TristanAbbott7
Starting XI
Ok, let's not dwell on how I got the game, irrelevant given I've already pre-ordered and paid top dollar for an original copy with priority shipping.
First Look
- Cool intro with some decent music. Much better than the WE9 intro. Rather than the street pick-up game, it has players doing skills moves against various backdrops with crazy special effects going on all around. The song that's played is really cool. The NTSC option is still there which is cool. Thankfully Konami realize there are a lot of us playing the game in N. America before we get WE9:I.
Main Menu
Terry replaces the Japanese player for the background. No 'Nippon Challenge' option equivalent. Load times seem faster than for WE9.
Edit Mode
*** Owen at Newcastle ***
Yes, mostly up to date freaking transfers - AT LAST!!!
Still a few ommissions but mostly up to date, the best Konami have ever managed with a PES release by a long way!
Gameplay
Faster than WE9. Not crazy fast but definitely faster, maybe a little too fast, not sure yet, maybe it'll just take some getting used to again. Most important thing for me - LESS FREAKING CONTACT FOULS FROM 50:50 SHOULDER BARGES. Thank you Konami. Bad points:
- Shots seem very, very fast even when not letting the shot bar go too far.
- Crowd on vacation problem still there.
- Bit of a slowdown in the box on some camera views (e.g. Broadcast)
- Dribbling still a bit of a nightmare on 5 stars even with Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Dang sidesteps still there 200 times a game! Have to get used to them for this year I guess.
- Goalkeepers will still only use two hands to save or just watch the ball fly in rather than make a one-handed save.
In-Game
Some new adboards, 4-4-2 Magazine, BT Broadband, to mention a couple. Look better than the default WE9 ones. Commentary seems pretty much the same as PES4 so far. Graphics very nice for the aging PS2, makes you wonder if there's anything left to pull out of it performance wise.
Overall
Well, I've only played about 10 games but it's an improvement over WE9 in a number of areas. The increased speed isn't a bonus for me as I thought WE9 was paced just right and the shots seem to zip off at a frightening speed even from people like Van Nistelrooy. The headers can be superhuman and the shooting from distance is still a little over-easy although they seemed a little more inaccurate than in WE9 which is good. After playing FIFA 06 on the PS2 for the last week which I've been enjoying, I can't say this has made me regret my decision to play both games this year rather than just stick with what Konami is offering. Looking forward to WE9:I though for my own country before I start any kind of editing in depth.
Anyway, worth the money as always despite my various issues with the game. Not sure it's going to move me from the fun I'm having with FIFA at the moment but we'll see.
Edited to say that the 'Network' option is disabled. This may be because this is not the final release (although I doubt it given the transfers are up to date) or some other reason.
First Look
- Cool intro with some decent music. Much better than the WE9 intro. Rather than the street pick-up game, it has players doing skills moves against various backdrops with crazy special effects going on all around. The song that's played is really cool. The NTSC option is still there which is cool. Thankfully Konami realize there are a lot of us playing the game in N. America before we get WE9:I.
Main Menu
Terry replaces the Japanese player for the background. No 'Nippon Challenge' option equivalent. Load times seem faster than for WE9.
Edit Mode
*** Owen at Newcastle ***
Yes, mostly up to date freaking transfers - AT LAST!!!
Still a few ommissions but mostly up to date, the best Konami have ever managed with a PES release by a long way!
Gameplay
Faster than WE9. Not crazy fast but definitely faster, maybe a little too fast, not sure yet, maybe it'll just take some getting used to again. Most important thing for me - LESS FREAKING CONTACT FOULS FROM 50:50 SHOULDER BARGES. Thank you Konami. Bad points:
- Shots seem very, very fast even when not letting the shot bar go too far.
- Crowd on vacation problem still there.
- Bit of a slowdown in the box on some camera views (e.g. Broadcast)
- Dribbling still a bit of a nightmare on 5 stars even with Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Dang sidesteps still there 200 times a game! Have to get used to them for this year I guess.
- Goalkeepers will still only use two hands to save or just watch the ball fly in rather than make a one-handed save.
In-Game
Some new adboards, 4-4-2 Magazine, BT Broadband, to mention a couple. Look better than the default WE9 ones. Commentary seems pretty much the same as PES4 so far. Graphics very nice for the aging PS2, makes you wonder if there's anything left to pull out of it performance wise.
Overall
Well, I've only played about 10 games but it's an improvement over WE9 in a number of areas. The increased speed isn't a bonus for me as I thought WE9 was paced just right and the shots seem to zip off at a frightening speed even from people like Van Nistelrooy. The headers can be superhuman and the shooting from distance is still a little over-easy although they seemed a little more inaccurate than in WE9 which is good. After playing FIFA 06 on the PS2 for the last week which I've been enjoying, I can't say this has made me regret my decision to play both games this year rather than just stick with what Konami is offering. Looking forward to WE9:I though for my own country before I start any kind of editing in depth.
Anyway, worth the money as always despite my various issues with the game. Not sure it's going to move me from the fun I'm having with FIFA at the moment but we'll see.
Edited to say that the 'Network' option is disabled. This may be because this is not the final release (although I doubt it given the transfers are up to date) or some other reason.