Bunford
Registered User
I was one of the lucky ones. Having pre-ordered PES for the PS3 at shopto, I received my copy yesterday.
Having played it last night, I have mixed reactions about it. In some ways it seems better than 2008 but in other ways it seems like it's lost a little spark, which I can't quite put my finger on. Here's my initial thoughts:
PLAYABILITY
For some reason, it doesn't seem as addictive as previous versions, even 2008. Though this may change with the release of option files, edits etc to make the game more life-like in terms of aesthetics/names. I was bracing myself for staying up til 3am playing it but by about 9.30pm I was spent on it and put the TV on.
GOALKEEPERS
The goalkeeper are pretty much exactly as they were in 2008. They still parry shots which you'd expect them to catch/turn out of play, leaving the opponents forwards free to tap shots in. They're also still headless chickens in terms of coming out for a striker in 1-on-1's. They seem to chase the player rather than position themselves to close the goal out of the striker's sight. My keepers yesterday ran in a big arc chasing the striker, leaving them having a simple tap in from an angle into an open goal. A real keeper wouldn't chase in an arc, but rather position themselves in a position making it difficult for the striker to get a good gap to shoot at.
DEFENDING
Defenders seem to be more headless than in 2008. The computer seems to be able to dribble through defenders quite easily now and if you use the square button for computer aid, it usually pulls your defence all out of shape and is therefore next to useless. This obviously results in defending still being ridiculously difficult. However, as they've slowed the pace of the game down, your Ronaldo's and Messi's can no longer easily sprint past you as defender's now have the pace to stay with them which does help. Only helps a bit, mind!
ATTACKING
The attacking aspects of the game seems pretty much spot on. It's difficult to break through defences now as you can no longer sprint pass the full back down the wing. You have to think about the way you're going to attack more and rely more on defence splitting through balls.
TRICKS & SKILLS
Haven't really tried much of these but they seem pretty straight forward. The long step over always seems to fool the full back to create the half yard for a cross though.
BE A LEGEND
This aspect of the game seems very addictive. I played my debut and scored a cracking header from a free kick in a 2-1 defeat, and subsequently signed for Aston Villa as their new number 10! The offers I got were from Aston Villa, Sunderland and West Ham, which seem to be what everyone is getting. Therefore, this mode may not be as 'free' as one would hope as it may be structured in who you get offers from etc.
ONLINE
Played 3 online games and it's good news! I was dubious after all the rumours about lag still present but all games I played were 100% lag free and just the same as playing offline (though I did play opponents with green icons, i.e. good connection).
EDITING
I haven't tried editing anything yet so can't form an opinion on this yet, though the squads are outdated with Berbatov at Spurs, Friedel and Bentley still at Blackburn etc, but I believe this is due to a license EA bought prevent PES from updating transfers after 2nd August. I believe this is what the first Konami patch will fix, i.e. updating squads and transfers.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE....
I suppose this is the crunch question. I rented FIFA 09 from Blockbuster on the weekend and am therefore in a prime position to compare as I have both at the moment. I got to say that the PES online mode is better having returned to the 'old-school' PS2 format with lobbies, servers, competitions etc making it easier to find friends and opponents in the same country etc. However, for offline (at the moment) I find myself much more addicted to the 'Manager Mode' on FIFA than I was to PES. This is just an initial reaction and, like I said, may differ once OF's and edits are released.
CONCLUSION
I think I will also be getting FIFA 09 and playing PES for online gaming and FIFA for the offline manager mode (as opposed to PES' Master Leagues mode).
I am a lifelong footy fan and have historically favoured PES but have also dabbled with previous FIFA's, purely because my sister in law works for EA in Holland so I can get the games for free usually.
Having played it last night, I have mixed reactions about it. In some ways it seems better than 2008 but in other ways it seems like it's lost a little spark, which I can't quite put my finger on. Here's my initial thoughts:
PLAYABILITY
For some reason, it doesn't seem as addictive as previous versions, even 2008. Though this may change with the release of option files, edits etc to make the game more life-like in terms of aesthetics/names. I was bracing myself for staying up til 3am playing it but by about 9.30pm I was spent on it and put the TV on.
GOALKEEPERS
The goalkeeper are pretty much exactly as they were in 2008. They still parry shots which you'd expect them to catch/turn out of play, leaving the opponents forwards free to tap shots in. They're also still headless chickens in terms of coming out for a striker in 1-on-1's. They seem to chase the player rather than position themselves to close the goal out of the striker's sight. My keepers yesterday ran in a big arc chasing the striker, leaving them having a simple tap in from an angle into an open goal. A real keeper wouldn't chase in an arc, but rather position themselves in a position making it difficult for the striker to get a good gap to shoot at.
DEFENDING
Defenders seem to be more headless than in 2008. The computer seems to be able to dribble through defenders quite easily now and if you use the square button for computer aid, it usually pulls your defence all out of shape and is therefore next to useless. This obviously results in defending still being ridiculously difficult. However, as they've slowed the pace of the game down, your Ronaldo's and Messi's can no longer easily sprint past you as defender's now have the pace to stay with them which does help. Only helps a bit, mind!
ATTACKING
The attacking aspects of the game seems pretty much spot on. It's difficult to break through defences now as you can no longer sprint pass the full back down the wing. You have to think about the way you're going to attack more and rely more on defence splitting through balls.
TRICKS & SKILLS
Haven't really tried much of these but they seem pretty straight forward. The long step over always seems to fool the full back to create the half yard for a cross though.
BE A LEGEND
This aspect of the game seems very addictive. I played my debut and scored a cracking header from a free kick in a 2-1 defeat, and subsequently signed for Aston Villa as their new number 10! The offers I got were from Aston Villa, Sunderland and West Ham, which seem to be what everyone is getting. Therefore, this mode may not be as 'free' as one would hope as it may be structured in who you get offers from etc.
ONLINE
Played 3 online games and it's good news! I was dubious after all the rumours about lag still present but all games I played were 100% lag free and just the same as playing offline (though I did play opponents with green icons, i.e. good connection).
EDITING
I haven't tried editing anything yet so can't form an opinion on this yet, though the squads are outdated with Berbatov at Spurs, Friedel and Bentley still at Blackburn etc, but I believe this is due to a license EA bought prevent PES from updating transfers after 2nd August. I believe this is what the first Konami patch will fix, i.e. updating squads and transfers.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE....
I suppose this is the crunch question. I rented FIFA 09 from Blockbuster on the weekend and am therefore in a prime position to compare as I have both at the moment. I got to say that the PES online mode is better having returned to the 'old-school' PS2 format with lobbies, servers, competitions etc making it easier to find friends and opponents in the same country etc. However, for offline (at the moment) I find myself much more addicted to the 'Manager Mode' on FIFA than I was to PES. This is just an initial reaction and, like I said, may differ once OF's and edits are released.
CONCLUSION
I think I will also be getting FIFA 09 and playing PES for online gaming and FIFA for the offline manager mode (as opposed to PES' Master Leagues mode).
I am a lifelong footy fan and have historically favoured PES but have also dabbled with previous FIFA's, purely because my sister in law works for EA in Holland so I can get the games for free usually.
