Seeing Treble
One of the long-term problems with Master League is that there are too few teams playing in too few leagues. I’ll go on record (again) and say that I hold Master League to be the greatest game mode ever created in the greatest game series ever created (so far…); but, as the years go by, even I am beginning to notice a certain fraying at the edges.
Take my latest three games as a case in point. It’s season 2019 and I’m going for treble of League, Cup, and European Cup. I qualified for the knockout stages of the latter competition by the skin of my teeth, scraping through with a 1-0 win in the final group fixture.
My opponents in the quarter-final were none other than the best AI team in my Master league—Valencia. But they were also my next opponents in the league. And then I played them straight afterward in the second leg of the quarter final…
Three games in a row against Valencia. Yes, it happens in real life—Liverpool vs Arsenal last season springs to mind—but then it’s a rarity, not a commonplace as it is in the current PES Master League setup. It shouldn’t be long before I do yet another Top 10 List Of Things That’d Be Just Great In PES2009. A bigger, better Master League, with a dozen leagues and hundreds of teams, is currently one of my most-wanted items.
The first leg of the European Cup quarter-final was on Valencia’s turf, just the way I like it. It gives me the chance to score a few away goals and make the second leg a formality. That’s the theory, anyway. In practice, especially against Valencia (have I said how great they are in my ML yet?), it doesn’t always work out that way.
I took the lead. Quite early on in the first half, I scored this lovely goal with Giggs. It’s been a long while since I posted one of my beloved half-volleys on here. This one is worth it:
Perhaps the pitch-level view captures the essence of the goal a little better. I love how ruler-straight the ball flies:
I think I was entitled to get excited about that goal—and about going into a 0-1 lead away to Valencia in the European Cup quarter final. If I played it right, I could wrap up the tie (and arguably the tournament) right here in this match.
Sadly, I didn’t play it right. Valencia were in their best form. Whenever a CPU team really plays well, I can only complain about scripting if I want to be sulky and churlish (not a pretty combination). Valencia stormed back with three goals spread out over the rest of the match. I was still in the game at only 2-1 down right until the last ten minutes, when Valencia finally scored their third goal. I was disappointed, but at least I had that away goal. Sadly, it set up the worst possible scenario for me in the home leg. I’ll be trying for an early goal, and if I get it the CPU will see itself as losing the game (rather than winning the tie on aggregate), and God Mode will kick in automatically. Valencia playing on God Mode is one tough number.
In the league I no longer had an unbeaten run to protect, but I still had a healthy lead at the top of the table to defend. Valencia were as good—it seemed to me—as they’d just been in Europe. But maybe I was a little more focused here. I was very keen to increase the gap between us in the table. In the Europe game, I knew at the back of my mind that I had a whole second leg match to rescue things in, if need be. I didn’t have that luxury here. I won the league game 2-0 and it was pretty easy.
The second leg of the quarter final was also a lot easier. I won it 3-0, making the final aggregate score 4-3. When I took the lead the CPU predictably went into full-on God Mode overdrive, but I withstood the onslaught and snatched another goal before half time. That seemed to quieten things down. My third goal soon after the break more or less killed the game off. I came under some concerted pressure near the end, when a Valencia goal would have forced extra time. But the expected storm never came. I’m into the semi-final.
Greg
A couple of months I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you in that the Master League the best mode in a game.
Having played Manager Mode, I have to say that the Master League is dated and t requires a major overhaul. You must be able to move clubs, real currency instead of points and no bloody dogs, what was that all about? More 2nd Division teams under the licensed leagues.
Manager Mode is where its at for me, by all accounts MM has not been improved either in the past 2 years. I can’t comment on this, only what I have read.
I am excited at the FIFA 09 news, but I must say that I am a little worried that there is no mention of MM improvements.
Reading FIFA forums, it appears that there is a majority split leaning towards online gaming rather than 1v1 against CPU. Like you, I prefer playing off-line against the CPU. I hope they continue to cater for gamers in this area with yearly updates/improvements.
P.s. Another fine goal, I know you don’t bother about shirt numbers, you’ve mentioned this in the past. Mr Giggs should always wear the traditional LW number 11
heraldo – at this stage, I’m sticking to my opinion that Master League is currently a better game mode than Manager Mode. I would agree with you about Manager Mode if it was more realistic. It’s crazy that for all its licenses, FIFA’s fully-licensed league mode is less realistic than PES’s comic-book Master League! I’m talking primarily about the transfer market, of course.
Now, if the Manager Mode that I played and was impressed by in FIFA07 was in FIFA08 – I might have long since ‘done a heraldo’ and jumped ship from PES to FIFA. For so long FIFA had the licenses but not the gameplay. Now it’s got the gameplay, but isn’t making the best possible use of its licenses. I believe FIFA09 will remedy this. Can you believe that we’re just over a month away from a playable demo! If last year is any guide, a FIFA09 demo will be available to download in mid-to-late August.
I share your slight worry about the growing clamour from the younger gamers for more and better online features. I enjoy the odd game of something online every now and then, but if online gaming ended completely tomorrow, I wouldn’t care. Not even slightly. I must be Japanese in some way—online gaming is very marginal in Japan.
As for the boy Giggs… he was fortunate to get a shirt number even close to the one he ’should’ have… All of my players get assigned a random one. Schwarz is still wearing number 5, for example.
Greg
I can’t believe mate that I am a fully converted to FIFA. In every way, the game-play on WC is so realistic. Just been put to the sword by Michael Owen. I hope I don’t get the sack, then it will be Game Over.
I play the occasional game online, but I hate the fact it’s mostly the big team curse, or I would play online more.
I am thinking of getting an XBox for upstairs, as a couple of my mates play FIFA, playing them online would be cool.
A month for the demo, I might miss it as I will most definitely be back at work. Unless I am UK based, can download it when homw for wkend. I might ask for a ship in Scotland
p.s. Getting TopSpin tomorrow trading in a few games, and keep the credit for FIFA 09.