For me the bars are not an issue, I can play on zero bars just fine.
The problem with the game is inherent I believe until the new engine, and that is the total imbalance between the rules that the human player has to abide by to get from A to B to C, compared with the CPU counterpart. Because the CPU play a direct breathless game, I feel the game becoming a chore, in that I am forced to play patient 'real' football on zero assists, Superstar mode, whilst ANY CPU team looks to hit me with the same direct patterns over and over again.
This skews the game further in my book, more than say 2012, as possession stats are totally out of whack as it never feels like the CPU play on zero assists. My possession never dips below 65%, sometimes reaching as high as 70-73%. This isn't good.
The problem is deep I fear. The CPU hardly ever look to go back, or indeed sideways. They never look to maintain possession in their defensive third for periods of time to force me out of position. Why? Because they don't have to. Eventually passing lanes will open, because the game is designed to go forwards, forwards, all the time. When was the last time the CPU held possession for say 30 seconds to a minute of earth time? Never! And that is the problem. My point goes hand in hand with Henry's Hand (no pun intended) points, in that a real time stamina system MUST be introduced to force the game (both human AND CPU) to slow down and have moments of breathing space.
Zero assist may be just fine v Professional mode or whatever, but Top Player and Superstar, by now, should be the ultimate in simulation experience. It should simulate football both for the human and the human should feel that the CPU is simulating football too. Knock 2011 all you want, I feel the game balance was close to the real thing, they just needed to make the CPU more patient again whilst freeing up the rails.
All it seems I'm doing at the moment is grabbing the CPU by its coat-tails as it mounts yet another direct, central attack. I'm constantly forcing the game to slow the fk down. I'm begging Pirlo to keep possession and pass back and sideways if blocked. I'm begging Ibrahimovic to stop, turn back and pass the ball back into midfield instead of going solo for the 80th time.
The main flaw, and it's breaking the game for me, is the CPU's total lack of pitch/human player awareness. They attack with total abandon as if losing possession anywhere on the pitch is just fine. I'm also getting pissed off at the space in midfield on counter attacks, it seems the defensive AI never pushes up congesting the pitch, just leaving acres if midfield area to mount yet another breathless attack.
Until a game, both FIFA and PES, begin to replicate a real game of football in terms of patience and player awareness, and to get the CPU to move me about in a focused planned manner from defence through the midfield instead of going all Maradona on my ass, then I'm going to continue to be disappointed. What is 2013 so far? Probably a 7/10 effort in my eyes. But in 2013 I now expect and now demand even more. At the moment there's not enough in the demo to suggest I'm going to be shelling out for this year's iteration. It's just too close to a patched up Jenkey's 2012 version for my liking with some first touch and movement alterations.
I really hope the 2nd demo will prove me wrong.
