.png)
Having made the decision to try out EA's only rival football game, PES, the Become A Legend mode (Konami's equivalent to BAP) was the first thing I wanted to try out. I confess I'm no big fan of PES, in fact every time I've tried it I've hated it and hastily turned it off. I wanted to give it a fair go this time around because of my growing disillusion with this iteration of Fifa. Would I learn to love it? Would I find it better or worse than Fifa? The answer to that is that there are many pros and cons to each game but I was pleasantly surprised by what PES had to offer.
On the pitch
One of the first things I noticed as I started to play was that PES looks and feels a few years behind Fifa in terms of player movement and animations. It's noticeable as soon as you start to play but I was quite happy to overlook this and delve deeper in to the game rather than the visual aspects, which to be fair are more than satisfactory in both games when you've grown up playing the likes of Sensi Soccer. There were a number of situations where the animations hampered the gameplay and could do with some improvement:
- Player collisions - When players brush alongside each other the one that doesn't win the ball is stunted for a few seconds and unable to move. This used to be an issue in Fifa as well but has now been resolved with players able to battle shoulder-to-shoulder for the ball. A return to the old Fifa ways when challenging for the ball was irritating at times but you learn to live with it and do your best not to end up in that position. Similarly for aerial challenges there was no way to determine the outcome; you either won the ball or you didn't and the outcome appeared pre-determined at the time a goal kick is taken.
- Tackling - From what I could tell from a season of matches there are only 2 tackling animations in PES and these are constant no matter how the tackle is made or from what direction. One is a standing lunge and the other is a full-on slide. This wouldn't be such an issue except that on many occasions I was giving away freekicks for tackles where I won the ball or where a better animation would have allowed me to hook a foot around the ball instead of go straight through the player. There is also no variation in the distance of the sliding tackle.
- Throw-ins - Now this is one that frustrated me more than the others. When lining up to take a throw there are only 2 directions you can aim until the time you start powering-up. I lost count of the number of times I threw the ball to the opposition because of the poor animation. Even when I thought I'd mastered it I was still throwing off target. Fifa in comparison rotates your player to the direction you choose on the left stick so you always know which direction the ball is heading.
Now I've got those things out of the way I can tell you just how well I thought PES worked on the pitch. The AI was mostly impressive; a world away from the poor AI in Fifa 11. I say mostly because there were times when my team mates did inexplicable things like pass the ball in to their own net or dribble in their own box before passing to the opposition striker! Fortunately those moments were fairly rare and certainly occur less often than they do on Fifa. I had to laugh when I had a shot that was going wide and the defender did an amazing diving header to put the ball in his own goal!
My biggest bug bear with Fifa was my team mates but on PES they did more or less everything I expected of them; they made runs to the right places, passed to me only when it was appropriate, played well between themselves, defended well and scored some great goals. I was playing my typical role as a right-sided midfielder and when I went forward my team mates moved to cover me and likewise when I went deep to defend. One thing that really impressed me was that whenever I played the ball to them they were never offside, even checking their run if I delayed the pass slightly. In terms of AI positioning and movement, Fifa has a lot to learn. When you're playing as a single player you are often a spectator for large parts of the match and unlike Fifa, I was quite happy to watch both teams play, create chances and score goals. This for me is key to the longevity of the game mode, despite the issues I have with PES, Be A Legend is not only playable but also enjoyable. It was nice to see my team score a couple of goals that were later ruled out for offside which replicates the real life feeling of joy followed by disappointment, something that you don't get when playing Fifa.
There were other nice touches during the match as well. It's possible to either start on the bench or to be subbed off later on in the match which adds to the realism. When you are not playing you are able to watch the rest of the match and as I said above it's nice to be able to watch the AI play what looks like football rather than not having a clue as with Fifa. Another positive is that the manager will change formation and tactics during the match depending on how things are going; for example, take a 2-0 lead away from home and you will be told to play possession football and not give the ball away. Finally it was good to see the manager give both instructions before the match and feedback afterwards, if I had played an assist then it was commented on, likewise if I scored goals, created chances or made lots of tackles it was included in my post-match feedback. The comments were always appropriate and my match rating was always fair.
On the negative side fatigue wasn't evident at all; despite my fatigue bar showing red I was able to continually sprint everywhere and never seemed to get tired. I was forced to play a more central position than I would have liked just to get myself more involved in the match and to get in a position to ask for the ball. I was subbed far too often in the second half even if I was playing well and put in a man-of-the-match performance. I was placed in the wall for every single freekick, no matter where it was taken on the pitch. And, although this is not a gameplay problem, I was really disappointed having to play with manual controls when I am used to playing with fully manual controls in Fifa; to be fair, in the majority of cases the game read the type of pass I wanted to make so assisted passing was less of an issue. On the other hand, the number of open nets I missed simply because the game decided not to let me score was frustrating to say the least.
There are pros and cons to both Fifa and PES when playing as a single player. However, the overriding factor in the gameplay is the playability, led by the quality of the AI, and the enjoyment factor. In this respect, PES wins hands down.
