I've read Darkoj2007's thoughts on the FIFA 18 Demo, and I must admit, I 100% agree, this year it really is awesome and game changing for lots of reasons, and hopefully I won’t bore people with my thoughts, becauses my word its positive, and sadly this is a long winded but hopefully a good read!
I come each year to all the PES and FIFA demos (and full versions) from a different angle to most people, as I spend 90% of my time watching CPU vs CPU as I am so into looking at the progression of AI and how it will hopefully, in future, play a Human level of game with its decisions and thinking processes.
The PES2018 disappointment re: CPU AI
Coming onto PES 2018 for a moment, I can honestly say that I am so frustrated, to echo Chris Davies’s thoughts and others on here, that the CPU AI has so many attacks that aim a high ball to the wing, and if its Neymar on the end of it on the left whilst in pre-Transfer Updates Barcelona mode, he always seems to attempt the ball spin (left foot rollover) and out move (often twice in succession) and then fires a shot to the top right corner, it’s so repeated that it really does grate with me. The CPU AI is a fair bit better this year on PES 2018 in general, but these scripted moves to the wing and cut inside with the same tricks to shoot wrecks everything for me. Here’s hoping that Yair/Nesa and the other talented guys on here can work their usual magic with that though, as I genuinely love both games.
FIFA 18’s attacking too much, but boy do those attacks vary more than Slur Alex and Mourinho’s excuses…
With FIFA 18 though, and even though as Chris Davies points out, much to his understandable anger, that its always attack attack attack from the AI, I can honestly say that even though that is indeed the case generally, I have not seen the same attack move, in terms of its variation, twice from the CPU AI, and every single move is unique, every shot on goal has been unique in terms of the technique on the shot, the timing of the player hitting the shot and the angle of the ball coming to him, the outcome is just so organic, just like the rest of the gameplay, and remember, I am only watching CPU vs CPU here. The whole build up to the eventual shot on goal might be a touch over the top in terms of more often than not subtle skill moves slipstreamed into the dribbling mechanics that just flow and flow, but the overall effect is that it convinces me that I am watching a real match in this modern age where most players in real life are doing subtle skill moves as they receive the ball, dribble, move the ball to a team mate etc.
Them damn legacy FIFA animations, but that’s just a tiny gripe
Even though it still has similar (they just won’t go away!) twisty annoying animations at times that seem to have been there since 2002 (is that 3 or 4 engines ago?), but the sheer fact that its possible to sit back and watch the CPU AI on each side make decisions, and control or miscontrol the ball, use a dribbling sequence and maybe use a skill trick "within the dribble" (possibly too often, but at least unlike FIFA 17 they are in there, and oh are they so organically portrayed), but that they always look unique and it seems as if they are incorporated into the dribbling mechanics now so as not to stand out as being those 2012 era "Ronaldo stand still and then do a skill trick that always looks the same").
The skills they use are uncannily 99% of the time contextually related to the position of the player on the pitch and his distance/angle from an opposing player, whilst at the same time taking into consideration the fact that he might be a skilled player in the first place, i.e. Ronaldo will often do his chop, but will still subtlely (htf is that word meant to be spelt?), at the right time it seems, use other moves to beat his nearest opponent.
My word, FIFA 18 is contextually, graphically, and organically amazing! Loving the ball physics affecting skill moves internally…
I’ve mentioned skill moves a lot so far because my hope has always been that the CPU AI in PES or FIFA would not necessarily mean that a CPU controlled player receiving the ball would do them every single time, but that they would do them at the right moment and, more importantly for me, each skill move attempted would have realistic ball physics showing within the move, for example the Scoop Turn move has been attempted so far by Bale and Ronaldo, and each time, being the sucker I am for detail, I have noticed on replays that the turn distance each time varied. It’s a bit like the Iniesta Double Touch move that in both PES and FIFA these days, has a varied organic amount of angles that the ball moves between the feet and the direction the ball travels after, for Human controlled players and CPU players attempting it, so unlike in previous years, clearly the ball physics as well as the touch each CPU player has that is doing it, affects the outcome, just as we feel when we attempt them ourselves. I’ve seen Thiago of Bayern Munich attempt 2 x dragback’s of the ball in succession but on his 1st attempt to drag it back, with the ball not behaving as he hoped, the animation went onto the side of the ball and the ball sliced slightly to the side, which meant his 2nd attempt to do the same thing missed the ball entirely. How lifelike is that! Not a dig at Thiago as he is highly skilled, but the way that the ball was clearly on this occasion not wanting to...................play ball.
FIFA 17 was a pile of………for CPU AI anyway….
FIFA 17 for me was a pile of tosh, the new no ball touch fancy body movements, as well as the over the top shielding that the CPU AI kept doing (even though it led to a better implemented version this year it seems), meant that most team moves they made towards goal looked very unconvincing, added to the fact that they never tried a single skill-move except the regularly used back heels (I don’t call them “skills”), and the Heel to Heel flick.
Back to FIFA 18 and its array of organic Dribbling/Skill Move amazingness
I cannot stand Man Utd, being a lifetime Liverpool fan (not a great week to be posting this…), but I mostly put Real Madrid vs Man Utd at the Bernabeu on to watch, and I set my LG TV to HDR Effect mode, and believe me, it really is like watching a real match in terms of the organic and uniqueness of every move the CPU AI on both teams approach the game. It may not have PES 2018’s superior, in some respects, animation, but there have been no occasions when the player in possession in the middle of the pitch sends a blind outside of the foot high ball out to Neymar on the left, or Messi on the right……but back to the Man Utd aspect, the reason I like to watch them on the demo (mostly to see them face a top quality opponent, and to not see them play against them 5 teams from the bottom 8 of the Premier League, yet again, that they have already been gifted as "initial fixtures to get you back where us, the authorities, simply must have you belong as you are Manchester United Football Club"………tossers, and Jose fits them just so well.......…) is down to Pogba, as he is loaded with skill moves it seems, he did an amazing Hocus Pocus pass where he dragged the ball around the back of his other foot and sent it towards the big fat Lukaka bloke (!!) with a “pass” at the stage where the Hocus Pocus is literally doing a Rabona movement. It looked sensational, only downside was Romelo’s big gormless face looking towards me as I watched the replay over and over.
That Goalgerd moment…
When I first loaded the FIFA 18 demo up on PC, I had a similar feeling to Goalgerd with his “that moment in time” comment, it felt very Istanbul 2005 for me, hairs on the back standing on end etc (not sure where I am going with this…….<help!!>) , in that not only were the Stadiums full of life but instantly the realistic passing and movement, the skill moves within dribbles being used contextually, and those very same dribbling sequences were organically happening without any of them looking like anything previously seen in that same game session or in fact any future sessions with FIFA 18.
It’s all so Human like in the way the players move intelligently (except the twisty animations of course), dribble, and do occasional mistakes such as a corner by Real Madrid where the corner taker miskicked it, and it went behind the goal with the miskicked spin that the ball had on it, so amazing and just so unscripted.
The Wife, and Di Maria………….. ;(
Sorry to go and on but I do get a bit excited…………………………now, where DID that Wife go, is she in bed??? Maria? Maria???
Oh well f**k it, no response from her, I will spend the rest of the night watching CPU AI “Di Maria” instead then….
We won it 5 times..........we won it 5 times.............in Istanbul, we won it 5 times
Always a nice thing to sign off with......
