Having been very impressed with the Pro Evolution Soccer 11 demo, I downloaded the Fifa equivalent, I wasn't so impressed.
My initial thoughts of Fifa 11 is that the game hasn't moved on from the World Cup "upgrade" that was released in the summer. Some will say that its not a bad thing, however having played a PEs title that has really progressed in terms of the way you pass and move with your team, I expected more.
Fifa has always been an "arcade" style game, meaning that its very easy to get into and once you have, there isn't a great deal extra to learn. Of course there are the "tricks" to master, but you can get by very easily without them and they aren't very difficult to perform.
I don't think that mastering Fifa 11 would take you long at all, especially if you owned last years game, or the World Cup offering. From the demo, it really did feel like the same game. The passing is straight forward and now feels way behind in terms of realism when compared to the new PES system.
Having played the World Cup game, I felt that the shooting element of the game didn't feel quite right, but it’s hard to explain. I guess its that when you shoot, you just don't feel as though your player "hit it", the heading in the game suffers from this to.
One thing that I noticed that had been improved from Fifa 10 (but was also present in World Cup 2010) is that you don't have to use tricks to get past players - I found this very unnecessary in Fifa 10 and glad it was removed.
The excellent penalty kick system from World Cup 2010 has been implemented into Fifa 11 which makes the spot kicks a real event and requires some skill (or a decent penalty taker) to beat the keeper, which seems far away from beating the keeper in open play.
I played a few games on the demo, in a variety of difficulties and won them all, comfortably. One thing I noticed was that there does appear to be a few "sure fire" methods of scoring in this build of the game, that were also present in the World Cup game - which seriously reduces the longevity of a sports game.
I don't want to sound overly negative about the game, if your a fan of FIFA then I imagine you will enjoy the game, but don't expect anything other than the World Cup game with a huge abundance of licensed teams, leagues and slick presentation.
Unless Konami have sorted out the online capabilities for PES, then FIFA will have the online play in their favour and lets face it online play should be less repetitive than against the AI, so some of my gripes with the game aren't as relevant there.
My main thought having played the Fifa 11 demo though is if EA's goal was to create a pick up and play game to appeal to the masses then they have achieved it and done so very well and I'm sure copies of the game will outsell PES 11 by a fair distance.
However, for those who want a challenging, technically advanced and realistic football game, then Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is the title that you should purchase.
20 September 2010
17 September 2010
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Demo Thoughts
With the new football season underway, the time for the latest offerings from EA (Fifa) and Konami (Pro Evolution Soccer) to extract money from our wallets is almost upon us.
I've been a fan of what has now evolved into the PES series ever since the first title, International Super Star Soccer was released on the SNES. Back then to have a quality football title that used the side on view was unheard of, with the popular titles favouring the vertical view (such as Super Soccer and Striker),which was why the game immediately stood out.
I also owned all of the versions of the game for the N64 and have great memories playing the games.
I had a love-hate relationship with the Pro Evolution Soccer series for the PS2, I've loved some (PES 3, 5, 6 on ps2) and borderline hated the first, second and forth.
The last few offerings on the PS3 haven't been great, but I thought that despite its flaws, PES10 was the best release since PES 6 which is now four years old!
Before you wonder why I have been loyal to the series and haven't moved over to FIFA, its not because I'm what some would describe as a "fan boy", not by any means.
I've owned a few Fifa titles, the dreaded FIFA 64 and 98 on the N64, a few on the ps2 (2001, 2003 and 2004 - only so I could play as Cardiff!) and I tried Fifa 10 due to the appealing release day price of £25.
I can't see why so many people felt that Fifa 10 was the best football game to ever be made. Matches against the AI simply were not enjoyable, passing was unrealistic, dribbling with the ball was frustrating (why the need to have to perform a "trick" to get past a player seemed like overkill!) and the way goals were scored was very limited. You'd know how to score and you knew how the AI would score - which isn't a fun game in my mind!
But any way, this week demo's for both titles are now available for the PS3 and Xbox and I'll be trying them both and deciding which title I'll purchase.
I downloaded the PES11 demo last night and will be downloading the FIFA demo to try it over the weekend.
The game feels different, very different to the game that we've all played for quite a few years and I think its a good thing.
Passing
Passing no longer goes in your favoured direction regardless of the direction your facing and there are more power options than a simple pass to holding your finger on the button.
To make a pass now, you need to be facing the direction and the power is added by holding down the button in tandem with a new power bar.
You can now pass the ball into space for your players to run onto it, for example with a creative midfield player you can pass the ball to the side of an opposing defender for your striker to latch onto and hit first time.
Misplaced passes slow down counter attacks and you'll find the ball running loose, it feels very realistic.
