PES vs. FIFA - Fanboy Fight Thread......

Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

best bet is to get use to the 360 pad it aint that bad.
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

the 360 controller is just as good if not better than the new PS3 Dual Shock imo.. specifically for FIFA..

keep in mind.. next Gen FIFA was designed with the 360 controller
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

Its not PS3 Dual Shock its Six Axis, and PS2 Dual Shock, half the time I dont even remember feelinf the dual shock from games actually only when I leave the controller on a hard surface or something then I remember I forgot to pause the game :D

Anyway, you said PS3 has more features online why would it be worth getting it on the 360? Just because supposedly more will play online, which in the end of the day doesnt matter as long as you get a game.
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

So your a fan of 360 Fifa, so basically if anyone says anything that is against one of those, or someone says something good about the other two, your quick to judge?

You havent even played the latest Fifa or Pro, to go round saying its better than anything yet.

360 games is greater than PS3 games, as there is definately more of them, but as a console I think its the other way around tbh. XBOX Live may have more features than PSN, but PSN is free and cool :D
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

of what? I have a xbox 360 and ps3 and i also played fifa 07 and pes6. So you think i am a fanboy? Please stop posting bullshit.

ajaxforever said:
Yeah right, good luck with your stupid game...
and by the way...GA JE MOEDER NEUKEN...
Click to expand...


You are the biggest fifafanboy here, who never played pes more than 1 week. I hope we can play the fifa demo soon to stop these fifa hype posts: "It looks amazing so it will be better as pes."
 
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Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

leec22 from pesfan forums said:
Well I am looking forward to playing a football game that lets you run in more than 8 directions, lets you play any type of pass/cross to where you decide, makes the tricks actually tricky to perform, has licensed teams in the premiership, lets you play 5 v 5 online, lets you upload and share replays and doesn't have diving buttons.

Then there are the graphics....

How about a team of players with their own shirts rather than the same set of creases on every single player... Shirts that move and don't sit rigid like drainpipes round the players arms. Shirts that don't shine like they're made out of plastic. There's a video on gametrailers with John Terry stood in the tunnel swaying side to side and you can see his shirt sleeves moving... that's the kind of thing that says next-gen to me. Apparently all the shirts move properly like that. It looks like the only time the shirts move in PES is when they are being pulled

Or how about animations that aren't the same as the version we were playing 4 years ago. Honestly, look at the PES2008 gameplay video on gametrailers.com and you could easily mistake it for any PES since PES3. And if you watch, there is still the same old 8 directional movement quite evident.

Just watch these 2 movies, first the PES one...

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/u...ies/97643.html

and the Fifa08 one...
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24563.html

Watch for the subtleties in the Fifa08 animations, like the Chelsea player crossing the ball who is off balance, or Van Persie slightly stumbling after the header near the end. The goalie animations are brilliant in this version of Fifa too. It seems as though the animation is driven using a kind of inverse kinematics where the hand position dictates the animation. It means that you see some very realistic save animations. If you watch the PES one, then the Fifa one and go back to the PES one, it all looks very rigid on PES.

I honestly think that Fifa08 will completely outshine PES2008 this year and after playing the PC demo, (which isn't using the true next-gen engine) I can truly believe that the console versions will be far superior. It's just a case of deciding which version to get now. PS3 because the online is free or 360 for the better controller. It doesn't matter about the D-Pad on the 360 because Fifa has true analog movement and ball control. I suspect the 360 version will have the faster load times because of the faster drive too, so that might be another factor in its favour.

This is probably what Konami needed, something that says "you can't keep re-using the same old engine year after year after year and expect it to cut it on next-gen". They will have to respond to this or people are going to start seriously considering the competition... well, except the blind, loyal fanboys who can't see the PES flaws that is. EA have taken a massive leap forward and thrown down the challenge, lets see if Seabass can make a game as good as the one he talks.
Click to expand...


I know that this is a long post, but it pretty much sums it up for me (apart from the few mistakes here and there :) )- bear in mind as well that this is from a pesfan member of 4 years. No matter how much certain pes fanboys big up seabass and back him to the hilt. It shows that the tides are turning.
 
