PES 2008

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:39 pm

dougb wrote:Played some more games offline and it looks like some of the defensive AI problems may have been addressed. I'm not seeing as many problems with the sidebacks leaving their man unmarked to come up towards the player with the ball as I do in my euro pes (pc) version. Definitely appears a bit more difficult to break down the defenses down the wing than in the European version. I'll have to play some more games to confirm this though.

Best wishes,

Doug

That's great news Doug. What version are you playing?

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:51 pm

I'm playing the 360 version - haven't seen the PC version and likely won't bother getting that one. Apart from the on-line stuttering (a shame since it's a lot of fun on-line when its smooth), the thing that bothers me about this version is that some pretty basic niggles (kit selection, limited editing) haven't been addressed.

Apart from that gameplay is still lots of fun and attacking AI is very good. I'm trying to see whether the positional play of the defending AI team is better overall.

Best wishes,

Doug

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:12 pm

I have played a few games, and I'd say it's a good, but not great game.

The good:
-excellent player control, especially after playing FIFA for a few months
-the feeling of two players battling for a ball is very good, and fouls seems to be called properly in such instances (even if there could be a few more fouls in midfield in general)
-it's very cool when there's a foul in midfield and no cut-away, as your player takes the free kick and gameplay continues
-same as when there's a yellow card and no cutscene--much more immersive. if only it could be like the original genesis FIFA were you could run away and the ref would chase you around the field

The bad:
-graphics are underwhelming
-game speed is definitely too fast. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is too fast
-I agree with feanor that the game doesn't feel quite as 'organic' as the old games. Maybe that's a side effect of the increased speed?
-I have noticed sidebacks wander, leaving the wings wide-open too often

Overall, I definitely prefer the offline game of PES over FIFA. I'll keep FIFA for OTP games, but this will get more of my gaming time than FIFA ever did. I don't think I'll play this to death like past PES games, but I expect to have some fun with it for the foreseeable future.

Also, anyone tried option file downloads and copying onto your 360? I've never done it before on 360.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:40 pm

Played 3 on-line games this morning with virtually no lag - and they were Lots of fun. Makes me wonder if there is hope that they could get the on-line lag squared away on this version. If so, I have to say that the on-line experience is even more fun than on FIFA - primarily due to the fun gameplay.

Best wishes,

Doug

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:11 pm

The people have spoken...Sounds like a winner especially since I dont have a football game...I will open it when I get home from work.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:02 pm

The review for the Wii version is out.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/860/860254p1.html

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Review
The first sports game on Wii to revolutionize the experience, rather than dumb it down.

I'm sold

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:15 pm

I'm having pretty good luck with the lag at the moment - last game there was a bit but it wasn't terrible. Game before that there was no perceptible lag at all.

Some terrific games on-line using a variety of teams. I try to stay away from the strongest teams as its more fun playing with some of the good to middling squads. Played Croatia against Italy and won an extremely fun game 2-1. Also had a great game against a really good player who used Italy (I played the Czechs) and he was up 3-0 before I pulled off a late equalizer. When the lag is gone the game just has some terrific magic to it. I've used PSV, Eindhoven, Fiorentina, Lazio and several national squads. Love the wild celebrations that you get when a player scores a key goal late in the game!

Best wishes,

Doug

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:23 am

Rodster wrote:The review for the Wii version is out.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/860/860254p1.html

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Review
The first sports game on Wii to revolutionize the experience, rather than dumb it down.

I'm sold

I am not....looks to be a pain in the behind.

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:38 am

ok.. Before I bring back my 360 version out of sheer frustration how are you guys attacking? The pace of the game almost removes any ideas of possession or buildup. Speaking of possession, i've been on the bad side of 60/40 far too often. As much as I want to like this game, I can't seem to find a way to enjoy it offensively. I'm playing on normal difficulty and am struggling to get any decent scoring opps. The few chances I do get on an offensive opportunity seem to go up in smoke as my AI mates are tinkering around mid pitch and not moving forward on the attack. The only thing that keeps me from ditching the game is the few golden moments of sheer soccer gaming brilliance that keep me coming back for more thinking that at some point i'll get this thing figured out and the frustration would be worth it.

Any help on the attacking side of the ball would be greatly appreciated.

