Vertical longing
Posted by: not-Greg in Camera, FIFA08, ISS, pes2008, tags: Camera, FIFA08, ISS98, pes2008I’ll get straight to it. In times of yore, the Vertical Long camera provided a zoomed-out viewpoint from behind your goal for the whole of a match. But we haven’t seen what I regard as a ‘proper’ Vertical Long camera in PES for over a decade now. In every version since ISS98, the Vertical Long camera has forced you to play ‘downscreen’ for one half of a match. And I hate playing downscreen in a Vertical view. So I’ve stuck entirely with the default horizontal Wide view for a decade—and now I want my old Vertical Long camera back.
I want PES2009 to have a Vertical Long camera that allows me to play ‘upscreen’ in both halves. I think I remember reading a month or so ago that the game will permit this feature for the first time in a decade. I keep wondering if it’s true, and hoping.
The 2009 batch of football games are so close that I really don’t think I can function properly until I get my hands on them. The FIFA09 demo will be available a week tomorrow; the full game is only a month away. PES2009 (and its demo) is now only 6 weeks away. Or 7 weeks—it all depends what release date you believe.
I don’t know whether I am coming or going. It’s all producing some strange symptoms…
The other day I spent an hour in town walking between various shops, hunting for a PS1 copy of ISS98. I didn’t find it. I could easily get it from eBay, but I think I’ll just leave it now. I’ll hang on for FIFA09. And I suspect that it’s only a matter of time before ISS98 (or any one of those early ISS titles) pops up as a PSP download on the PlayStation Network. In which case I would be at the front of the queue.
I’ve mentioned on several occasions that ISS98 is one of my favourite versions of ISS/PES. ISS98 was the one with Fabrizio Ravanelli and Paul Ince eyeballing one another on the cover. Back in 1998 I played it almost into the ground on my old PlayStation—whilst wearing short trousers… (Not really. I was twenty-something in 1998, but it was so long ago now that it feels as if I should have been wearing short trousers.)
No doubt the mists of memory are being kinder to ISS98 than it deserves. No doubt I’ll reel in horror, if/when I ever get to play it again.
Ah, but it had that 100%, ‘proper’ Vertical Long camera… If it is indeed back for PES2009 then I can see me and Pro Evo getting very cosy together again. There’s something about playing vertically, directly attacking a goal ‘upscreen’ that makes an already immersive game even more so. Shooting in particular when using a Vertical camera is extremely satisfying. Aiming is so much more intuitive.
If anyone has any concrete information about the Vertical camera in PES2009, I’d love to hear about it. Remember that it has to point towards the opponent’s goal in both halves. Otherwise, I’m not interested.
I doubt that any of the early playtesters—at Leipzig and elsewhere—took the trouble to test all the camera modes. Even if they did, I bet none of them played with the Vertical Long camera. And even if they did, I bet they never used it for the whole match. When the big PES websites—PESfan, WENB, that lot—start getting their promo copies of the game, I’ll post a question for them. But will I get my question answered? Those Q&A threads are nightmarishly fast and furious. I think I’ll end up finding this one out for myself.
———————–
In my next post I’ll be bringing down the curtain on the game that has occupied most of my football game year. I’m talking about the PS2/PSP version of PES2008. Old faithful.
FIFA08 ran it close. I have played loads of FIFA08, more now than ever. But that shabby, classico version of PES2008 just edges it in terms of hours played. And I owe it a special post to discuss my current state of play, what I think of it overall as a PES game, and whether or not I will continue my ML career on the PSP version over the coming year.
On my next FIFA Sunday I’ll also be doing a similar summing-it-all-up post about FIFA08. That game has been another faithful servant in this grim year for PES fans.
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Hi not-Greg,
It’s funny about you hunting for a copy of ISS98 as it was only the other day that I dug out ISS pro-evolution (which, if I remember back to the boring girlfriend [hi Katie!] I had at the time, forcing me to spend even MORE time on the game, was around 2000/2001).
