PES Chronicles

That’s it. I am giving up on the PSP version of PES6.

It was only ever meant as a stopgap until PES2008, but I still feel kind of bad about it. What it comes down to, in the end, is that the game just isn’t any good on the handheld console. I’m not enjoying it, and I don’t want my experiences of PES to be sullied by forcing myself to go on playing it. I can see how it could be persevered with and eventually mastered, but I’m on a schedule here. PES2008 is less than two weeks away.

The PSP’s PES6 is a poor relation to its bigger console cousin. Master League is a shadow of itself: no in-depth editing, no player growth, no cup competitions. It doesn’t feel worth bothering with. The only reason I have stuck with it for several days is sheer bloody-mindedness. Even if I persevered with it, I would be abandoning it anyway come October 26th (or even earlier if the High Street stores break the release date again) .

So, it’s back to the PS2 version of PES6 for now. I won’t be starting a new Master League. I have something else in mind. Before Master League came along, the ISS/PES games featured nothing but tournament and league play with International teams.

Back in those days, I used to like to try to win the International Cup with every team in turn. I had some pretty strict house rules: highest difficulty settings, and no saving. If I got knocked out in the group stages, or in the first knockout round, or in the semis, or unluckily lost in the final, I was not allowed to reload. I had to go right back to the start, in a whole new tournament with the same team, until I won it. Only then could I move on to the next team.

I recall struggling for weeks to try to win the cup with Ukraine. This was in the days when Shevchenko and Rebrov were a dazzling front pairing. Memories…

So I will be playing PES6 on my PS3 for the next couple of weeks. International Cup only.

All of this, of course, is just so much treading of water until the week after next. This month seems to be dragging oh-so-slowly. Is it just me?

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