I have played the game for about 20 hours now. I have won 2 cups with Man Utd and won the first D1 Leangue, D1 Cup with Man Utd. All at the Top Level (5 stars). Here is my review:
Video, Graphic: There is no distinctive improvement. But to be honest, I don’t care much, I still play Final Fantasy 7 sometime because it’s just so good (I beat it more than 19 times already)
Sound: Slightly Improvement. Aside from all the commentator we have all heard from PES5, there are some new lines now for Trevor and Peter to BS. At least now they can call up the name of the player dramatically (when he about to score).
Gameplay: A lot of changes
Defensive:
- A lot harder than before. In PES5 all I have to do is hold R1 run close to the opponent and time my X at the right time and I got 95% success rate. In PES6, If I hold R1 and run at 200 mph at Lampark, he will 100% move slightly to the side avoiding me and then run at 300 mph to the space behind me, and I’m telling you, it is almost impossible to catch up even when I have a decent guy like Rio Ferdinand.
- Good players are a lot more trickier (at least at 5 star level), if the ball are at the leg of Robben, Luis Garcia … some of those confident player, they will run all over you. Sometime I got one guy just run thru 3 of my defenders and score and all I can say is F***. I even get a feeling of the real defender when facing 1 on 1 with one of those Christiano Ronaldo type, when you just know, they are not gonna pass! And as I mention above, defending got harder, you really wish the guy just pass to someone else.
- To stop 1 on 1 situation, you really have to apply Real Knowledge in Defending Football here. Most of the time in PES6, you will only get the ball when you pressure them enuff for them to make a bad pass.
- Oh, and by the way, the notable defensive error is that: NO ONE gonna help you, your mates are either trust in you too much or just so scare of the attacker that they gonna back off from you doesn’t matter how much you scream: “HELP, ROBBEN’s gonna to rape me”. Konami really need to fix this problem
Offensive:
- It was really hard for me to score in my first ML season, I won about 20 games but most of them are all 1 – 0 or 2 – 1. I tried to apply all the tricks that help me to score about 15 goals in a match at 6 star in PES5 but none really work anymore in here.
- The shooting are a lot more real I think. In PES5 eventhough you might have someone close to you, if you are a good player like Rooney, you still gonna score with a bang. In PES6, I’m sure you can kill 2 birds at one with one of those sky high shot. It is so real though, and I LIKE IT, at first I think the it was BS considering I use C.Ronaldo shot about 10 shots and 9 were sky high. But when you look at it real like, C.R does shoot over the bar a lot. You really have to time the shot right and create space for yourself. When you been thru a lot, you will get a hang of it. Now I’m in my second season and at average I could score about 3 – 0 now.
- Crossing and heading are way more diffcult, I think in 20 hours of play, I score about 3 goals by heading. And 2 of them are free header. But that is the way to go, in real life, it is the same freaking thing, Man Utd had about 10 cross in a match and they all score from other situations, but they still play it, because that is the way to play. You have to use width to drag your opponents out.
- Passing improves a lot, and this is the DISTINCTIVE different from PES5 IMO. I have a lot more appreciate for player like Paul Scholes and Carrick now because of their awesome passing skill. In PES5, I use pacy midfielder because PACE is everything in football. However, now passing count a lot as you really have to work you midfield and keep procession of the ball. At the beginning I use C.R, Oshea, Scholes and Park JS in mid, and I lost the ball the most when the final ball is from Oshea.
- Passing also crucial in the final thru ball and counter attack, you will appreciate Carrick a lot when you need someone to deliver that final thru ball from your half to the other half to C.R to do a fast break from flank.
- Freekick: It is harder to score from more than 23 (meter or yard), the goal keeper move faster, they don’t even have to jump to catch any more. I have score 1 so far from 19 meters ( and I consider myself a pretty good freekicker)
Referee, game rules and other matter:
- Cards are handed out WAY MORE CORRECTLY then in PES5. How many times in PES5 when you are in a 1 on 1 with the gk and then that mother f*** CB just ram you with his feet right on your neck that you have to go to hospital for 12 weeks and all that CB get is a freaking talk show with a Ref. No more here brothers, if that f*** CB is the last defender, you have a good chance to give him a Red card by drawing the fault from him, especially if you already pass him. Even in midfield if the opponents tackle you hard, he will get Yellow card easily. All I say is: JUSTICE IS DONE.
- A lot of 1 on 1 situations with defender. This is definitely an unique feature of PES6. I have got myself in a lot of 1 on 1, it seems to me like Konami wants to encourage the 1 on 1 football so much that one you got into it, no defender gonna help out the poor defender guy. I have so much space around me whenever I engage into a 1on1 battle. No defender run behind me, no defender even care running back cover for the poor lad that I gonna jump all over.
- In a 1 on 1, the defender gonna back up just like real life football, you will have a lot of time to do the usual step over and bust thru the side.
There are some other changes but I’m writing too much already. Later.