I initially really liked the game post-patch, I don't care what others say but there were tiny tweaks to gameplay. My first match on Top Player finished in a 2-1 win with 50/50 possession and me holding on all second half unable to get the ball from the CPU. It was brilliant.
Since then I must have played a good 20 or so matches and it's been not so good, so much so that I'm considering just removing the patch altogether. I'm consistently now finding that every CPU team just sits deep and hits me on the break, plays at 100mhp when it gets the ball, and is in stark contrast to the game pre-patch. Before, I'd have periods where both teams would have periods of possession, and the rest would be decent midfield scraps, but each match now feels like I have most of the ball and it hits me on the break, repeatedly, similar to 2012 in fact.
Prior to the patch I honestly couldn't remember a goal conceded where I'd be backing off on the edge of my own box against a striker who'd just effortlessly glided over several challenges, only to concede a goal that way. Since the patch, I'm seeing it all the time.
Basically, post-patch, I'm now seeing;
- faster CPU build up, more direct, counter attacking play
- I'm having vastly more possession of the ball
- CPU seems unrealistically clinical in front of goal
- CPU magic dribbling from PES2012 feels like it's back
- less yellow cards (the number of cards produced pre-patch was one of my favourite things about the game)
- games now feel faster and more counter-attack minded
I'm sure people will disagree, but that's honestly what I'm finding. Pre-patch the CPU would react to my hold-up play defending and look to play the ball around you, moving backwards, sideways etc, and the play was broken up by the tackling being 'tighter' somehow. Post-patch, the CPU gets the ball and instantly looks for a quick counter, hold the play up and it either magically skips over your challenge or ping pong passes at high speeds.
It's like Konami made minor tweaks to the CPU believing that what I personally thought was realistic, great gameplay, and made it faster paced, end-to-end probably because they thought that would create a better 'gaming' experience.
But like I say, that's only my personal observations, others seem to be thinking much differently. But all I can say is that pre-patch, on Top Player, I was losing my fair share of games but never felt cheated, or done over by an overtly 'robotic' CPU goal. Post-patch, I"m constantly getting pissed off at now feeling like I'm dominating then getting screwed over on the counter-attack. I mean I just lost a match vs Sienna, and their 70-rated player skipped majestically past three challenges on two occasions to score out of the blue. I never saw this kind of thing pre-patch, if anything they'd have still scored three goals but have done so in a way that was more realistic, by passing and crossing having kept the ball and actually having some kind of build up play.
So, I might just remove the patch. At least it'll get rid of that stupid fucking widget sitting pointlessly in the game menus from now on.
On a different note, are we still able to import our own songs into the game like previous years? If I hear one of those eight songs one more time I'm gonna throw my xbox out of the window.
Oh, and Konami, seriously, where the fuck is the xbox360 data pack 2 update? No sign of it, no updates, nothing. Konami's main page now says the issue is sorted, kind of ignoring the fact that the 360 update has gone completely AWOL.
