Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The thrill is gone, 27 Oct 2007
Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars
PES6 was a poor port from the PS2 version. PES 2008 is a port of the Xbox 360 version. The gameplay is noticeably different. For a start, the games are much faster. The ball physics are very different, with the ball behaving like rubber, bouncing and slithering all over the place. This is not the considered game that PES6 was. It plays more like an arcade game. It lacks the depth of previous PES editions.
I'm playing on a 1.7Gh Centrino laptop, 1 Gb ram. I play at lowest quality because it runs smoother, without frameskip.
Even at high quality the graphics are quite disappointing. The players shuffle upfield like demented shrimps. The ball seems to slide rather than roll. The grass on the stadiums is awful on the eyes. Hopefully some decent option files will be released soon.
The music is truely awful, and the commentary stinks, as usual. Sorry, it's the truth.
The strikers are all too powerful, and shooting and scoring is much easier. I was soon nettingg some spectacular volleys at pro level, but there was little satisfaction because it felt TOO easy. I felt almost... helped...
The CPU is obviously in control of the ebb -and -flow of matches, not you or your skill. The AI, although showing some improvement, has too many inconsistencies that ruin flow. Don't expect quick centre support if you're dashing up the wing!
There are many annoying little bugs and ommissions. It is a sloppy, rushed release and really feels like it.
Despite the many gripes, the game is still very playable, but, dare I say it, I think after two days I'm already bored of it. Too predictable. The core brilliance of PES is there, but it is hampered by a poor implementation.
I'll definitely try out the online once the servers are active, but I fully expect manic goalfests, not the beautiful game.
Back to PES6 which, despite it's flaws, is still the best football game of all time. Just my opinion.
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24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
PES v FIFA, 4 Nov 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Something very strange is happening on this page.
It seems that a great number of people seriously dislike this game... So much so that you would expect the game to be a serious disappointment. It isn't.
There have been times when I have been to see a movie that everyone has rated, and I have thought fairly pointless, and have been left wondering if I am watching the same movie as that which had been rated so highly. This is one of those cases, except where a majority have slated this game, I think that it is rather good.
In fact, "rather good" is not accurate. I think it's excellent.
For as long as I can remember, I have been searching for the perfect football game, and while this is not it, it is still better than anything we've had up until now (and yes, I'm including Fifa '08).
This search has been going on from the days of Kick Off and Sensible Soccer, through FIFA International Soccer and the early-ish day of EA's FIFA franchise (up until 2004 where I finally decided that it was had pretty much nothing to do with Football). Sometime in 1997 I discovered Konami's International Superstar Soccer on the PS, and was blown away. My devotion to EA's franchise, and the fact that Konami were refusing to release to the PC, meant that I continued to buy FIFA titles for the time being. Until 2003 when PES3 came out for the PC.
I haven't looked back since then.
This latest version of PES incorporates the things that has made the series so much better than any other football game - the realistic ball dynamics, the realistic movement of the players, and the realisation that football is not an exact science, and that skill must be combined with hard work in order to achieve success. EA ignores this rule, and a quick glance at the marketing for any one of the recent FIFA titles will show that their primary concentration is on making football look as much like Americans think football should be - Namely, all flicks and tricks and beautiful volleys, runs, and glamour. Football is not necessarily about this, and when it is, it certainly shouldn't be taken for granted. With all versions of PES, and very much with this one, a beautiful goal is one that YOU have scored with the help of your team, not one that the computer has scored by you pressing the "score beautiful goal button".
My first test of any new football simulation is quite a sad one: I set up two teams I know well (Arsenal v Manchester Utd in this case, as that was the flavour of the week), and watch the computer take all aspects of the game. I play no part, other than that of judge and jury over the realisms of the game. Over the years I have seen all sorts of levels of realism in varying combinations of graphics and gameplay - not always with progress being made in either category over the course of time. This time, however, I was blown away. Both teams played a very real version of how I would expect their real-world counterparts to behave - even to the point of Ronaldo taking a dive when he realised he was going nowhere. Unlike the real world, however, the ref showed him a yellow card for simulation.
And simulation is the word. Some people on this page will have you believe that this is an arcade game, and some will even imply that FIFA is more realistic. I can only assume that these people are on EA's payroll, as I keep tabs on both games consistantly, and can only say that the only area that FIFA is ahead of PES in realism stakes is in the club franchises they have spent all their development money on buying.
To the people who complain about performance issues, it is perhaps surprising that they have not noticed that technology advances. There have been many times in my past when a computer game I have purchased has lead me to need an upgrade to a component or two of my computer. That said, however, this is not one of those occasions, and PES 2008 plays perfectly well on my fairly old Pentium 4 (albeit without super high res settings - that's just something to look forward to).
Fundamentally, though, I would highly recommend ignoring the naysayers on this site, as taking their advice would lead to you missing an opportunity to see this wonderfully well-thought-out game.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Devolution Soccer, 13 Nov 2007
Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars
Okay first things first, to pick up what a couple of reviewers have said about "ignore the bad reviews, i know what i'm talking about". A) That's just so annoyingly and dismissively arrogant, and B) I made the mistake of ignoring the bad reviews and bought it anyway.
Sure there'll be some people wanting to try the PES brand for the first time, but let's be honest most of the demographic are PES stalwarts and, like me, would've got it anyway. Cos.... Konami consitently give us what we want. Right?
Well this time, it seems like they've shown a couple of screenshots of versions gone by, and given the loose concept to a whole group of new guys to program from scratch. There's little of the hereditory 'feel' where you feel the sequel's at least evolved in some way from it's predecessor. From the word go i felt a tremendous sadness and disappointment... disappointment at the way centre backs defy conventions of collision detection and gawkily run 'through' the ball; midfielders leaving the ball behind despite it being at their feet; strikers inexplicably change their run as you try to play them in; oh and don't get me started on the goalkeepers. Ok then, do. The goalies panic when there's a shot hit at their near post and often can't be arsed coming for crosses if it's beyond their six-yard box.
Goalie: "Me Guv'nor? Sorry... i was gambling on the collision detection screwing up again. My bad. Next time i'll move, i promise."
It's a shame... not just because i adore the other PES games... all of them... but also because there are some cute ideas in PES 2008. The referee gets in the way sometimes, there's diving, players make bursting runs when you play a one-two... it's cool.
Y'know i stripped the game down to it's bare bones, turned the graphics to minimum spec, cos if anything PES games always have the playability. I don't care much for the licenses or official endorsements etc.... but it killed me to conclude that PES 2008 is little more than Fifa but without the gameplay. ie... it's like Fifa. The fluid, liquid gaming experience is gone, replaced by an awkward lurch of a game.
It's gutting. I so wanted to love this, you don't know how much. But i can't. It's a horrible mess, and i'm very angry.
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