Interfering With Play 04/09/07
I have been away on holiday for the past week or so, and therefore haven’t had access to a PC to write my column. However, I am back now, and having read through the various articles on PESGaming.com, and the surrounding websites, I feel there are more than enough talking points, so am jumping straight in.
Feedback
I don’t want to dwell on this point too much, as it made up the bulk of my previous article, but I’d like to start off by taking the views of John4 on board, with regards to the Sven reign at Man City, and the way the British press treat England players. I agree that the press do make England seem a better side than they really are at times, and give certain players more credit than they maybe deserve. But I also believe that footballers have a right to earn their money. At the top it is maybe a 10-year career, and if you can make extra money by doing sponsorship deals or advertising campaigns, do them while you can because no one will be interested when they are 50 year olds! I think the underlying fact is, because we (well England Fans) really crave that major tournament win, we get so frustrated when we keep getting so close. In other sports, namely Rugby and Cricket, the England team have had major triumphs in recent memory, where as it’s been over 40 years since the football team have lifted some notable silver wear. And we can blame the advertising, or the boss, or the style of football, but if we played like Bolton and won the World Cup, I believe it would satisfy an urge among many generations of begrudged England supporters.
The Clock Is Ticking
At the time of writing this article, its just under two months to the eagerly anticipated release of PES 2008, and having read the articles and comments on this site there seems to be a lot of mixed opinions about the standard of the game. The obvious comparisons to Fifa will be made, and I will address those in a minute, but I would first like to get a few points off my chest about Konami’s new release. Having played the next-gen version of PES 6 on X Box 360, I found it a solid game, but lacking in the lifespan of the PS2 counterpart, especially in the editing department. Of course, anyone who has played the X-Box 360 version knows this, but as has been written, the new version of PES will have full editing on the next gen modes. So what is all the panic about?! Yes, some of the screenshots seem to lack a HD / Next Gen feel, but the majority of in game videos are images taken on camera phones or shaky hand held camcorders. Whilst there is no doubt the PS2 and other older consoles may have a bit of a bum deal graphically, the next gen consoles will get a better graphical experience than the previous years game. That is progress. The option of putting your own face or digital scans in the game is a massive bonus to many people, who see editing Pro Evo as normal as playing a Master League. This again is progress. The addition of new commentators, granted who will be relying on a half decent script in order to save another collection of one line links, is Konami addressing a need that the precious due were both out of date are not good enough. Again, this is progress. My point is that the game is already the premier football game on the market, and is making small steps forward. If it tried to make a giant leap, it might end up falling flat on its face, and I would rather have a quality football game that runs on a tired and trusted graphics engine than gamble on a whole knew one, especially when the PS3 is so new on the market, and developers are still learning the full extent of its power.
So Close, Yet So Far
I was delighted to read that there was a 59-track soundtrack to the new PES game, believing that finally you could import your own music to replays, or as background sound when doing the tedious editing jobs. But from reading comments and articles, it seems that this is a bog standard 59 generic music track play list that cannot be edited. I wrote an article on the PESGAMING.com message board following PES3, saying this would be a welcome addition to the PC version of the game, but it fell upon many peoples opinion that you just have the radio or iPod on and turn the sound off the game. I would appreciate peoples input on the subject as to whether or not this is as desired by other people as it is by myself.
