none of that means a thing online – and offline can be patchy too! With this system I have to play a given way, pretend there are options when there are none, pretend I can have an impact on defence when clearly there is none to be had – in other words pretend to be a working part of an event that is largely out of my control – it is not really down to skill it’s down to who the computer decides the advantage goes to, and it switches all the time just to keep things competitive – it’s like the developers have researched the theory of competition scientifically and come up with a scripting formula that meets the needs of those who need it in that it allows the AI to assess who needs the advantage at what given time and duly provides it.
A system that will stop people who are good from beating people who are bad 20-0. A system that both creates and enforces artificial competition. A system of control. A system I have had enough of and sadly if I want to avoid the majority of this I must play offline and on an easy setting. Come on Konami you can do better than this, much better – the game isn’t bad by a long stretch but take out the control, take out the scripting, it’s just unnecessary, give us back complete control, stop shaping our destinies for us, let’s all move forward together! Read the feedback at least give an option to remove this stuff – like asking for no MSG in your Chinese Takeaway, it can be done – those who like MSG can still have it but provide an option to have without.
Good luck!
