Well, I played it last night.
First impressions are it's much better than last years, but that wasn't difficult. It still feels very arcade like compared to Fifa, which seems more simulation and real football. I know this will annoy a few people, but that's just my opinion - I realise others feel differently. The shooting is great, as they seem to have perfected how the ball moves and weight distribution involved. Passes still seem as though they are on rails. I'm presuming manual controls will rectify this. Graphics are great on PES, and make Fifa's look a bit wishy washy with just how clear and crisp they are. The sounds are hit and miss. The crowd chants can get very repetitive, but I did like the cheering, booing and Olay's when stringing passes together. The actual effects themselves are poor, though. The referee's whistle sounds like it's been taken from a football game in Coral Island circa 1992. Same noise every single time. Poor. The ball noises are a simple thud, like they always were. This can get a bit samey. When replays are being exited, or when you go into the menu's mid-game, you are greeted to a little tinny sound effect, which Fifa seems to neglect to a point - for the good, IMO. The reason being that those sort of effects are best left for arcade games. It doesn't detract from the football, but if it's annoyed me, then it has no reason to be there for my game. Fifa opts for music instead, and although they have also included clicks and swooshes, it's very toned down and barely noticeable. As I say though, it doesn't alter the gameplay at all, it's just the little things.
Animations aren't up to Fifa standards, either. The running stance is all very PES2009, something which a lot of folk wanted rectified. The rest of the animations at least seem better than last years, and as mentioned, the graphics are beautifully rendered and colourful.
Computer AI... well, this is the biggest problem I've encountered. So far, I've seen goalkeepers diving the wrong way, pouncing on the ball and letting it squirm away - one of which rolled passed the goal line, defenders simply watching my attackers run past them or running in circles, and players ignoring passes.
I'm positive a fair few of the problems will be rectified before final release, but to offer a demo of this quality is pretty shocking - especially given that no one quite expected it to be available this early in the month, anyway.
In fairness, I also need to re-aquaint myself with the buttons and commands. I was trying to do tricks and was getting confused with how it is on Fifa using the left shoulder button and right analogue. On that note, I know it certainly isn't to everyone's tastes or wishlists, but I'm a bit of a trick whore, in that the more skills included, the better. Always been a bit of a flair player myself, so all the ball juggling and flicks are a big positive for me.
Like I said, it's definitely better than last years, and given a fair run it will no doubt be a great game of football, especially against a mate.
However, after having a long session on it last night, I rebooted the 360 and played one game on the Fifa 10 demo and found it so refreshing. It does also have it's problems, and a mixture of the two games would create something very special indeed.
I'll certainly give PES10 more time again today, though, as it certainly deserves a bit of patience which I perhaps didn't have last night. I've been sticking by the side of PES since it's birth under ISS, and last year was the first time I haven't bought it and instead opted for Fifa. I just want a decent game of football that I can keep coming back to. It seems as though we may have to wait until PES2011 for that crown to be regained by Konami, unless they can fix a few of the wrongs in the next month or so. Here's hoping.