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Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

The long post is kinda stupid in my eyes, well some of it makes sense other bits are just a bit stupid, make the tricks tricky to perform? O, O, Square, Up, Down, L1, L1, R1 + Square to do a single step over, thats tricky, its alright as it is, step over isnt exactly hard to perform, most tricks arent actually that hard to perform, I think the moves are ok, but more tricks should be added and the analog stick should be used better, bit like fifa, but still, not too much, as football isnt just all tricks. Also 8 directions, isnt Fifa still 8 directions.

The more I see about Fifa the more I see why I dont play it, im getting it probably purely for the teams and modes now, the gameplay where can I start, im noticing more now.

Ball Physics = Not next gen, the ball doesnt move realistically, the way it moves in the air or the way it is kicked, controlled etc, why does it bounce so much when players pass along floor and mainly when recieving the ball it looks horrible and clumsy. In the video posted please tell me that for the corner that it looks great, it doesnt! Its like he swings his leg, and then before he follows through, before he like really connects, the ball flies off, and then comes back out same player, gets the ball again the recieving ball, bounces again, and he swings his leg around, with his foot 90 degrees maybe 80 to fore leg and again the ball flies straight to a player perfectly? Hmmmm I dunno if thats script or just a great ball straight to the player, with a superb accurate kick from that position, with the foot positioned like that. Also how the ball moves is odd, floats through the air, high trajectory, and good dip, from that type of kick? no way... :S

Keeper Ai is poo still its gonna ruin the game I reckon if its still like that.

It seems like the ball makes it own way to the player you aimed at, rather than you getting the ball there with your player you are using...

Room for improvement by release though :D
 
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Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

PES/WE hasn't made it's mark on next gen yet with only one game to it's credit while EA have made Fifa for the 360 a whopping 4 times!

2 debuting different iterations of the current gen to next egn and then 2 that exploited the new engine.

The real debate should be whether or not Ea can get things right on next gen with their new engine finally...

PES/WE-Konami on the other hand looked poised to expand rather than innovate this time around...
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

The long post is kinda stupid in my eyes
Click to expand...

well.. coming from a long time WE/PES fan.. I must say I agree with most of everything in that long post.. not stupid to me.
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

fifa is not 8 directions its 360 and has been since fifa 07.... (next gen)

Ball Physics based on videos id say pro evos look far more unrealistic this yr and the ball moves way to fast! along with the overall game

(the computer has far too much control over whats going to happen to the ball (scripting) )

however it is far bettr than any fifa until what ive seen from fifa 08 of course from videos once i get a feel and play both games my opinion may be totally different


if FIFA was playing as fast as PES2008 is people would call it unrealistic...


i like both games however PES is not improving as much as it can and fifa has improved
(not fully but a hell of alot)
 
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Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

He makes some good points but he also make some bad points, the pesfan dude doesn't mention how fifa's player models are all the same, how the ball floats or how they don't pass realisticly (yes I've said it before but its true and I'll continue to say it). Or some of the things that Seraphs21 mentioned. There is absolutely nothing wrong with how tricks are performed in PES games.

The faster load times is a rather weird and pointless inclusion IMO.

The guy make not like the diving feature but it happens in real life and most of the time the player will get booked (in game) unless he disguises it or the ref isn't in a position to see it just like in real life.

Diving is a part of football whether he or anyone else likes it or not. He supports Man Utd, would he change the channel if Ronaldo started diving?

Fifa 08 certainly overall does have that TV style look to it with the lighting being the key to that. The tricks that you can potentially perform are simply incredible but some online games will turn into a trick fest and those people will forget that there playing a football game and not fifa street.

Regarding the pace of the game Fifa looks better and I personally would wish that PES was slower but one could argue that it mostly plays at Premiership pace...

IMO the overall reviews for the games will be a 9/10 for PES and an 8/10 for Fifa, I wouldn't be surprised if Eurogamer gave PES an 8 and Fifa a 7. If anyone regularly reads Eurogamer reviews they should understand where I'm coming from.
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

Your point about games turning into a tricks fest well if you master the tricks thats the only way you are going to be good at them and this will take time aka not the casual player...
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

That is very true but it does have the potential of going the other way.
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

yeah but my point is the tricks you see performed in the arena will be hard to perform in the match unless you have acres of space performing them in a 1v1 situation or vs an opposing player will be much harder than it looks just performing a rainbow with no one there...
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

Well would hope so, I dont think the new PES2008 plays that fast, but in the trailer on XBOX Live doesnt seem fast at all, seems quite nice, the ball moves quite nicely and to add the ball acts beautifully.

