PES Chronicles

After resolving my slowdown issues – *touches wood, throws salt over shoulder, rubs a necklace of lucky charms…* – I can finally get back to what this here blog is supposed to be all about: the joy of PES.

An important element of PES2008 that I’m just discovering for myself is the excellent one-touch gameplay that you can pull off if you’re so minded. It all came together for me this morning. Let me explain.

I’m still plugging away with England in my International Cups. Every year I like to play these Cups until I feel I have picked up enough of the new PES to be able to move onto my beloved Master League and give a good account of myself there.

I’m kind of struggling to make quick progress with PES2008. There was the dreaded slowdown issue to contend with, of course. I am not lying or simply being precious about matters when I say that I was knocked out of at least three International Cups because I either conceded a key goal or missed a key goal due to the slowdown. But it wasn’t all about the slowdown.

One thing I have noticed is that defenders in PES2008 are very happy to run forward into attack and leave the back door wide open. I have conceded some hilarious goals where my entire team has been up around the penalty box and opposition strikers have had clear runs through on my goal. (I’ve also picked up loads of red cards when trying to tackle back.)

I am still experimenting with the Formation screen settings, looking for a way to get my defence to hang back more. Maybe it will turn out to be as straightforward a matter as keeping my ATT/DEF levels low. I usually like to raise it when in search of a goal, and I am almost always in search of a goal.

Of course, just as my defence likes to get forward, so, it seems, does the CPU defence…

Playing against Greece in the final group match of a Cup, I was 0-1 down. It was a good goal they had scored, a fine passing move orchestrated by three CPU players that bamboozled Terry and Ferdinand, and was capped with a rasping shot from the edge of the box that beat Robinson (not that that’s a particularly hard thing to do, eh, England fans?) to nestle nicely in the bottom corner of the net. Nestle nicely. You’ve just got to love the alliteration.

Surprisingly, Greece kept coming at me, and coming at me. I was fortunate not to go 0-2 down, a few times. I’m amazed at how attack-oriented PES2008 is. So far it’s a pleasant change from PES6, and from the comparatively sedate FIFA08. Will I end up disliking PES’s new attack-attack-attack gameplay? Time will tell.

During one of Greece’s 10-man attacks, I got the ball with Lampard just to the right of my penalty box. I passed diagonally forward to Gerrard in his DMF position. CPU players were steaming down on him so I passed, first-time, wide to Beckham. No one was threatening him, but I felt like seeing what this suddenly very supple first-touch passing move might bring. So I first-timed a through-ball down the wing to Owen. The ball skated way ahead of him and he ran onto it. A defender followed him. I first-time double-tapped a cross into the box. And there was Johnson – Andy Johnson – near the penalty spot to head the ball home. Goal!

From defence to attack in a few seconds. Five first touches. One goal.

Yes, this ‘arcadey’-style gameplay is eerily reminiscent of old-style FIFA games, and it might be a reason to beat up on PES2008 in the weeks and months to come. Right now, though, it’s a reason to smile, and punch the air.