(Can't wait for the wii version to arrive)

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:54 am

I too am getting heavily outpossessed thus far. Right now it's not so much speed, but I can't seem to dispossess the CPU, even when the ball is dangling out in front of them. On the other hand, they have no problem cleanly stealing it from me and immediately counter-attacking. I am assuming this will get better with time as I adjust to the this year's version. I had one ML game with the default jokers where I was outpossessed 72-28. (Currently playing on 4 stars).

One thing that does seem to help a little is going backwards or sideways a little more often than I did in previous versions. Sometimes by doing so you will open a big gap down a wing.

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:09 am

that's one of the things that grinds my shorts.. The CPU can posses the ball and have a build-up, but that does not seem to be an option for me. Seems like the few goals that i've scored have come off a well timed through ball or rebound. I can't say i've had that "beautiful" goal yet.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:17 am

FifaInspected wrote:ok.. Before I bring back my 360 version out of sheer frustration how are you guys attacking? The pace of the game almost removes any ideas of possession or buildup. Speaking of possession, i've been on the bad side of 60/40 far too often. As much as I want to like this game, I can't seem to find a way to enjoy it offensively. I'm playing on normal difficulty and am struggling to get any decent scoring opps. The few chances I do get on an offensive opportunity seem to go up in smoke as my AI mates are tinkering around mid pitch and not moving forward on the attack. The only thing that keeps me from ditching the game is the few golden moments of sheer soccer gaming brilliance that keep me coming back for more thinking that at some point i'll get this thing figured out and the frustration would be worth it.

Any help on the attacking side of the ball would be greatly appreciated.

(Can't wait for the wii version to arrive)

On attacking - I pass the ball a fair amount among the defenders. Often I keep an eye out to see if I've got a mismatch on one of the wings, where I've either got a winger or side midfielder even with the defending side back or I've got a side back and winger out on the wing and only a defending sideback in the immediate area. I then play the ball out to my sideback and head up field hoping that the opposing sideback will commit. If the winger is much better than the sideback they'll usually beat the defender to the through ball anyway.

Attacks down the wings are very effective in the game, although slightly less effective (easy) than in the Euro version.

The key to attacking play is really patience and watching downfield for players running open. The attacking teammate AI will make lots of diagonal runs from the middle to the corner flag and that's also a good way of hitting on the break.

Another tactic is to pull the opposing defenders outside and then slip the ball into the mid-field for the central midfielders to develop the play. I'll head up field with the sideback before slipping the ball to a more central player, who then often runs a short distance and brings defenders towards him before slipping the ball to a forward up front - or a diagonal ball out to the other wing.

There are virtually an unlimited number of attacking options in the game and you'll get much better at exploiting these as you get more experience with the game.

Regarding defending the key tactic is to play off the forward and try and let him commit. Then head in and use the a button (you can push down quite long and forcefully) to jostle the attacker off the ball. A lot depends on which way you're coming into the tackle and how strong the opposing player is vs. your player. It gets really tricky around the net as they are very hard to stop when they cut back from the touch line into the 6 yard box. the game does moddle fairly well the physical interaction and obstruction that goes into defending play so you can physically position yourself between the attacker and the ball by pushing in.

Hope these are helpful tips - I find that the game pace becomes more realistic when you apply these attacking tips. Your possession stats will go up quite quickly if you try to adopt a more patient approach to attacking.

Best wishes,

Doug

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:24 am

Thanks for the response Doug. I'll put your advice to use on the pitch and see how it works.

How about that Radar! Konami does know how to do radar unlike Fifa who like to complicate radar which ends up making it hard to see most of the time.

Gamecocks625 · Post by **Gamecocks625** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:55 am

Rodster wrote:The review for the Wii version is out.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/860/860254p1.html

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Review
The first sports game on Wii to revolutionize the experience, rather than dumb it down.

I'm sold

I am too. It looks incredible. While the controls may take a little getting used to, just having the freedom to pass wherever you want to on the field and sending any player on any type of run will unlock a greater level of depth this series has seen.

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:22 am

Bought the game second hand for 360 - pretty much same thing as the UK/PAL version on PS3 - Kamikazee attacking AI, game speed is too fast and online sucks donkey balls.

I played 3 matches online this morning with horrendous lag - worse than last year's game and worse than the previous PS2 versions - had the ball disappearing for a second every once in a while, missed frames of animation - all might have been acceptible 5 years ago but not in 2008.