In Fifa im not liking the pace in the animations they are way to fast, like they are hurrying, they should slow them down it looks odd aswell, he was running down the wing, crosses it does a weird stumble and his feet move so quickly, like a quick 1, 2, 3 step dancing or something, same for the corner, normally players do like a little run up and kick or step and kick, but seemed like the run was rushed and it all happened so kick, the ball just drifted in.

Arewell got time to complain when I play the game :D

Also Fifa 08 isnt 360 control is it? I thought it was 8 way, but the animations make it seemless in the transition of turning so it seems more like 360 control? Which still is only 8 way nonetheless, so why are people complaining. But I am probably wrong, is it 360 movement for Fifa 08?

Also Seabass did put in 360 movement in PES2008 remember and he took it out because it wasnt woring the way he wanted it to work, so expect it next year, atleast you know theres a strong chance that PES will get it.
 
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Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

Jay Buchanan said:
yeah but my point is the tricks you see performed in the arena will be hard to perform in the match unless you have acres of space performing them in a 1v1 situation or vs an opposing player will be much harder than it looks just performing a rainbow with no one there...
Click to expand...

i agree with you
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

@ Tobi, with regards to the eurogamer scores,

i think they could be the same this year, as they were last year. Both scored 8/10 with the comments being that pes is getting lazy and ea have made a great base engine. So far this year pes has once again tweaked and added the edit mode, while ea has tweaked/improved quite a few of the problems 07 had (shooting,crossing,nets,goalies to a certain extent(we dont whether the poor reaction to crosses was low difficulty or poor ai atm)) as well as adding the huge amount of teams/leagues and modes. If you look at it that way, the only thing keeping pes equal to fifa last year was its superior gameplay. The improvement, disregarding gameplay atm, is very much in favour of fifa. Gameplay remains to be seen, but i think we can safely say pes has improved in the same manner as it has from pes3/4/5/6, a solid gameplay model with slight tweaks/improvements here and there to make it just a bit better. If fifa, which needed more improvements like the ones mentioned, also did a small amount of tweaking ala pes you could argue that overall fifa has improved more and that it could maybe even score higher for the overall game. And seeing the videos/reading the comments makes me believe fifa has done some serious improvement to the gameplay issues that were poor in 07.

So from an objective perspective, without actually having played either, you could argue that fifa is more likely to score higher this year for the whole game. PES might still just edge the gameplay, but with fifa catching up in this department pes has little left nowedays. Last year it was already an equal score, which i though was fair enough, this year fifa has improved more as a total package, and arguably in gameplay aswell. We will see though, another couple of days and the first demo is out :D
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

Fair assessment and a top post tiktiktik.......
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

http://www.allaboutthegames.net/feature_story.php?article_id=7934
crap source but hey its someones opinion

FIFA '08 Vs PES 2008

Match Build Up

It feels almost clichéd to start a preview of both FIFA 2008 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PES 2008 from now on) by stating how in recent years the gap between the two has continued to close. The FIFA series seems to represent a more mainstream and highly polished, but ultimately shallow and flawed model that constantly plays second fiddle to PES's initially underwhelming and only apparently marginally updated, but ultimately deep, rewarding and fulfilling model. And while for many years, PES seemed to always metaphorically win 2-1, last year's disappointing iteration (mainly the 360 version) means that in many gamers' eyes, the score in last year's final was 1-1.

So could this finally be the year that the tide turns? That it's no longer men against boys. That in a game of two halves, one side gives it 110%. And that the FIFAs the PESs and the Sensibles of the world put in a forward's tackle with their favourite left foot, to make it a magical night in [insert glamourous European destination]? While covering every single blade of grass, working their socks off, so that at the end of the day one side can pull the trigger to score from an impossible angle and break the hearts of the brave and plucky loser who will no doubt receive the hairdryer treatment from the gaffer?

