Would agree so far with what Master Kush says. Only played three games with the new patch 1.02 but it feels like a far better game so far. Here are the positives, I can't find any negatives so far about the patch to be honest;
- Game speed feels different, I usually play on -2 but -1 feels absolutely spot on. The ball somehow feels slightly 'heavier' and less like it's skimming across the pitch in an unrealistic manner, but might be a placebo effect. The pace of the game is definitely different.
- Movement is definitely similar to 1.00, or demo 2. Full backs properly join attacks without being told to, players seem to find space better. Much nicer so far.
- The stumble animation is still there but it's massively toned down than in 1.01. Some occasions I stumbled and lost the ball, but on many occasions I stumbled and kept it, or managed to stick out a foot and play the ball off to someone else. You gain control of the player much faster than the previous patch.
- Keepers; hard to tell really, didn't see any gaffes or even notice them really which I suppose is a good thing. They seemed consistent enough and made some solid saves. Nothing spectacular but initial impressions would suggest an improvement.
- AI defending; the big one for me, well, the teams were a mix really. Of the three games, the first two, the AI didn't sit back at all, the third, they sat back a LOT, I'm talking all eleven players halfway in their own half, but you could still play through them. Going forwards with the ball, then back again seems to draw them out a little better, but it's better due to the easier nature of the pressing. However, I was actually able, for the first time since owning the game, to get round and behind AI defences with nippy wingers. Defences are cramped, but they're not as superhuman in their tackling.
- Pressing; it's still just as evident, but it's still toned down in terms of the tackling. It felt easier to skip challenges, the drop of the shoulder move worked on the wings many times, as did the speed burst with key players like Lennon on the wing. Was much better.
- And the biggest thing I've noticed so far, is tackling. I seem to be massively more efficient at taking the ball off opponents now, they slalomed over challenges like they're not there just a couple of times in three whole matches. Before I'd position my player to block the ball, only to see the AI skip past you no matter what you do. Now, it feels, so far, that decent positioning and jockeying actually takes the ball if done right, just like in demo 2. Really happy with the tackling so far.
- Finally, games do somehow feel less end to end, which is great.
It's only a few matches so I'm not suddenly proclaiming it's amazing, but it has immediately felt far more balanced, it's almost as if the whole tackling problem was a bug and they've ironed it out. It wouldn't surprise me. But so far so good, it's been back to being an enjoyable game again. That said, I've yet to try a FL game, which even on Professional level was the king of cheating AI. We'll see. The game is still pretty dated IMO, but at least this makes it far more balanced and evenly paced.