So I spent most of Sunday morning playing PES2010 and PES2012.
I didn’t have time to write a proper post about it, so here’s a 5-minute video with voiceover from me. All recorded, edited, and uploaded via iMovie on the iPhone.
The audio quality varies throughout. I freestyled the voiceover, starting a new audio track whenever I flubbed. I didn’t work from a script, but I should have done. If I do this again, I will work from a proper script.
For those who can’t access the video, or who can’t quite follow my whispering middle-of-the-Midlands lilt, here’s what happened: I enjoyed both games, with the sense that PES2012 in particular was like opening a favourite old book. Alarmingly, I find myself liking both games and wanting to play both games, which I have always deemed impossible. Or at least so impractical as to make it very unwise. And my conclusion is, as the title says, more study required.
The video barely scratches the surface of the experience. It was a total pleasure to play some of my old ML careers yesterday morning. But I’ll be carrying on with FIFA for now. I’ll be happy to discuss any PES-FIFA stuff in comments.
Paul—I’ve done that as an experiment in the past (making a separate save from the original), and usually taken 5-10 matches to win the offending match. Since PES’s inception, the dirty tricks dept has got dirtier and dirtier, with increasingly desperate means being used to tilt the balance the CPU’s way when required. I see one major line of scripting in FIFA: a possession script that fires up occasionally, similar to PES’s version, where you feel that you cannot get and keep the ball no matter what. Other than that it does feel fairer, yes. I suppose it all ties into what we were talking about the other day: PES player individuality is down to tight control and scripting on the part of the game, guiding the matches down certain channels.
Paul – That scripting is putting me off a bit too.
Beat Lazio yesterday with Atalanta on Fifa. went down in the 12th min. I thought Lazio are a tough team i’ll dig in. Equalizer before half time, changed my formation and got a penalty in the 90th..my player pointing at his leg end as if asking for sympathy. The gamepad started vibrating as I took the penalty..blasted it middle right and promptly won the game. No scripting..just an organic feeling to the game.
2 games of S3 left with the championship already secured. Antberk has 60 goals in all competitions, my record, and Robben is blossoming at last with 4 in 4. However, the commentary is getting it wrong by saying he scored in a 0-0 draw :/. Accepted a £2m bid for a 28 year-old striker, Pouga, from Levante which is a profit. Looking to sell Charbonnier and Timbershow (weep) too. Motherwell are the preferred bidder which is realistic imo. (Timbershow’s Scottish) Looking forward to S4 as I did not do to well in the cups. Derby on the last day vs Blookrows who have fallen away this year. I now have 84 and 85OVR players on the bench! Lol. PES is so immersive this year: my favourite PES.
Werd – Naturally Leicester, who else
Although as I said I may restart as a lower league team. Seeing as Coalville Town, my second team of choice, aren’t in the game, it’ll have to be someone else I’ve got a soft spot for, prob York or Oxford.
Uncle Turf – it’s manager mode, many similarities to ML. I’ve not really ever got into any of the ‘be a player’ modes on PES or FIFA, but I may try one at some point. The bonus in career mode (over ML) is that you can change teams and also manage an international team on the side.
Not-Greg – yes I was dawdling on purpose, although I’m still not sure where the two hours went. First I looked through every menu to see what they all did. Then I went into tactics and had a tinker, but ended up not changing much. Then I had a good long look at my existing players stats, reflecting on how they compared to real life (65 for Futacs seems very generous, I’d give Knockaert more than 71, Andy King can’t run that fast etc etc). Then I started searching for players to sign, and had a protracted battle to get Peter Whittingham to sign. Before I knew it, bang! 2 hours gone. I’m still unsure of a few things. Although player development is there, I couldn’t see any training menu or the like to influence it, which is a bit disappointing. I also couldn’t figure out how to map a quick alternative strategy to use on the fly. I obviously know how to change formation in the menus, but say I take a striker off for a midfielder and change from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1, I have to switch players round because it puts them all in the wrong place i.e wingers end up as CMs while the CMs have become wingers. I don’t want to have to fart about every time I need a quick change..
Adam—PES2013 was in the running for being my favourite PES too until around season 6 of ML, when the ‘development burn’ began to set in. You tend to flit around from mode to mode and from save to save, so your experience is going to be different. PES2013′s gameplay in general is brilliant though.
Filbert—re. the alternate formations, there’s no way to map on to a button to change on the fly. You always have to go to the menu to change the formation—but there is a way to tweak and save. Just move the player positions and roles around to your heart’s content and the game should prompt you to save it to a slot. If you change personnel, though, the same problem will occur. This has been a bit clunky in FIFA since FIFA08. I can’t believe EA are still stubborn enough to persist with their annoying system when PES’s on-the-fly formation changes (and general Pause menu suppleness) are clearly superior.
Lowest-league teams are the way to go in Career Mode for me. More tomorrow of course, but the matches when playing with a 1-star team have that authentic Default-style desperation about them.
Ng-is that a clue..fleetwood town perchance or rochdale:-)
My Master League is different: I have depended on strengthening areas especially in S2 (First CL appearance) and buying young players at small costs. Armin Bacinovic, who I bought for £7m in S2, has gone ‘only’ from a 78OVR to a 90OVR. It doesn’t reflect in matches really, his 86OVR partner does better (He came from 81OVR). Created players are the worst: Redmond is now 94 with Liverpool sniffing around him. He was bought.
However, my SIXTY goal a season man usually gets to a 75OVR much further on and he’s 91 so I guess I get that side of the spectrum too.
Another instance on PES last night where I lost a game due to the CPU player walking the ball through my keeper!! YES, i did just say that, he literally walked it through my keeper after my keeper had dived to block th shot, replays showed the ball actually magically pass through a solid body of my GK. unbelievable.
Rutter has stated on record that they’ve wanted to make FIFA’s menus and formations/subs screens a lot more fluid and less cumbersome but they are tied down to using the structure because the framework is used across all EA’s sports titles.
Paul – I actually saw a fifa glitch on Mon. remiscent of NG’s PES warping ones. A Lazio defender teleported Matrix style across the penalty box. I have also heard of the ball disappearing.
Just realised my typing/spelling is a mess..Apolojeeeeeeeeeez
Paul – one of the nails in the coffin for my attempt at ML2 for 2013 was when the ball passed directly through Nouhei’s stomach as he stood on the goal line. If you can’t even stop a goal when you are actually blocking it then I figured it was just going to carry on exactly as it had before. I’m finding UT is waning in appeal too – the games simpy don’t have the emotional investment, I’m playing them to get coins and I can see how players spend more time trading and acquiring the best possible team rather than actually in game. Conceivably you never need to kick a ball once you’re up and running.