Damn. I got so carried away in football prosaism that I've completely digressed from the original point I was trying to make, which was maybe this could be the year that EA's FIFA series finally manages to snatch a winner in the last minute.

Well at this point it's difficult to tell, but on paper (Jesus I can't help myself), FIFA just might edge it this year, particularly when you consider some of the new additions, many of which will be outlined below.

Thread Bare Squad News

Both FIFA '08 and PES 2008 will be released across all major formats including PS2, PS3, PSP, PC, DS and Xbox360. While on Nintendo's all conquering Wii things aren't quite as straight forward. FIFA '08 will be released on the Wii along with all the other versions but will feature significant changes which I'll be examining in more detail later. But it's a good news, bad news day for Wii owning Pro Evo stalwarts. The good news being that Konami is working on an enhanced Wii version of the game but the bad news being that it will not be released until most likely the end of the first quarter of 2008.

“We are extremely keen to introduce PES to as wide a selection of football fans as possible, and the Wii and its unique abilities are a perfect fit,” commented Jon Murphy, Pro Evolution Soccer Team Leader for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “The potential for PES on the format is enormous, and we look forward to a very exciting start to 2008.”

The Wii version of FIFA '08 will have further Wii specific enhancements such as Wii Remote functionality - allowing you to perform throw-ins and dead ball actions with the Wii remote, the incorporation of Nintendo's very popular Miis and 3 Football Party Mini games including a fun looking table football game.

FIFA 1 - 0 PES

Our Commentary Team

Jon Champion and Mark Lawrensen will be on duty for Konami while the Sky dream team of Andy Gray and Martin Tyler are re-united to take the microphone for Electronic Arts.

Pro Evo's commentary has largely been entertainingly laughable which always tends to adds a sort of charm to the series but there's no doubt that the commentary in the FIFA games has seen continually improvement with EA's spin off Champions League 2006/2007 title particularly worthy of praise for the in-the-main excellent commentary and banter from Clive Tildsley and Andy Townsend.

FIFA 2 - 0 PES

Online Coverage

PES 2008 continues where it left off last year - though with respect to the 360 version, here's hoping that it actually doesn't continue where it left off, as the lag and slowdown made it unplayable for a lot of people, myself included. But it will feature the usual 1 on 1 matches. But rather disappointingly, at this point in time there's no evidence to suggest the game's online elements are anything more advanced than the absolute minimum.

FIFA on the other hand seems to be heading positively in the right direction as this year it's possible for anything upto 5 vs 5 online, with EA astonishingly predicting it will be successfully integrating 10 vs 10 into its games by 2010. There's finally the option to create online leagues and tournaments with your friends and strangers the world over. As well as the opportunity to represent your favourite club online against rivals in the F.A. Cup, the newly branded Premier League (remember - you can't call it the Premiership anymore), the Bundesliga, the French League and rather bizarrely the Mexican 1st Division. This new addition to the series means a football team will be cumulatively positioned in the league depending on how many games players representing that particular team won. Which sounds like a fantastic idea but will no doubt be useless to me as an unfortunate Leeds United fan.

FIFA 3 - 0 PES

Full Time Highlights

Konami caused much consternation among the PES community last year by completely removing the option to save replays of goals from the Xbox 360 version. Websites like PESFAN.com have created fantastic Pro Evo commmunites by running regular goal of the month competitions and by hosting their excellent video tutorials. The removal of this option from the 360 version meant gamers had to resort to playing the game on their PCs for easier video capture. And while Konami is yet to confirm or deny whether this option will return to this year's 360 version, it's safe to assume that based on its past history, its return will most likely be at a most basic level if at all.

FIFA '08 on the other hand will rather marvellously allow gamers to capture their best goals and match highlights and upload them for the world to see. It will then be possible to use the FIFA '08 website to create highlight reels which can also be downloaded and passed among your friends.

FIFA 4 - 0 PES

Licensing

Electronic Arts pretty much has a monopoly when it comes to licensed teams, leagues and stadiums and this year is no exception. Konami has undoubtedly worked hard to improve its own roster over the last few years and this year sees a slight improvement with the full licensing of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur. However the rest of the English League will again be made up of Merseyside Red, London Blue et al.