The gameplay is fantastic. Ok, it’s a bit blocky (a LOT blocky on a 32″ TV) but the intuitive feel and realistic play makes PES2008 pale into insignificance. Forget the graphics, my square-headed Gabriel Batistuta scored a corker in the world cup final as I wrestled the trophy from the clutches of Brazil to send the fans back home in Buenos Aires into raptures.
Celebrations were interrupted somewhat by the demands of the evil dictatorship that Emmerdale be switched on.
A vertical long view would be marvellous, and I agree about the increased intuitivity (I think I just invented a word). Even if they do include this view, I doubt it will be available as an online option.
I am waiting for the reviews, and I regret to say that my disappointment with PES2008 was so great, that nothing but an amazing string of glowing reviews will prevent me from switching to FIFA for the first time in my entire life.
Big Al - I’ve routinely checked up on the status of the Vertical camera in every new ISS/PES game, and always been crushingly disappointed in the second half when the view switches around and I’m playing from the top of the screen to the bottom. It’s been the same in the last couple of FIFAs, too.
Everything that makes the vertical camera great is wrecked when the reverse view kicks in. Is it too much to ask for the view to remain consistently behind the human player? Ice hockey games do it. Tennis games do it. Why not football games? What have they got against it?
Hopefully I wasn’t imagining the report I think I read (can’t remember where) that promised a full, proper Vertical camera for PES2009. And if it is in, I think it would be available online. It’d just be a camera option like any other. Your camera choice online is your own. The rendering of the view is carried out locally on your own console according to your own settings. E.g. I could play online with Wide horizontal and the other player could play with Zoom. (Although given Konami’s apparent spitefulness last year with removing kit selection from non-Exhibition games, I wouldn’t put anything past ‘em.)
Re. the coming reviews, who can be trusted apart from fellow PES gamers? I definitely don’t trust the print media. In the era of downloadable demos all they’ve got going for them is their relationships with the games companies, and they’re not going to threaten that status. Is OPM’s 9/10 score and generally favourable review for PES2009 in their next issue anything but absolutely guaranteed?! (If their score turns out to be anything else, I’ll happily revisit this thread to eat my words.)
As for the web-based media, I suspect a lot of them will be looking for some payback after last year. The review copies went out with riders attached saying the slowdown and online play would be fixed before release. Ouch.
Strangely I think the best indications will come from any independent websites who manage to get promo copies of the game. If any do…
(No, I definitely wouldn’t get a promo copy—I’ve been hyper-critical of Konami, and I’m small-fry anyway—but maybe someone at EvoWeb or PES Gaming might get lucky. I’d trust their overview.)
Hi not-greg
Like the new look of the blog!
Kiwanis - thank you, it’s a new look for a new season. A few weeks early, I know, but the excitement is building in the football-game-lovin’ community (can you feel it?!). I couldn’t resist updating the look right now. And I haven’t quite finished tinkering with it yet. There are some display problems in some browsers (notably the PS3’s browser—it drops the left-sided column for some reason). I’m still working on it. I might also go for a different header image every day.
Like the new look of the blog mate
Good news today in that the PES 2009 demo is released on the same day as FIFA 09. 11th September. Can’t wait till next thursday
heraldo - thanks about the new look, and….
!!!!!
The PES2009 demo’s out next week?! This was actually the first I’d heard of it - haven’t checked WENB all day.
Wow. Okay, it’s only on the 360 (bad memories of last year), but it’s still out. A shrewd move by Konami to spoil the FIFA09 victory procession.
Next Thursday will now be the hugest day since last October.
What was wrong with the 360 demo last year?
heraldo - nothing was wrong with it, just me typing in a rush and not making my meaning clear. I meant to say that last year the 360 demo came out and there was no sign of the PS3 demo, and it didn’t come out until after the game. That’s the bad memory I’m talking about - the absence of the demo was suspicious, and it turned out there was something seriously wrong with the PS3 version of the game after all (slowdown).