Dribbling
Unless your lucky to be controlling a very skilful player (Messi), dribbling with the ball for long periods seems very difficult, which again is realistic. I didn't get too much into the tricks to comment on it.
Shooting
Shooting seems as good as ever, if anything I found it somewhat easier to shoot from long range than the previous version of the game, however I was playing as Barcelona.
Defending
Defending is said to be much improved with you being able to apply pressure onto the opposition - I'm yet to attempt this. I found the tried and tested of calling another player to harass the opposing player less effective, instead holding back and waiting for an opportunity to slide or put your foot in seemed more effective.
Referees
I was pleased with the amount of free kicks I received and also the AI's willingness to foul me! I made a few slide tackles from the side and front, which may have resulted in a red card in previous games - they didn't this time, so that may have been improved.
Goal Keepers
Having only played a few matches, it’s a little early to judge if the goal keepers have been improved that much, they seemed to deal with long range shots ok and are said to be much improved.
Overall I'm feeling pretty optimistic that this year’s Pro Evolution Soccer offering will be the best yet, as the demo code isn't final, hopefully it will be improved.
The selling point of the game though is the online Master League mode, where you compete against fellow players for funds to build your team up. Online PES though has been shocking so far with server problems and lag aplenty - let’s hope some serious investment has been made in that department this year.
I've been a fan of what has now evolved into the PES series ever since the first title, International Super Star Soccer was released on the SNES. Back then to have a quality football title that used the side on view was unheard of, with the popular titles favouring the vertical view (such as Super Soccer and Striker),which was why the game immediately stood out.
I also owned all of the versions of the game for the N64 and have great memories playing the games.
I had a love-hate relationship with the Pro Evolution Soccer series for the PS2, I've loved some (PES 3, 5, 6 on ps2) and borderline hated the first, second and forth.
The last few offerings on the PS3 haven't been great, but I thought that despite its flaws, PES10 was the best release since PES 6 which is now four years old!
Before you wonder why I have been loyal to the series and haven't moved over to FIFA, its not because I'm what some would describe as a "fan boy", not by any means.
I've owned a few Fifa titles, the dreaded FIFA 64 and 98 on the N64, a few on the ps2 (2001, 2003 and 2004 - only so I could play as Cardiff!) and I tried Fifa 10 due to the appealing release day price of £25.
I can't see why so many people felt that Fifa 10 was the best football game to ever be made. Matches against the AI simply were not enjoyable, passing was unrealistic, dribbling with the ball was frustrating (why the need to have to perform a "trick" to get past a player seemed like overkill!) and the way goals were scored was very limited. You'd know how to score and you knew how the AI would score - which isn't a fun game in my mind!
But any way, this week demo's for both titles are now available for the PS3 and Xbox and I'll be trying them both and deciding which title I'll purchase.
I downloaded the PES11 demo last night and will be downloading the FIFA demo to try it over the weekend.
Here are my initial impressions of the PES Demo:
The game feels different, very different to the game that we've all played for quite a few years and I think its a good thing.
Passing
Passing no longer goes in your favoured direction regardless of the direction your facing and there are more power options than a simple pass to holding your finger on the button.
To make a pass now, you need to be facing the direction and the power is added by holding down the button in tandem with a new power bar.
You can now pass the ball into space for your players to run onto it, for example with a creative midfield player you can pass the ball to the side of an opposing defender for your striker to latch onto and hit first time.
Misplaced passes slow down counter attacks and you'll find the ball running loose, it feels very realistic.
Dribbling
Unless your lucky to be controlling a very skilful player (Messi), dribbling with the ball for long periods seems very difficult, which again is realistic. I didn't get too much into the tricks to comment on it.
Shooting
Shooting seems as good as ever, if anything I found it somewhat easier to shoot from long range than the previous version of the game, however I was playing as Barcelona.
Defending
Defending is said to be much improved with you being able to apply pressure onto the opposition - I'm yet to attempt this. I found the tried and tested of calling another player to harass the opposing player less effective, instead holding back and waiting for an opportunity to slide or put your foot in seemed more effective.
Referees
I was pleased with the amount of free kicks I received and also the AI's willingness to foul me! I made a few slide tackles from the side and front, which may have resulted in a red card in previous games - they didn't this time, so that may have been improved.
Goal Keepers
Having only played a few matches, it’s a little early to judge if the goal keepers have been improved that much, they seemed to deal with long range shots ok and are said to be much improved.
Overall I'm feeling pretty optimistic that this year’s Pro Evolution Soccer offering will be the best yet, as the demo code isn't final, hopefully it will be improved.
The selling point of the game though is the online Master League mode, where you compete against fellow players for funds to build your team up. Online PES though has been shocking so far with server problems and lag aplenty - let’s hope some serious investment has been made in that department this year.
