- Staff
- #2,131
I've spent the afternoon playing PES2008 - shock horror. After playing the Euro 08 demo I couldn't go back to playing FIFA with it's shocking reaction times (and button-presses being completely ignored on occasion). So I rented PES2008 from Blockbuster, to give me something to play until Euro 08 comes out in two weeks.
I won't go on about how bad the game is because it'll just start a fanboy war (and this turns into a positive post at the end, read on). All I'll say is that I've got it for a week but I won't be playing it again after today, it is shockingly bad IMO. But I have actually gained some positivity from renting the game.
The one and only thing I like about the game (excluding the referees who are practically perfect), is the shooting. Not so much the mechanics of it, but the fact that you can score some pretty great goals. Bear in mind the last time I played PES2008 was the day after it came out, so I'm not going to know any exploits or "sweet spots", but I had a shot as I was running into the side of the box - from a position that would always lead to a save and a corner in FIFA 08, guaranteed - and it actually went into the net. The keeper dived low, I shot high, and his outstretched hand couldn't get to it.
It felt completely natural, I took a good shot and it went in, as it would in real life, but in FIFA it's always saved. It made me realise, like a smack in the face, that the shooting in FIFA is a bit wonky. Well, not so much the shooting, but the goalkeepers, who are either pulling off wondersaves or facing the crowd behind them and sticking their arse out. In FIFA it's the same save from the same situation practically (if not literally) 100% of the time.
As I say, I really dislike the rest of the game - sticky-feet passing, poor teammate AI and the ridiculous speed of the game. But having played it for an hour or two, I decided to put the Euro 08 demo in for a quick comparison.
The speed felt just right (obviously it feels too fast after playing FIFA, and it is too fast I'm sure, but after playing PES it didn't feel unrealistic at all), the passing was neat and crisp - but what shocked me the most?
I scored exactly the same goal that I'd just scored in PES.
I ran into the box from the side, ran back just a bit to widen the angle, then did the shot that would always result in a corner on FIFA. The keeper dived low but with his hands up, the shot went high, and it was a goal.
It felt completely natural and 100% realistic. It just felt so sweet to hit a shot that fooled the goalkeeper, and even more so because you knew that was something that wouldn't have happened before.
People will say "but what if you score ten per game" - bear in mind the way that algorithms work, things are stretched the longer the timespan of a game is. So in a two-minute half the game is going to encourage goals, otherwise every game would be 0-0 when you only have 120 seconds to score. Increase that to a five-minute half or longer and things will change, if the game has been programmed correctly (and of course that's not guaranteed, but I am quietly hopeful).
I'm so looking forward to the game now after the feeling I got when scoring that goal. I want to say "it was just like scoring in the old PES games" but it wasn't - it felt absolutely organic. It was better.
EDIT: Shortly after this I played a FIFA league match and conceded two goals within ten minutes, both goals being the same goal I concede almost every game. Shot hits the post, keeper lies down, defenders stand around and watch as the rebound is tapped into an empty net.
I officially hate FIFA 08 now and I cannot wait to get rid of it.
I won't go on about how bad the game is because it'll just start a fanboy war (and this turns into a positive post at the end, read on). All I'll say is that I've got it for a week but I won't be playing it again after today, it is shockingly bad IMO. But I have actually gained some positivity from renting the game.
The one and only thing I like about the game (excluding the referees who are practically perfect), is the shooting. Not so much the mechanics of it, but the fact that you can score some pretty great goals. Bear in mind the last time I played PES2008 was the day after it came out, so I'm not going to know any exploits or "sweet spots", but I had a shot as I was running into the side of the box - from a position that would always lead to a save and a corner in FIFA 08, guaranteed - and it actually went into the net. The keeper dived low, I shot high, and his outstretched hand couldn't get to it.
It felt completely natural, I took a good shot and it went in, as it would in real life, but in FIFA it's always saved. It made me realise, like a smack in the face, that the shooting in FIFA is a bit wonky. Well, not so much the shooting, but the goalkeepers, who are either pulling off wondersaves or facing the crowd behind them and sticking their arse out. In FIFA it's the same save from the same situation practically (if not literally) 100% of the time.
As I say, I really dislike the rest of the game - sticky-feet passing, poor teammate AI and the ridiculous speed of the game. But having played it for an hour or two, I decided to put the Euro 08 demo in for a quick comparison.
The speed felt just right (obviously it feels too fast after playing FIFA, and it is too fast I'm sure, but after playing PES it didn't feel unrealistic at all), the passing was neat and crisp - but what shocked me the most?
I scored exactly the same goal that I'd just scored in PES.
I ran into the box from the side, ran back just a bit to widen the angle, then did the shot that would always result in a corner on FIFA. The keeper dived low but with his hands up, the shot went high, and it was a goal.
It felt completely natural and 100% realistic. It just felt so sweet to hit a shot that fooled the goalkeeper, and even more so because you knew that was something that wouldn't have happened before.
People will say "but what if you score ten per game" - bear in mind the way that algorithms work, things are stretched the longer the timespan of a game is. So in a two-minute half the game is going to encourage goals, otherwise every game would be 0-0 when you only have 120 seconds to score. Increase that to a five-minute half or longer and things will change, if the game has been programmed correctly (and of course that's not guaranteed, but I am quietly hopeful).
I'm so looking forward to the game now after the feeling I got when scoring that goal. I want to say "it was just like scoring in the old PES games" but it wasn't - it felt absolutely organic. It was better.
EDIT: Shortly after this I played a FIFA league match and conceded two goals within ten minutes, both goals being the same goal I concede almost every game. Shot hits the post, keeper lies down, defenders stand around and watch as the rebound is tapped into an empty net.
I officially hate FIFA 08 now and I cannot wait to get rid of it.
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