The Big Two
Man United vs. Arsenal, Tyson vs. Holyfield, England vs. Australia, The Rock vs. Stonecold Steve Austin (got to get a WWE reference in!) All legendary battles, things each year people look forward to. Each side is equally supported by people who can give you 100 reasons why theirs in superior to their counterpart. And of course, the big one in the gaming world, Fifa vs. Pro Evo. Since the introduction of Pro Evolution Soccer in 2001 (changing from ISS Pro Evolution Soccer 2 on PSONE), the Konami brand has been released annually, several weeks after EA Sports brings out its yearly Fifa offering. There is no denying, up until the ISS series; Fifa was the supreme footballing game. On both mega drive and PC, it offered a more realistic soccer experience, with features such as being able to block down goalkeepers kicks and even running away from the referee to avoid a yellow yard! But then, it fell on hard times, and as the Konami series progressed, Fifa concentrated more on fads such as Classic teams, First Touch, and big name sponsorship deals to shift their games. Over the past two or three years, people have started to say the gap between the two games has shrunk, and Fifa is now almost as good as PES. In my personal opinion, this is far from the truth. I am a huge football fan, and own EVERY Fifa game since its introduction in 1994, with the exception of the European Champions and World Cup ‘updates’. Whilst Fifa has some excellent concepts, the game play and indeed the in game animation is far behind PES. The cut scenes are beautifully rendered, the menus are crisp and as mentioned above, the customable music tracks feature some of the worlds most hotly anticipated acts. But when you pick up the controller to play a match, all of that doesn’t matter. I started a league on Fifa 2007 for Pc only last weekend. Ten games into the season I find it both tedious and unrealistic. As Aston Villa, the only game I have lost in to Gillingham in the League Cup, and Watford currently sit top of the premier league having toppled Chelsea 4-0 at the Bridge. The games feel like a predetermined series of events that no matter how hard you try, you must follow. It doesn’t feel like a football game. Which got me thinking. I have asked around a collection of mates, and found the following discovery. The majority of people who say Fifa is better than Pro use the timely reason, “It hasn’t got real names and kits”. These are merely cosmetic things that are easily changed with an option file. Technically, whilst many of my Pro playing mates could find many faults with Fifa, the Fifa players struggled to do so with Pro Evo. Yes graphically Fifa can show off its shine, but great graphics don’t necessarily make a great game, as many retro gaming fans will agree with!
I have got a bit carried away with my Fifa vs. Pro rant there, and have failed to touch on several other points of the week. However, I am sure I will find plenty of time to discuss these in future articles. My final word will be though, don’t panic about graphics, just wait for the game to be in your console, and see if you will moaning when your first 25-yard screamer flies in!
As always, comments or discussion topics are welcome. Either catch me on here or hit me on my e-mail address, [email protected]
Thanks For Reading
I have been away on holiday for the past week or so, and therefore haven’t had access to a PC to write my column. However, I am back now, and having read through the various articles on PESGaming.com, and the surrounding websites, I feel there are more than enough talking points, so am jumping straight in.
Feedback
I don’t want to dwell on this point too much, as it made up the bulk of my previous article, but I’d like to start off by taking the views of John4 on board, with regards to the Sven reign at Man City, and the way the British press treat England players. I agree that the press do make England seem a better side than they really are at times, and give certain players more credit than they maybe deserve. But I also believe that footballers have a right to earn their money. At the top it is maybe a 10-year career, and if you can make extra money by doing sponsorship deals or advertising campaigns, do them while you can because no one will be interested when they are 50 year olds! I think the underlying fact is, because we (well England Fans) really crave that major tournament win, we get so frustrated when we keep getting so close. In other sports, namely Rugby and Cricket, the England team have had major triumphs in recent memory, where as it’s been over 40 years since the football team have lifted some notable silver wear. And we can blame the advertising, or the boss, or the style of football, but if we played like Bolton and won the World Cup, I believe it would satisfy an urge among many generations of begrudged England supporters.
The Clock Is Ticking
At the time of writing this article, its just under two months to the eagerly anticipated release of PES 2008, and having read the articles and comments on this site there seems to be a lot of mixed opinions about the standard of the game. The obvious comparisons to Fifa will be made, and I will address those in a minute, but I would first like to get a few points off my chest about Konami’s new release. Having played the next-gen version of PES 6 on X Box 360, I found it a solid game, but lacking in the lifespan of the PS2 counterpart, especially in the editing department. Of course, anyone who has played the X-Box 360 version knows this, but as has been written, the new version of PES will have full editing on the next gen modes. So what is all the panic about?! Yes, some of the screenshots seem to lack a HD / Next Gen feel, but the majority of in game videos are images taken on camera phones or shaky hand held camcorders. Whilst there is no doubt the PS2 and other older consoles may have a bit of a bum deal graphically, the next gen consoles will get a better graphical experience than the previous years game. That is progress. The option of putting your own face or digital scans in the game is a massive bonus to many people, who see editing Pro Evo as normal as playing a Master League. This again is progress. The addition of new commentators, granted who will be relying on a half decent script in order to save another collection of one line links, is Konami addressing a need that the precious due were both out of date are not good enough. Again, this is progress. My point is that the game is already the premier football game on the market, and is making small steps forward. If it tried to make a giant leap, it might end up falling flat on its face, and I would rather have a quality football game that runs on a tired and trusted graphics engine than gamble on a whole knew one, especially when the PS3 is so new on the market, and developers are still learning the full extent of its power.
