My quick thoughts (not that anybody cares but I'll throw them in anyway)...
Good things:
- Graphics are fantastic (especially on PC).
- One half of the commentary team (Jon Champion) does an amazing job, you really feel it when he screams "the HEADERRRR!"
- The difference between each team is more noticeable than ever before, playing a poor team and then a great team you notice lots of differences in the play.
- CPU cheating appears to have been reduced, which is something I've wanted to see for years. It's still there but it's not as noticeable.
- Dribbling is great, in FIFA you find yourself passing around people because if you try to dribble around them they'll just knock the ball away.
- Be A Legend is a great little mode, and I like that you can find yourself substituted for playing poorly or stuck on the bench for a long time.
Bad things:
- Goalkeepers are as limp-wristed as Graham Norton, what the hell is wrong with them? They couldn't hold a shot from a toddler! They palm the ball in so often!
- Because of the goalkeepers the scorelines are ridiculous, my first AI game on regular was 6-0 to me, on the hardest difficulty I won 3-0 against a better side than me (on PES 2008 I'd usually draw); against another human one match finished 8-3.
- Referees are even worse than they are in FIFA, straight reds for absolutely nothing; the AI had two sent off in each of the first two games I played.
- Has the advantage rule seriously been taken out? I've not seen it yet. I've heard people saying it's been taken out but I don't know if that's true or not, either way it's weird that Konami have fiddled with it.
- Movement is stuck in the year 2000, it's so horribly stiff, and very difficult to get used to after the freedom of FIFA.
- Passing is so unrealistic, you can hit inch-perfect passes when facing the completely opposite way with three defenders around you.
- The AI of your teammates is pretty poor, even with the best teams. Countless times I've been attacking down the wing ready to cut inside and do a little pass to the striker, who is moving very very slowly forward as it is - then suddenly he decides to RUN BACKWARDS! Yeah thanks for that Torres, you'd better run back and defend!
- Online play is the same as last year with Houdinis teleporting all over the pitch. This isn't Seabass though, this is Konami; their servers are notoriously bad.
- It's far too easy (especially online) to pass the ball to a fast player, run down the wing, cross and score. Very little skill involved when playing most people, and even when you're playing the AI you know you can always pass it to the fast player when you need a goal.
- I know FIFA has a huge amount of bugs but some of the bugs in PES have to be seen to be believed; goalkeepers disappearing into the pitch when they've dived to save a shot and letting the ball in, goalkeepers almost jumping over the crossbar to save a high shot (like Superman with a rocket up his arse), Be A Legend games with 11 GKs v 11 GKs, etc...
The first word people will say when they see the imbalance there is "fanboy" but I've hammered the game since I received my review copy (I had to, otherwise I can't really review it can I), and they are my impressions.
It's a fun game certainly and I can see why people would choose to play it - I'd forgotten how great it is to be able to dribble around people. It is definitely a better game than PES 2008, no question. And I think it's a good thing that PES & FIFA are totally different:
I would say PES is Barcelona (the players are ridiculously skilful, pulling off outrageous moves, they're so fast, they pass fast, they dribble around defenders and score great goals) whereas FIFA is a traditional English team (very physical, lots of tough midfield battles and lots of 0-0s - some will find that boring but all I've ever wanted from games is realism, that's what's fun for me).
