Magic Monday
Ahhh, you just can’t beat the start of the week in which a big game will be released. Especially when you have a preorder for the game and its status has switched to PENDING…
Last year and this year I’ve pre-ordered my football games with GAME.co.uk. They haven’t let me down yet. Last year I received both FIFA08 and PES2008 on the Wednesday of release week. However, earlier this year they slightly blotted their copybook by not getting MGS4 to me until the actual day of release. Still great service, but I was slightly disappointed with them on that occasion.
As the little picture below shows, my order is moving. I’ve checked my credit card balance and the money is in the process of being taken. However, I’m not getting my hopes up. In the week of MGS4’s release everything also looked as if it was in motion on the Monday. And things stayed that way until the Thursday. If GAME treats its FIFA preorders as it did last year, they’ll dispatch tomorrow, Tuesday, and I’ll have FIFA09 on Wednesday. Here’s hoping.
——————–
Today’s other big news is the confirmation that the PES2009 demo will be released this Thursday, October 2nd. Brilliant! At long last, the waiting—to see just what it’s like, for myself—is nearly over.
Listening to the latest WENB podcast is encouraging and slightly worrying at the same time. The two participants’ enthusiasm for PES2009 comes across well, although it’s worrying to hear them musing that the game is still too fast. This is a major worry for me right now. I’m worried that it’ll be another PES where you might as well just glue down the sprint button for the whole game. In my opinion, Pro Evolution Soccer as a franchise and a gameplay style has got to slow down. Its makers have got to be brave enough to just leave the more arcade-style football fans behind. The past few PES years have all tended towards speed and incessant goalmouth thrills. PES2008 was its ne plus ultra. It isn’t what I want.
Anyway. Roll on Thursday. And roll on FIFA09 while I’m waiting. As I’ve said before, I absolutely love this period before the games land. I suppose it’s a sad adult male’s equivalent of a child’s fevered excitement in the build-up to Christmas. I’ll be watching my pre-order and updating the blog all week. I won’t be frightened to call the posts things like ‘Terrific Tuesday’, ‘Wonderful Wednesday’, and so on…
Hmmm, PES2009 still too fast eh? Maybe it’s US that are getting old and slow.
Back in the day, when ISS hit the shelves, it was as near to perfect that could be achieved on those rusty old consoles, and old biddies like you and I are still striving for the perfect simulation.
However, we aren’t young and hip anymore (so I’m perpetually reminded), and perhaps Konami are purposely attempting to woo the kids with a fast and furious soccer game, realising that the old guard are dropping away from computer games as we get married, do DIY and drop dead.
Somebody (Whitney?) once sang “The Children are our Future”.
I prefer to think of them as snot-nosed little punks who deserve a clout round the skull. I never thought it would be EA that gives them the finger and enfolds a grumbling old codger like me into its warm embrace.
Big Al – all is by no means lost for PES2009. Today’s post (working on it now) has more.
As for Houston’s claim about children being the future, I have never, ever gone along with her on that one. I respect most of her teachings and beliefs, but on this one I have to object. If children are the future then the future can never come, because children grow up and have children of their own, who then become the future. In Houston’s ill-considered concept of reality, the future never comes, because children are always it.
Houston is a Timelord.
She knows her stuff.