First Impressions based on Ps2 version
Hi Guys,
I wanted to play this game for a lengthy period before making my judgement on it, as it felt very different to PES4. After completing the master league for a couple of seasons, I now a have a good idea of the difference in feel.
The general gameplay I think has improved with the slower feel of the game. You get time to make more decisions and plan rather than just react. This is definately a positive.
The shooting from the outside range is great, you get a few more chances than previous due to the speed of the game, and I have to admit I score frequently from ranges that I did not even attempt in PES4. However sometimes it just doesnt feel right, if i get a little closer and try to shoot past the goalkeeper, he stops the ball more often than not unless I do some nifty little manuevers. However if you shoot the from a greater distance I seem to score more often, and sometimes shots that you would feel the goalkeeper should be able to get to. This is the part of the game that I have not liked, PES4 was better in this regard, and chipping the ball and choosing to kick to a specific area of the goal was more "fun". Now its a matter of kick and you will most times get past the keeper.
When applying pressure, its very difficult not to foul, when I went to bed last night, I could still hear the refrees whistle. This is also a little annoying, as you have to plan to get teh ball headon and even a skilled defender cant do much when the opposition is near him. Slide tackling is almost impossible compared to PES4. Definately makes the game harder but some of the "wow" moments have been eliminated as a result, instead it ends in a whistle.
When you run with ball, no matter how fast the player with the ball, you will be caught very quickly by the opposition, even if you dribble the ball way infront of you so that you dont lose momentum, and if the computer has the ball, its very difficult to catch them in same scenario, thus its an advantage to the computer, once again adds to the difficulty of the game, but takes away some consistencies.
I played the PC demo, and it seems a little different, I feel the PC version of the game is always better and has a more simulated feel to it, but the demo is not enough for me to make a call on.
Overall, it is still the best soccer game out there, and many improvements have been introduced and the game is much harder than PES4, but there are some things that still can be improved, perhaps there should be a simulated and Arcade option, where the simulated can be as the game is and the Arcade makes it easier to do more spectacular things such as you could in PES4. PES5 feels like the simulation version of PES4, which had a more arcady feel about it.
Thanks KONAMI I think I have spent 10% of my life playing this game since te very first version.