FIFA 5 - 0 PES

New Additions

With PR for both games slowly reaching full steam ahead, there's a whole raft of exciting press releases doing the rounds at the moment emphasising miniscule additions as life changing modifications. But in amongst all that spin, there are actually a few impressive changes being made to both games.

FIFA '08 will this year allow for full and proper manual control of passes, crosses and through-balls by using one of the trigger buttons as a modifier. For the first time ever it should be easy to control pin point slide-rule passes as well as crosssing the ball to a specific player, in a specific position rather than hitting the cross button and hoping for the best.

Konami seems to be blowing its own trumpet in praise of its new Teamvision AI system which apparently monitors players' onscreen movements, continually adapting the AI's tactics accordingly. Which is meant to make for a more considered and strategic game of football!

While EA has its own new system called Intelligent soccer, apparently "...featuring AI with a 35-point decision engine which enables players to process 1,000 potential options and reactions every second in real time -- more than 60,000 options every minute -- via a dynamic ‘Threat Map’ system to capture the excitement and realism of soccer."

PES 2008 features an updated, enhanced and increased in options new set-piece model with more control given to the other players as well as increased control over defensive walls. While the game's aesthetics have been upgraded considerably, which let's face it, after the PS2-alike 360 version from last year was much needed.

"We have taken a long hard look at what has made the Pro Evolution Soccer series so popular, and where we want to take it next," commented Shingo 'Seabass' Takatsuka, creator of the series and Producer of PES 2008. "With the new Teamvision AI system, we truly believe that we have elevated the game to a new level. The movement of players off the ball, coupled with the total control given to the player, creates the closest simulation of real football to date. We really hope everyone enjoys our evolution. I promise it will be worth the wait."

The updates don't stop there either. No doubt belatedly inspired by Namco's 1997 game Libero Grande, there's a new mode in FIFA called Be A Pro which sees you controlling a single player for the entirety of a match. This mode seems also bizarrely inspired by Gears of War, as the dynamic camera used to track your player's movements is very reminiscent of the 'roadie run' camera from Epic's masterpiece. FIFA also seems to be taking a leaf out of Fight Night Round 3's book by allowing you to again use modifiers and both analogue sticks to string together special moves and tricks in what it describes as an "organic building block system". It's best explained by viewing the video below and while initially appearing to be a rather excellent addition will have to be played thoroughly before it's possible to make an accurate judgement.

FIFA 6 - 0 PES

As this preview has most definitely gone well beyond extra time and penalties, it's time to conclude by sitting on the proverbial fence. From its specifications alone and goals scored in the above face-offs, FIFA appears miles ahead of Pro Evo in terms of content and innovations, but what's traditionally separated the two has always been the more complex and rewarding gameplay of the latter. While FIFA games were often dominated by cheap goals scored from sweet spots, Pro Evo's goals have always felt hard earned and genuinely well worked by your team. But with the last two or three incarnations in the series receiving only relatively incremental updates, the general consensus seems to be that Konami has to get this year's version of the game perfected or a large percentage of its fans will have no choice but to do the unthinkable and change sides to FIFA with its enticing options and vastly superior presentation.

I've always been a Pro Evo guy myself but as I said in my opening statement, this really could be FIFA's year. The ironic thing being that it usually takes a competitor to make EA pull its finger out and genuinely innovate its otherwise stale franchises, but the football boot seems to be on the other foot as this time around it's EA trying to force its opponent to innovate. I look forward to playing both games properly upon their respective releases in September and October.
 
Re: PES vs. FIFA - The Thread

Jay Buchanan said:
http://www.allaboutthegames.net/feature_story.php?article_id=7934
crap source but hey its someones opinion

FIFA '08 Vs PES 2008

Match Build Up

It feels almost clichéd to start a preview of both FIFA 2008 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PES 2008 from now on) by stating how in recent years the gap between the two has continued to close. The FIFA series seems to represent a more mainstream and highly polished, but ultimately shallow and flawed model that constantly plays second fiddle to PES's initially underwhelming and only apparently marginally updated, but ultimately deep, rewarding and fulfilling model. And while for many years, PES seemed to always metaphorically win 2-1, last year's disappointing iteration (mainly the 360 version) means that in many gamers' eyes, the score in last year's final was 1-1.