One match was a perfect example of the AI leaving gaping holes in the defense as I lost 6-4 (the highest scoring WE/PES game I've ever played, and I've played literally hundreds) and the other two I had opponents quit on me near the end of matches and I didn't get a default win registered. Played against Barca in all 3 matches - some things in online soccer are universal

doug's tips are spot on - just exploit the space behind the CPU's wingers, I thumped Celtic 5-1 in my first ML match with Almeria on 5 stars/Expert (though to be fair I did play this game on the PS3 for a good while).

But even in single player the most recent J-League game on the PS2 sh!ts all over this with a much more realistic game speed, better AI, more realistic ball physics, 60+ stadiums, more teams and the Fantasista (like Be A Pro + Career Mode) mode.

When you compare the amount of effort put into FIFA 08 vs. PES 08, Konami's game should be a budget title. F ucking Castolo......

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:40 pm

Macca00 wrote:Bought the game second hand for 360 - pretty much same thing as the UK/PAL version on PS3 - Kamikazee attacking AI, game speed is too fast and online sucks donkey balls.

I played 3 matches online this morning with horrendous lag - worse than last year's game and worse than the previous PS2 versions - had the ball disappearing for a second every once in a while, missed frames of animation - all might have been acceptible 5 years ago but not in 2008.

One match was a perfect example of the AI leaving gaping holes in the defense as I lost 6-4 (the highest scoring WE/PES game I've ever played, and I've played literally hundreds) and the other two I had opponents quit on me near the end of matches and I didn't get a default win registered. Played against Barca in all 3 matches - some things in online soccer are universal

doug's tips are spot on - just exploit the space behind the CPU's wingers, I thumped Celtic 5-1 in my first ML match with Almeria on 5 stars/Expert (though to be fair I did play this game on the PS3 for a good while).

But even in single player the most recent J-League game on the PS2 sh!ts all over this with a much more realistic game speed, better AI, more realistic ball physics, 60+ stadiums, more teams and the Fantasista (like Be A Pro + Career Mode) mode.

When you compare the amount of effort put into FIFA 08 vs. PES 08, Konami's game should be a budget title. F ucking Castolo......

I'd love to have the J-League game - Unfortunately I've rid myself of my modded PS2 (though I was never able to get DVD's to work for it)

Macca, I had exactly the same experience on-line for the first few games as you described - absolutely horrible. Surprisingly, I've had several matches since then that have been completely lag free while most of the others have had only minor lag problems (and for short periods of time). But absolutely agree with you that the amount of lag is inexcusable in a next gen game on x-box live.

I don't think the AI is quite as kamikaze attacking as it was on the Euro version but I have been involved in a couple of on-line games where I see "holy f*ck, my winger looks like he's playing in that Getafe - Real Madrid game where the whole Madrid squad buggered off for a few minutes celebrating a disallowed goal"

Can't stand the disconnects of people who are losing either. I was playing Portugal against Brazil and was up 3-0 when I got the disconnect from the other player. Luckily all the disconnects have been logged as wins for me so far. I've only run into two players who played Barcelona - think I won them both.

I'm not sure that Konami is going to be able to address the issues in the series unless they pump serious resources into it. I'm really looking forward to Uefa 2008 from EA - captain mode and 5 on 5 included in that version. Hard to tell how much the gameplay differs from the vids - supposedly they are tightening up the controls.

Best wishes,

Doug

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:34 pm

Im liking the 360 game a lot at the moment , i dont think its fast at all.
You Fifa boys may just have to get adjusted to it maybe.
To each his own, im well shocked at how much better this game is than i was expecting.

Editing is prehistoric tho and a little disappointing but the up side to that is im done with the prem kits already.

For me its better than expected all i need now is to be able to play my bro in England.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:25 pm

One more thing worth noting about the Wii version is that it has the most Stadiums (30) of any of the other versions.

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:53 pm

As has been mentioned previously.. Tomorrow can't get here soon enough. After playing console soccer games the same way for who knows how many years... tomorrow we get a brand new experience.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:50 pm

FIFA if you're interested maybe we can play PES 2008 (Wii) online. If you're interested let me know via PM.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:50 pm

FifaI and Naples, you guys are making me want this game more than ever. Having trouble winning the possession battle v. CPU? Holy cow, could my dreams be answered? As much as I love WE, 60/40 possession in my favor would always be a low count except in the most rare occasions where my team was heavily overmatched. Naples has also mentioned a more subtle and complex fouling system, something that I thought was severely lacking in last year's game, but had been downright brilliantly realistic in the last one or two versions I played on the last-gen games.