9 September 2010
The End Of John Toshack
So John Toshack is no longer in charge of the Welsh National Football team. My Reaction is: It's about time!
I haven't ever been a fan of his, I think he shouldn't have been given the job in the first place having walked out of the same job ten years ago previously.
It's difficult to see what he achieved exactly during his 6 year stint in charge. They didn't win many competitive matches (only against the "minnows" of the group), played negative, dull, tedious football that saw crowds plummet and finished well behind the group leaders in both the full qualification campaigns he was in charge of.
One thing that he deserves credit for though is giving the young players the opportunity to progress from the under 21 set up into the full squad, although I don't think the way in which he set out to begin this process was the best.
He leaves behind a young squad, some of which such as Aaron Ramsey, Jack Collison and Gareth Bale when fit should be what the new manager builds the team around.
Everybody I know thinks that they could do a better job than whoever is in charge of their favourite team, so here is my Wales XI:
Wayne Hennessey gets the nod in goal, despite him not being first choice at Wolves and his recent shaky performances. The other choice would be Myhill, who also isn't first choice at his club. Where is Big Nev when you need him?!
The defence almost picks itself, Darcy Blake impressed me with his performances for Cardiff last season (although at centre back), Ashley Williams and James Collins make a decent pairing and Chris Gunter has developed into a good full back.
The midfield trio may be unexpected to some, I've included Brian Stock (Doncaster) as he is a tough tackling midfield player who could compliment Collison as "holding" midfield players. Aaron Ramsey would be the more attacking midfielder, who wouldn't need to worry so much about the defensive side of the game.
The front three would see Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy in wide positions with Sam Vokes playing the role similar to what John Hartson had done throughout his Wales career.
I've posted a more in depth post about my thoughts on the story of John Toshack Resigning on my website
I haven't ever been a fan of his, I think he shouldn't have been given the job in the first place having walked out of the same job ten years ago previously.
It's difficult to see what he achieved exactly during his 6 year stint in charge. They didn't win many competitive matches (only against the "minnows" of the group), played negative, dull, tedious football that saw crowds plummet and finished well behind the group leaders in both the full qualification campaigns he was in charge of.
One thing that he deserves credit for though is giving the young players the opportunity to progress from the under 21 set up into the full squad, although I don't think the way in which he set out to begin this process was the best.
He leaves behind a young squad, some of which such as Aaron Ramsey, Jack Collison and Gareth Bale when fit should be what the new manager builds the team around.
Everybody I know thinks that they could do a better job than whoever is in charge of their favourite team, so here is my Wales XI:
Wayne Hennessey gets the nod in goal, despite him not being first choice at Wolves and his recent shaky performances. The other choice would be Myhill, who also isn't first choice at his club. Where is Big Nev when you need him?!
The defence almost picks itself, Darcy Blake impressed me with his performances for Cardiff last season (although at centre back), Ashley Williams and James Collins make a decent pairing and Chris Gunter has developed into a good full back.
The midfield trio may be unexpected to some, I've included Brian Stock (Doncaster) as he is a tough tackling midfield player who could compliment Collison as "holding" midfield players. Aaron Ramsey would be the more attacking midfielder, who wouldn't need to worry so much about the defensive side of the game.
The front three would see Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy in wide positions with Sam Vokes playing the role similar to what John Hartson had done throughout his Wales career.
I've posted a more in depth post about my thoughts on the story of John Toshack Resigning on my website
8 September 2010
Hello World!
Hello World and welcome to my blog. Eventhough I run my own website jonathanwalker.me, I decided to start this blog in order to allow me to post things on a much more off topic nature than what the visitors to my website may expect!
To give you a little bit of information about me, I'm a self proclaimed guru of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), but I do like to think I have a life away from the PC, which ironically I will spent time at the PC blogging about from now on!
I'm 27 years young and I live just outside of Cardiff (South Wales, UK to avoid any confusion) in a small village that I doubt many of you would have ever heard of, so I won't mentoin the name. However the Welsh translation of the place is "Graves" which some of you may find interesting :)
Some of the topics that I'll be blogging about are likely to include my love of Football, Music, Wrestling (sorry!) and computer games, so sit back and enjoy the ride!
To give you a little bit of information about me, I'm a self proclaimed guru of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), but I do like to think I have a life away from the PC, which ironically I will spent time at the PC blogging about from now on!
I'm 27 years young and I live just outside of Cardiff (South Wales, UK to avoid any confusion) in a small village that I doubt many of you would have ever heard of, so I won't mentoin the name. However the Welsh translation of the place is "Graves" which some of you may find interesting :)
Some of the topics that I'll be blogging about are likely to include my love of Football, Music, Wrestling (sorry!) and computer games, so sit back and enjoy the ride!
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