So could this finally be the year that the tide turns? That it's no longer men against boys. That in a game of two halves, one side gives it 110%. And that the FIFAs the PESs and the Sensibles of the world put in a forward's tackle with their favourite left foot, to make it a magical night in [insert glamourous European destination]? While covering every single blade of grass, working their socks off, so that at the end of the day one side can pull the trigger to score from an impossible angle and break the hearts of the brave and plucky loser who will no doubt receive the hairdryer treatment from the gaffer?

Damn. I got so carried away in football prosaism that I've completely digressed from the original point I was trying to make, which was maybe this could be the year that EA's FIFA series finally manages to snatch a winner in the last minute.

Well at this point it's difficult to tell, but on paper (Jesus I can't help myself), FIFA just might edge it this year, particularly when you consider some of the new additions, many of which will be outlined below.

Thread Bare Squad News

Both FIFA '08 and PES 2008 will be released across all major formats including PS2, PS3, PSP, PC, DS and Xbox360. While on Nintendo's all conquering Wii things aren't quite as straight forward. FIFA '08 will be released on the Wii along with all the other versions but will feature significant changes which I'll be examining in more detail later. But it's a good news, bad news day for Wii owning Pro Evo stalwarts. The good news being that Konami is working on an enhanced Wii version of the game but the bad news being that it will not be released until most likely the end of the first quarter of 2008.

“We are extremely keen to introduce PES to as wide a selection of football fans as possible, and the Wii and its unique abilities are a perfect fit,” commented Jon Murphy, Pro Evolution Soccer Team Leader for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “The potential for PES on the format is enormous, and we look forward to a very exciting start to 2008.”

The Wii version of FIFA '08 will have further Wii specific enhancements such as Wii Remote functionality - allowing you to perform throw-ins and dead ball actions with the Wii remote, the incorporation of Nintendo's very popular Miis and 3 Football Party Mini games including a fun looking table football game.

FIFA 1 - 0 PES

Our Commentary Team

Jon Champion and Mark Lawrensen will be on duty for Konami while the Sky dream team of Andy Gray and Martin Tyler are re-united to take the microphone for Electronic Arts.

Pro Evo's commentary has largely been entertainingly laughable which always tends to adds a sort of charm to the series but there's no doubt that the commentary in the FIFA games has seen continually improvement with EA's spin off Champions League 2006/2007 title particularly worthy of praise for the in-the-main excellent commentary and banter from Clive Tildsley and Andy Townsend.

FIFA 2 - 0 PES

Online Coverage

PES 2008 continues where it left off last year - though with respect to the 360 version, here's hoping that it actually doesn't continue where it left off, as the lag and slowdown made it unplayable for a lot of people, myself included. But it will feature the usual 1 on 1 matches. But rather disappointingly, at this point in time there's no evidence to suggest the game's online elements are anything more advanced than the absolute minimum.

FIFA on the other hand seems to be heading positively in the right direction as this year it's possible for anything upto 5 vs 5 online, with EA astonishingly predicting it will be successfully integrating 10 vs 10 into its games by 2010. There's finally the option to create online leagues and tournaments with your friends and strangers the world over. As well as the opportunity to represent your favourite club online against rivals in the F.A. Cup, the newly branded Premier League (remember - you can't call it the Premiership anymore), the Bundesliga, the French League and rather bizarrely the Mexican 1st Division. This new addition to the series means a football team will be cumulatively positioned in the league depending on how many games players representing that particular team won. Which sounds like a fantastic idea but will no doubt be useless to me as an unfortunate Leeds United fan.

FIFA 3 - 0 PES

Full Time Highlights

Konami caused much consternation among the PES community last year by completely removing the option to save replays of goals from the Xbox 360 version. Websites like PESFAN.com have created fantastic Pro Evo commmunites by running regular goal of the month competitions and by hosting their excellent video tutorials. The removal of this option from the 360 version meant gamers had to resort to playing the game on their PCs for easier video capture. And while Konami is yet to confirm or deny whether this option will return to this year's 360 version, it's safe to assume that based on its past history, its return will most likely be at a most basic level if at all.