Off the pitch
This again was a mix of pros and cons for me. For everything good about PES Become A Legend offline there was something that needed improvement. One major positive is that the mode has far more depth than Fifa with inclusion of elements such as employing an agent, finances and focussed training while the menus are fast and look sleek. The photo gallery was a nice touch, where the game takes screenshots from key moments in matches you have played. However, there is no description to go with the pictures and it would be better to save a short replay than a photo.
So far I've picked up on a few negatives in the mode and these unfortunately take away from the immersion. One example being that the Premierleague had no fixtures between the second week in December and the first week in February, since when has English football had a winter break? Other points include the very slow advance of the calendar and need to make two saves with every advance. Training matches were played throughout the season even through I was a regular in the first team, why would you play a friendly midweek between two league matches? There are very few licensed teams in PES so it took me a good half hour to install an option file to get all the correct teams and leagues. Kit selection could have been much improved as I had to manually choose the home and away strip to avoid clashes before almost every match. The final area that could be approved is the transition from young player to first-team regular; I came on as a sub in the first league match and started every other league match after that. As a 17 year old I had a regular place in a Premierleague club at the expense of the seasoned pros.
As with the on the pitch aspects of the game the positives outweight the negatives. At least the features are there and add depth whereas Fifa has very few things to talk about in that respect. Going forwards I can see that PES has more potential in the game mode than Fifa has.
Summary
Previously I've been very critical of PES because of what it does wrong, or not as well as Fifa. This time I went in to it with an open mind and was intent on finding the positives. Become A Legend is just one game mode but one that is important to me and one that I really want to enjoy. Both Fifa and PES have much room for improvement and it will be interesting to see how both games develop before September when the latest iterations are released. For the first time I will be looking to see what updates are going to be given to PES to see if the game is worth buying, simply because I have enjoyed BAL more than I have enjoyed BAP and can see myself playing it for a good few seasons. If Fifa can correct the problems it has had this year then that will ultimately be my preferred choice but on the other hand if PES can do enough to correct its problems and develop improved gameplay and animations then I would seriously consider picking up both games next time round. For the time being I look forward to continuing with my BAL career and trying out PES's other game modes including the much acclaimed Master League.
On the negative side fatigue wasn't evident at all; despite my fatigue bar showing red I was able to continually sprint everywhere and never seemed to get tired. I was forced to play a more central position than I would have liked just to get myself more involved in the match and to get in a position to ask for the ball. I was subbed far too often in the second half even if I was playing well and put in a man-of-the-match performance. I was placed in the wall for every single freekick, no matter where it was taken on the pitch. And, although this is not a gameplay problem, I was really disappointed having to play with manual controls when I am used to playing with fully manual controls in Fifa; to be fair, in the majority of cases the game read the type of pass I wanted to make so assisted passing was less of an issue. On the other hand, the number of open nets I missed simply because the game decided not to let me score was frustrating to say the least.
There are pros and cons to both Fifa and PES when playing as a single player. However, the overriding factor in the gameplay is the playability, led by the quality of the AI, and the enjoyment factor. In this respect, PES wins hands down.
Off the pitch
This again was a mix of pros and cons for me. For everything good about PES Become A Legend offline there was something that needed improvement. One major positive is that the mode has far more depth than Fifa with inclusion of elements such as employing an agent, finances and focussed training while the menus are fast and look sleek. The photo gallery was a nice touch, where the game takes screenshots from key moments in matches you have played. However, there is no description to go with the pictures and it would be better to save a short replay than a photo.
So far I've picked up on a few negatives in the mode and these unfortunately take away from the immersion. One example being that the Premierleague had no fixtures between the second week in December and the first week in February, since when has English football had a winter break? Other points include the very slow advance of the calendar and need to make two saves with every advance. Training matches were played throughout the season even through I was a regular in the first team, why would you play a friendly midweek between two league matches? There are very few licensed teams in PES so it took me a good half hour to install an option file to get all the correct teams and leagues. Kit selection could have been much improved as I had to manually choose the home and away strip to avoid clashes before almost every match. The final area that could be approved is the transition from young player to first-team regular; I came on as a sub in the first league match and started every other league match after that. As a 17 year old I had a regular place in a Premierleague club at the expense of the seasoned pros.
As with the on the pitch aspects of the game the positives outweight the negatives. At least the features are there and add depth whereas Fifa has very few things to talk about in that respect. Going forwards I can see that PES has more potential in the game mode than Fifa has.
Summary
Previously I've been very critical of PES because of what it does wrong, or not as well as Fifa. This time I went in to it with an open mind and was intent on finding the positives. Become A Legend is just one game mode but one that is important to me and one that I really want to enjoy. Both Fifa and PES have much room for improvement and it will be interesting to see how both games develop before September when the latest iterations are released. For the first time I will be looking to see what updates are going to be given to PES to see if the game is worth buying, simply because I have enjoyed BAL more than I have enjoyed BAP and can see myself playing it for a good few seasons. If Fifa can correct the problems it has had this year then that will ultimately be my preferred choice but on the other hand if PES can do enough to correct its problems and develop improved gameplay and animations then I would seriously consider picking up both games next time round. For the time being I look forward to continuing with my BAL career and trying out PES's other game modes including the much acclaimed Master League.
0 comments:
Post a Comment