Genoa 0-1 Singers FC Comments Off
I’ve spoken warmly on this blog about next-gen FIFA08 on many occasions, and will do so again in the future. I’m almost – but not quite – over the shock and embarrassment of liking a FIFA game. I’ve almost – but not quite – come to terms with next-gen PES2008 being… not bad, but nowhere near the greatest-ever version of the game that its fans (rightly or wrongly) expected it to be.
I’ve completed my sixth season in Manager Mode on FIFA08. I won the Quadruple – League, League Cup, FA Cup, European Cup – but it was ‘only’ on Professional difficulty (the third of five difficulty levels). Professional on next-gen FIFA08 is harder than Top Player on PES2008.
Having spent so long going on (and on) about PES2008’s ‘wonder dribble’ feature, especially with highly-skilled players, it’s worth reporting that I managed to dribble and score straight from a kick-off in next-gen FIFA08. Here it is:
So it is possible in the ‘other’ game too. But anyone who has played next-gen FIFA08 will know just how rare it is. And the replay shows that I never actually beat any defenders. Instead, I had one defender tracking me all the way, whom I managed to out-pace before delivering a nice ‘hook shot’ into the corner of the net. The hook shot is a pretty common goal type in next-gen FIFA08, but the dribble that preceded it on this occasion is definitely not common.
In my seventh FIFA08 season I’ve made the move straight up to the top difficulty level – Legendary - and am regularly getting my rear end handed to me on a shiny plate. There’ll be no Quadruple for me this time around. But I’m loving the challenge. That’s what next-gen FIFA08 is all about: the challenge.
Maybe PES2008 can be challenging again. My new Master League with Singers FC using House Rules is really the game’s last chance as far as I am concerned. I’d already have completely abandoned the game if there was any name other than PES on the cover.
So far, the new start seems to be working out well.
I got rid of the player who was single-handedly responsible last season for jaundicing my view of PES2008. Elcherino, aka Eusebio. A wonderful real-life player but, unfortunately, the PES2008 equivalent of Infinite Lives. Overpowered, in other words. Which is putting it mildly.
I used the PES points that he brought me to assemble a decent-but-still-average squad. After a couple of disappointing pre-season friendlies I’ve played the first proper game of the new season.
One other thing I did when I set up this league was to create a Superleague. Both divisions are packed with the best club sides from the entire game.
My first game was against Genoa. I managed to field almost all of my First XI and felt confident. The shortcomings of most of my new players was soon apparent. They were still slow and ponderous on the ball, and too easily dispossessed. However I stood firm at the back. Genoa could not get past me.
My new midfielder, Matuzalem, scored early in the second half – here’s the goal:
Matuzalem jockeys for the ball, wins it, beats another defender, then stop and turns to let loose a fine shot into the far corner of the net.
Usually I would have shot first time after winning the ball, but FIFA08 (of all things!) has taught me to seek optimum shooting opportunities, even in a game as arcadey as PES2008. (The sheer blasphemy I keep coming out with!).
So instead of shooting first time and most likely shanking the ball into row Z, I darted past the second defender and set up a better chance.
The rest of the game played out pretty well. I withstood the supercharged CPU and could have scored a few more goals myself. At the end I was content with the 1-0 win.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m looking to alternate between playing PES2008 and FIFA08 for the rest of this football game year.
And then, come the Autumn, I anticipate the mother of all showdowns between PES and FIFA. One of them has to deliver a knockout blow this year, surely? My money’s on PES2009 making a strong comeback for the franchise; but FIFA09, if it builds upon its fine showing this year, should be a remarkable game too.
Perhaps we’ll end up with two great games in 2009? That’d be the win-win scenario for football gamers.