PES2008: Deceptively Familiar
The game is strange in so many ways. Setting aside the slowdown/framerate issue for the moment (I’ll be posting tomorrow just about that), PES2008 feels familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
Every year the PES player goes through the same process, automatically trying to use the moves that have been hard-coded into his muscle-memory over the previous year and then gradually – over a period of hours or days – growing accustomed to the new PES with its new touches and rhythms of play. I’m going through the same process again this year. But at the same time, I’m not…
I’m losing the ball quicker than I used to, and spending a longer time getting it back. When the CPU has the ball in and around your penalty box, it can be a nightmare getting it off them. The ball just seems to go to them no matter what you do. Even hacking it clear does little good, as there’s always a CPU player upfield to collect.
I’ve conceded lots of goals that I regard as ‘soft’ goals. I’ve also had a good few high scorelines. 4-3 against Portugal in a 10-minute match on Top Player is almost unprecedented.
So it’s weird, but at the same time, it’s not. With the ball, passing is fast and crisp. And PES2008 has something in common with FIFA08. If you play a pass in the general direction of one of your players when there’s a CPU player anywhere near him, the CPU player will move to intercept. You have to pass to players in space, or play good through-balls for your players to run onto.
The way to play PES2008 is starting to become clear. I finished my first session playing on Top Player, as I thought I would, but did not have it as easy as I thought. I scored an absolute cracker of a goal with Lampard that I have saved for posterity on my PS3′s hard drive. Otherwise, goals seemed hard to come by in some games, and almost effortless to get in others.
It’s still early days for PES2008. I’m nowhere near ready yet to move onto my usual year-long Master League marathon. I can tell that I need at least another couple of days to learn the ropes. There’s also the ongoing issue of the dreaded slowdown, which is starting to irritate me.