There is more random play, which is nice. However, it still feels fairly straightforward from the CPU. Forward pass to striker, striker turns, shot on goal. There have been some nice reverse lobbed passes though. Foul detection in favor of the user seems to be hit or miss, while the CPU gets the advantage in the smallest fouls being called.
I did not expect much from the data pack, but for what is showing, it's a slight improvement. I personally am struggling to enjoy the game overall. I feel it's just kind of boring and linear. Will have to explore with tactics, etc, to see what can be done.
Yeah, the last couple of weeks i have been playing ML in the evenings, a few games per night. It slowly but surely is becoming a chore and every evening it takes a bit more effort to switch on my PS4 instead of doing something else.
Overall, i still enjoy it, despite rage quiting at least once every session. I always put on autosave to prevent myself from loading a previous save when i have a bad streak. Yet, some, no, most loses, feel unfair and leave me uttering the dutch equivalent of "you gotta be fucking kidding me" ("godverdomme, nee, godverdomme, dat meen je niet, godver, fuck dit, arghhh"). So, unfortunately i have to admit to closing and rebooting the game before the 90 minutes have played out maybe a dozen times by now. I know, i am a weak person.
This is not to say that my loses came about in an unfair way, quite the opposite actually. Mostly, these are logical and preventable goals if it werent for my own mistakes. Its just that when the CPU has a better and or fitter team, is all out attack and has some fresh blood in the lines while some of my players are too tired to mark upcoming players, oh boy, then you know you are in for trouble.
5 out of 10 times i can keep my focus during such a "here we go, they smell blood" and prevent the goal anyhow. 3 out of 10 times i get lucky and the CPU misses that final pass or shot. Only 2 out of 10 times i fail to keep them at bay. I think thats about OK, percentage wise. Thats football. My gripe, however, is that the CPU only rarely surprises me in this. More often then not you know what the next pass is going to be and its just a matter of you keeping your cool and doing the work. It becomes tedious.
I guess for the most part this is the case for all games; as soon as you know the patterns playing against the CPU is not as fun anymore. Advancements in AI might help create a more dynamic AI that feels even more human and knows how to actually fool you but that will take a while.
Having said this, i dont feel the CPU is always applying the same tactic in my case. Sure the pass-to-striker-turn-shoot happens, but only ever so often. Ive said this before here but maybe its because i always put at least all my defenders on man marking whenever they play with a single striker i mark him with both my CV's). In cases i forgot to apply man marking i immediately noticed the CPU plays a lot more direct so this definately helps.
