Digital Sportspage Blog

The PES 2008 demo is now available in North America, even though the game won’t be for months. After playing the demo for a while, it is clear that there are some aspects of gameplay where FIFA doesn’t hold a candle to the Winning Eleven series. However, if the demo reflects the finished product, it looks like the PES series may have taken a step back. Here are some of the problems I’ve had with the demo so far.

Game pace - Simply put, the game is too fast. I believe in some ways this is a feature, since increasing the number of animations per second allows the game to be more responsive. But previous versions of Winning Eleven/PES have been fine in the responsiveness department, without being this fast.

Shooting - Konami seems to have made shooting much more forgiving…to the point where it is difficult to shoot over the bar, even when holding down the shot button at full power. This does make the game easier, but it takes away the challenge of hitting the ball perfectly so that it’s neither weak nor in the stands. It also leads to less variety in shot types, as nearly every shot around the halfway mark on the power bar is a worm burner along the grass. Shooting also seems much more accurate as I’ve observed many more shots off the inside of the post that I’m accustomed to. Even misses seem too accurate, tending to go just wide. I actually miss seeing the horrible shanks that occurred in earlier versions of Winning Eleven.

Running - When dribbling with the ball, a player runs slower than when without the ball. In past versions of Winning Eleven, this was clear, as a sprinting dribbler would often get caught in a footrace by a defender, even if the defender was a little slower. Many have complained about this, and Konami seems to have responded by increasing dribble speed. Because of this, I’ve been able to sprint dribble from my own half of the midfield all the way to my opponent’s penalty box, with a defender always on my heels but unable to overtake me. Totally unrealistic.

Passing - Passing seems to be more accurate and quicker, and this combined with the nearly insane game speed make PES 2008 feel more arcade-like than previous versions of the game. One pass that is now deadly is the the ground cross (tap the cross button three times). This highly accurate pass often zips to an attacker, too quick and accurate to be intercepted and leading to lots of goals.

Although these are all problems (and in my opinion, steps backwards from previous versions of WE/PES), there are some things that the PES 2008 demo does much better than FIFA. A short list:

- Aerial play is more dynamic and much more realistic.
- Crosses are much better, both in pace and in unpredictability.
- Player differences are clear, and there’s an actual threat when defending a world class player.
- Players make intelligent off-the-ball runs on their own.
- Defenders are more “human”, making mistakes and creating realistic gaps in the defense more often.
- Ball physics.

Although the PES 2008 demo at first glance seems to be a step backwards, it’s difficult to say that FIFA has caught up considering its deficiencies.