FIFA '08 on the other hand will rather marvellously allow gamers to capture their best goals and match highlights and upload them for the world to see. It will then be possible to use the FIFA '08 website to create highlight reels which can also be downloaded and passed among your friends.

FIFA 4 - 0 PES

Licensing

Electronic Arts pretty much has a monopoly when it comes to licensed teams, leagues and stadiums and this year is no exception. Konami has undoubtedly worked hard to improve its own roster over the last few years and this year sees a slight improvement with the full licensing of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur. However the rest of the English League will again be made up of Merseyside Red, London Blue et al.

FIFA 5 - 0 PES

New Additions

With PR for both games slowly reaching full steam ahead, there's a whole raft of exciting press releases doing the rounds at the moment emphasising miniscule additions as life changing modifications. But in amongst all that spin, there are actually a few impressive changes being made to both games.

FIFA '08 will this year allow for full and proper manual control of passes, crosses and through-balls by using one of the trigger buttons as a modifier. For the first time ever it should be easy to control pin point slide-rule passes as well as crosssing the ball to a specific player, in a specific position rather than hitting the cross button and hoping for the best.

Konami seems to be blowing its own trumpet in praise of its new Teamvision AI system which apparently monitors players' onscreen movements, continually adapting the AI's tactics accordingly. Which is meant to make for a more considered and strategic game of football!

While EA has its own new system called Intelligent soccer, apparently "...featuring AI with a 35-point decision engine which enables players to process 1,000 potential options and reactions every second in real time -- more than 60,000 options every minute -- via a dynamic ‘Threat Map’ system to capture the excitement and realism of soccer."

PES 2008 features an updated, enhanced and increased in options new set-piece model with more control given to the other players as well as increased control over defensive walls. While the game's aesthetics have been upgraded considerably, which let's face it, after the PS2-alike 360 version from last year was much needed.

"We have taken a long hard look at what has made the Pro Evolution Soccer series so popular, and where we want to take it next," commented Shingo 'Seabass' Takatsuka, creator of the series and Producer of PES 2008. "With the new Teamvision AI system, we truly believe that we have elevated the game to a new level. The movement of players off the ball, coupled with the total control given to the player, creates the closest simulation of real football to date. We really hope everyone enjoys our evolution. I promise it will be worth the wait."

The updates don't stop there either. No doubt belatedly inspired by Namco's 1997 game Libero Grande, there's a new mode in FIFA called Be A Pro which sees you controlling a single player for the entirety of a match. This mode seems also bizarrely inspired by Gears of War, as the dynamic camera used to track your player's movements is very reminiscent of the 'roadie run' camera from Epic's masterpiece. FIFA also seems to be taking a leaf out of Fight Night Round 3's book by allowing you to again use modifiers and both analogue sticks to string together special moves and tricks in what it describes as an "organic building block system". It's best explained by viewing the video below and while initially appearing to be a rather excellent addition will have to be played thoroughly before it's possible to make an accurate judgement.

FIFA 6 - 0 PES

As this preview has most definitely gone well beyond extra time and penalties, it's time to conclude by sitting on the proverbial fence. From its specifications alone and goals scored in the above face-offs, FIFA appears miles ahead of Pro Evo in terms of content and innovations, but what's traditionally separated the two has always been the more complex and rewarding gameplay of the latter. While FIFA games were often dominated by cheap goals scored from sweet spots, Pro Evo's goals have always felt hard earned and genuinely well worked by your team. But with the last two or three incarnations in the series receiving only relatively incremental updates, the general consensus seems to be that Konami has to get this year's version of the game perfected or a large percentage of its fans will have no choice but to do the unthinkable and change sides to FIFA with its enticing options and vastly superior presentation.

I've always been a Pro Evo guy myself but as I said in my opening statement, this really could be FIFA's year. The ironic thing being that it usually takes a competitor to make EA pull its finger out and genuinely innovate its otherwise stale franchises, but the football boot seems to be on the other foot as this time around it's EA trying to force its opponent to innovate. I look forward to playing both games properly upon their respective releases in September and October.
Click to expand...


Very balanced.
I'm convinced.
FIFA for me.
 
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