The latest is that the PS3 demo should be out as well. I hope that’s true, although knowing Sony as we do it’ll probably be delayed….
Still, the 360 version should give us a good idea of the gameplay. That’s all I’ll need this year.
Here’s a scenario for you: it’s next Thursday and you can only download and play one of the demos on the day itself. Which one do you go for? (This scenario might happen to me because of work!)
It has to be FIFA mate, the latest videos mirrored by Placebo at evo-web look awesome. I watched the link you posted to me on my Tv and it looks amazing full size. It has got me all hot and bothered. I don’t think I’ve anticipated a title more.
I want to see a good PES too but it looks too similar to PES 2008. I know Adam says it plays a whole lot better. To be honest I was disappointed in his last post on WENB after his wedding AGAIN contradicting Suff’s disappointment at the Leipzig show. He has a habit of that, remember Suff’s enthusiasm after playing FIFA in Canada. Adam had to get his fanboy digs in.
I hope that both games are quality. I will have no problem playing both.
heraldo - I’ll probably have time to sample both before I leave for work (late afternoon/evening shift), but if I have to just grab one then it’ll be PES2009. The reason for this is that this is the one I’m less sure about. I’m sure that FIFA09 will be great. And I also run a PES-oriented blog, and if PES is shite again this year I’ll need to know asap so I can start making certain decisions (like the decision you made a few months ago.)
Having said all of that, I should be able to grab both demos and play them to death next Thursday—by hook or by crook.
The full-screen FIFA09 video was mouth-watering wasn’t it? What did you think of the guy playing as Spain? Trying to walk the ball into the net was an annoyance but I liked the goal he did score. Some good one-touch stuff going on as well.
I am sure PES won’t be a disappointment to you. You have said for a while that you wanted PES 5 gameplay with HD graphics. By all accounts that’s what it will be.
My opinion is that Konami should be looking forward and not back, still using PS1/2 game engine. I am worried with Riot’s comments that the game has continued Konami’s trend towards arcade play and a more ‘fun’ approach with an emphasis on goal scoring.
The latest Chelsea Arsenal video looks great. Guys are playing on Semi-Pro though and again they’re not very good.
The Spain game was probably the best in terms of players ability. The goal was sweet. It just shows the varying styles, I never and cannot walk the ball into the net. The videos have shown that response times look non-existant unless you listen to PES players.
Did you see the Xbox 360 magazine review? They didn’t like it due to being too life-like
and the play being bogged down in the middle of the pitch. Is that not what real football is? Bring it on and hopefully with 4 minute halves which have been reported for 360 and PS3.
heraldo - re. misperceptions of FIFA in the post-FIFA08 world, have a look at this - http://www.pesgaming.com/blog/pes-2009-news/269/pes-off-4th-september-2008/
Oh dear.
I haven’t seen the 360 mag review yet - just had a mooch around online and couldn’t find a link - is the review online?
As for PES2009 being PES5 in HD… they say be careful what you wish for. When I tried going back to PES5 earlier this year I disliked it. Thought it was too fast. Not long to wait now to find out just what a next-gen PES5 (if that’s what it is) really would be like…
Here you go mate, link to 360 review
http://forums.evo-web.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1431472&postcount=2396
Thanks heraldo… ahhh, the faithful old scanned magazine review, a staple of the build-up every year!
I’ve read the whole review and I think he was looking for nits to pick. Also right at the end, he seemed to be saying that FIFA09’s quality will be finally decided by how good or bad PES2009 turns out to be. I completely disagree with that whole ‘versus’ viewpoint.
Remember me writing a few times that the inevitable ‘PES vs FIFA’ metaphors and similes would start cropping up in abundance? You know, the whole ‘PES kicks off and is viciously fouled by FIFA from behind!’ kind of thing. Lots of that kind of thing in this review. Games journalists are the laziest buggers out there.
[...] - I was looking forward to testing the new vertical camera, but it’s not what I wanted it to be. Yes, it fulfils my criterion of allowing a view from [...]