Doug, is it 100% assured that there will be 5 on 5 online in EA's UEFA game? If so, that one instantly becomes a no-brainer for me, if only based on the slim hopes that they do improve the gameplay overall.

But honestly, the two main things that are keeping me from giving in to the urge to get this game are: A.) 5 on 5 online will always be more of a draw for me than me v. CPU, and B.) exposing myself to the better gameplay and better controls will do a lot to make FIFA more frustrating than I'd like, now that I've become used to it's faults. Like I said to Rob one night, I don't want to buy that $100 bottle of wine at the store because it will ruin me for those $20 bottles I live on.

But I'll get it eventually. Probably sooner than I think.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:17 pm

Zeppo wrote:FifaI and Naples, you guys are making me want this game more than ever. Having trouble winning the possession battle v. CPU? Holy cow, could my dreams be answered? As much as I love WE, 60/40 possession in my favor would always be a low count except in the most rare occasions where my team was heavily overmatched. Naples has also mentioned a more subtle and complex fouling system, something that I thought was severely lacking in last year's game, but had been downright brilliantly realistic in the last one or two versions I played on the last-gen games.

Doug, is it 100% assured that there will be 5 on 5 online in EA's UEFA game? If so, that one instantly becomes a no-brainer for me, if only based on the slim hopes that they do improve the gameplay overall.

But honestly, the two main things that are keeping me from giving in to the urge to get this game are: A.) 5 on 5 online will always be more of a draw for me than me v. CPU, and B.) exposing myself to the better gameplay and better controls will do a lot to make FIFA more frustrating than I'd like, now that I've become used to it's faults. Like I said to Rob one night, I don't want to buy that $100 bottle of wine at the store because it will ruin me for those $20 bottles I live on.

But I'll get it eventually. Probably sooner than I think.

Zep,

I just read on the Evo-Web forum that the game would include 5 on 5. I wouldn't say that I've found anything that confirms that beyond a doubt, but if it's in that game should be absolute crack! The gameplay videos seem to show a speed up in gameplay - several observers mentioned that it looked a little closer to PES 2008. I think that dribbling may be a little easier and the controls may be a little tighter - judging by the player movement in the game. It looks like they've gone some way to trying to address feedback on Fifa 2008 - if only Konami would be half as accomodating!

And I wouldn't be too worried about abandoning Fifa for PES 2008 if you have both - 5 on 5 is too damn good (and important to you) and the on-line play on PES is iffy. I've had a good string of games with little or no lag but then I had an absolutely hideously laggy game late this afternoon. Others have had nothing but laggy games. They've said they're going to try and address the lag but they also said that about the Euro version and it doesn't look like anything has come of that. Must be something terribly wacked in the code or else they simply cannot accomodate the increased graphical load of the new version.

Best wishes,

Doug

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:30 pm

Such responsibility when my comments drive Zeppo to buy the game!

So far I'm still enjoying the game. PES 2008 has few real improvements from PES 2007, but I do think the fouling system is one of them. I have been particularly pleased with that aspect of the game.

As far as the CPU possession goes, I don't want to say too much. In the first half of my ML season with the konami clowns I don't think I had more than 40% possession once. Now that I got a new midfield, I had my first game over 50% possession, thought that was only a one shot deal. My lack of possession ability at this point is a combination of three things; 1) my unfamiliarity with the nuances of the new version, 2) my team being terrible and outclassed, 3) more patient play from the CPU.

At this point I can't say which is the leading factor to my lack of possession. The CPU does go on more mazy dribbles than in the past on me, but again, I'm not sure which of those 3 factors is leading to that ATM. At my most frustrating moments it seems the CPU is cheating on the dribble at this difficulty, but I think better players and more experience will take care of that.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:39 pm

I'm definitely getting knocked off the ball more than the CPU is, but that's okay. I end up getting calls against me, where the CPU doesn't which is part of the possession issue. I'm like a lot of guys though...I possessed the ball much more than the CPU previously so it's a welcome addition.

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:57 pm

Ill be honest.. This game is driving me mad. I play a few games and then pop in fifa and am impressed with the fluidity of the game, the atmosphere and the decent pace. I then crave the beat down and the potential reward for scoring a goal so I pop back in PES. Personally I think the pace of the game is leading to my possession issues.. You don't have much time to evaluate the situation before being b*tch slapped by 4 defenders. I really need to think one or two moves ahead.

It may go back to the store tomorrow when I pick up the Wii version.. not sure yet. I'm in for the new Fifa as well.