So Close, Yet So Far
I was delighted to read that there was a 59-track soundtrack to the new PES game, believing that finally you could import your own music to replays, or as background sound when doing the tedious editing jobs. But from reading comments and articles, it seems that this is a bog standard 59 generic music track play list that cannot be edited. I wrote an article on the PESGAMING.com message board following PES3, saying this would be a welcome addition to the PC version of the game, but it fell upon many peoples opinion that you just have the radio or iPod on and turn the sound off the game. I would appreciate peoples input on the subject as to whether or not this is as desired by other people as it is by myself.
The Big Two
Man United vs. Arsenal, Tyson vs. Holyfield, England vs. Australia, The Rock vs. Stonecold Steve Austin (got to get a WWE reference in!) All legendary battles, things each year people look forward to. Each side is equally supported by people who can give you 100 reasons why theirs in superior to their counterpart. And of course, the big one in the gaming world, Fifa vs. Pro Evo. Since the introduction of Pro Evolution Soccer in 2001 (changing from ISS Pro Evolution Soccer 2 on PSONE), the Konami brand has been released annually, several weeks after EA Sports brings out its yearly Fifa offering. There is no denying, up until the ISS series; Fifa was the supreme footballing game. On both mega drive and PC, it offered a more realistic soccer experience, with features such as being able to block down goalkeepers kicks and even running away from the referee to avoid a yellow yard! But then, it fell on hard times, and as the Konami series progressed, Fifa concentrated more on fads such as Classic teams, First Touch, and big name sponsorship deals to shift their games. Over the past two or three years, people have started to say the gap between the two games has shrunk, and Fifa is now almost as good as PES. In my personal opinion, this is far from the truth. I am a huge football fan, and own EVERY Fifa game since its introduction in 1994, with the exception of the European Champions and World Cup ‘updates’. Whilst Fifa has some excellent concepts, the game play and indeed the in game animation is far behind PES. The cut scenes are beautifully rendered, the menus are crisp and as mentioned above, the customable music tracks feature some of the worlds most hotly anticipated acts. But when you pick up the controller to play a match, all of that doesn’t matter. I started a league on Fifa 2007 for Pc only last weekend. Ten games into the season I find it both tedious and unrealistic. As Aston Villa, the only game I have lost in to Gillingham in the League Cup, and Watford currently sit top of the premier league having toppled Chelsea 4-0 at the Bridge. The games feel like a predetermined series of events that no matter how hard you try, you must follow. It doesn’t feel like a football game. Which got me thinking. I have asked around a collection of mates, and found the following discovery. The majority of people who say Fifa is better than Pro use the timely reason, “It hasn’t got real names and kits”. These are merely cosmetic things that are easily changed with an option file. Technically, whilst many of my Pro playing mates could find many faults with Fifa, the Fifa players struggled to do so with Pro Evo. Yes graphically Fifa can show off its shine, but great graphics don’t necessarily make a great game, as many retro gaming fans will agree with!
I have got a bit carried away with my Fifa vs. Pro rant there, and have failed to touch on several other points of the week. However, I am sure I will find plenty of time to discuss these in future articles. My final word will be though, don’t panic about graphics, just wait for the game to be in your console, and see if you will moaning when your first 25-yard screamer flies in!
As always, comments or discussion topics are welcome. Either catch me on here or hit me on my e-mail address, [email protected]
Thanks For Reading