UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
Well, I played it last night.
First impressions are it's better than last years, but that wasn't difficult. It still feels very arcade like compared to Fifa, which seems more simulation and real football. The shooting is good, as they seem to have perfected how the ball moves and weight distribution. Passes still seem as though they are on rails, whereas Fifa, especially on manual controls, you can spray passes anywhere on the field using the analogue. Graphics are great on PES, and make Fifa's look a bit wishy washy with just how clear and crisp they are. The sounds are hit and miss. The crowd chants can get very repetitive, but I did like the cheering, booing and Olay's when stringing passes together. The actual effects themselves are poor, though. The referee's whistle sounds like it's been taken from a football game in Coral Island circa 1992. Same noise every single time. Poor. The ball noises are a simple thud, like they always were. This can get a bit samey. When replays are being exited, or when you go into the menu's mid-game, you are greeted to a little tinny sound effect, which Fifa seems to neglect - for the good, IMO. The reason being that those sort of effects are best left for arcade games. It doesn't detract from the football, but if it's annoyed me, then it has no reason to be there for my game. Fifa opts for music instead, and doesn't bother with clicks or high pitched sounds.
As I say though, it doesn't alter the gameplay at all, it's just the little things. Animations aren't up to Fifa standards, either. The running stance is all very PES2009, something which a lot of folk wanted rectified. The rest of the animations at least seem better than last years.
Computer AI... well, this is the biggest problem I've encountered. So far, I've seen goalkeepers diving the wrong way, pouncing on the ball and letting it squirm away - one of which rolled passed the goal line, defenders simply watching my attackers run past them or running in circles, and players ignoring passes.
I'm positive a fair few of the problems will be rectified before final release, but to offer a demo of this quality is pretty shocking - especially given that no one quite expected it to be available this early in the month, anyway.
In fairness, I also need to re-aquaint myself with the buttons and commands. I was trying to do tricks and was getting confused with how it is on Fifa using the left shoulder button and right analogue. On that note, I know it certainly isn't to everyone's tastes or wishlists, but I'm a bit of a trick wh0re, in that the more skills included, the better. Always been a bit of a flair player myself, so all the ball juggling and flicks are a big positive for me.
Like I said, it's definitely better than last years, and given a fair run it will no doubt be a great game of football, especially against a mate.
However, after having a long session on it last night, I rebooted the 360 and played one game on the Fifa 10 demo and found it so refreshing.
I'll certainly give it more time again today, though.
First impressions are it's better than last years, but that wasn't difficult. It still feels very arcade like compared to Fifa, which seems more simulation and real football. The shooting is good, as they seem to have perfected how the ball moves and weight distribution. Passes still seem as though they are on rails, whereas Fifa, especially on manual controls, you can spray passes anywhere on the field using the analogue. Graphics are great on PES, and make Fifa's look a bit wishy washy with just how clear and crisp they are. The sounds are hit and miss. The crowd chants can get very repetitive, but I did like the cheering, booing and Olay's when stringing passes together. The actual effects themselves are poor, though. The referee's whistle sounds like it's been taken from a football game in Coral Island circa 1992. Same noise every single time. Poor. The ball noises are a simple thud, like they always were. This can get a bit samey. When replays are being exited, or when you go into the menu's mid-game, you are greeted to a little tinny sound effect, which Fifa seems to neglect - for the good, IMO. The reason being that those sort of effects are best left for arcade games. It doesn't detract from the football, but if it's annoyed me, then it has no reason to be there for my game. Fifa opts for music instead, and doesn't bother with clicks or high pitched sounds.
As I say though, it doesn't alter the gameplay at all, it's just the little things. Animations aren't up to Fifa standards, either. The running stance is all very PES2009, something which a lot of folk wanted rectified. The rest of the animations at least seem better than last years.
Computer AI... well, this is the biggest problem I've encountered. So far, I've seen goalkeepers diving the wrong way, pouncing on the ball and letting it squirm away - one of which rolled passed the goal line, defenders simply watching my attackers run past them or running in circles, and players ignoring passes.
I'm positive a fair few of the problems will be rectified before final release, but to offer a demo of this quality is pretty shocking - especially given that no one quite expected it to be available this early in the month, anyway.
In fairness, I also need to re-aquaint myself with the buttons and commands. I was trying to do tricks and was getting confused with how it is on Fifa using the left shoulder button and right analogue. On that note, I know it certainly isn't to everyone's tastes or wishlists, but I'm a bit of a trick wh0re, in that the more skills included, the better. Always been a bit of a flair player myself, so all the ball juggling and flicks are a big positive for me.
Like I said, it's definitely better than last years, and given a fair run it will no doubt be a great game of football, especially against a mate.
However, after having a long session on it last night, I rebooted the 360 and played one game on the Fifa 10 demo and found it so refreshing.
I'll certainly give it more time again today, though.
