PES 2014 Demo Impressions - kelvinmak's Blog

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kelvinmak's Blog

PES 2014 Demo Impressions Stuck

Posted on September 13, 2013 at 02:03 PM.

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I remember, way back in the day, when one of my friends first tried to convert me to from PC to a Mac. I asked him why I should switch, and he used the now quite popular phrase, �I don�t know, things just work.�

That�s kind of how I feel after spending time with the PES 2014 demo. Yes, there are a number of rough edges here and some legacy flaws there. But yet, when I was just playing, and not consciously looking for things to evaluate, somehow things just came together for a great experience. So yes, I had an enjoyable time, but, like my friend and his endorsement of Apple, it's kind of hard for me to actually pinpoint the specific reasons and elements as to why the demo was fun to play, except that, well, things just seem to work.

The most satisfying moments in this year�s demo, this should come as no surprise to long time PES fans, are when you have the ball at your feet. I hate to go back to that well again, but things just work the way they�re supposed to (most of the time, at least) when you have possession. It's incredibly fun to see your teammates move intelligently when you try to carve open some space.

The AI this year looks like they will be even more responsive and�hallelujah�proactive when it comes to initiating runs. I took a spin with Manchester United in the demo, and was amazed to see Rooney dropping deep to receive a pass, while at the very same time van Persie making his move forward. The first part of that, by now, is pretty much standard fare, but it�s the second part�van Persie playing off Rooney�s movement�that has me really excited. For the longest time in soccer games, AI teammates would only make their moves one step ahead, which I venture is also why one touch passing remained less effective than they are in real life. In the demo, however, there were moments when everything felt coordinated (but, crucially, not to the point of artificial) and the players seem like they can see beyond solely the very next step of play.

The CPU is also quite smart in constructing its attack. It really does feel like it�s taking what you give them rather than playing from a preprogrammed set of moves, or staying dogmatically to their tactical sliders. There were a few times when I tried to spam the teammate pressure button to win the ball early in the CPU�s on half, but they were smart enough to play a long ball up to their striker and bypass my pressure. And mind you, I was playing against teams like Spain and Germany, so it�s not like they�re conditioned to play route-one.

As for all the new fancily named features, let�s just say�again�they just work. Players feel like they have momentum and will have to move accordingly. Gone are the days when they can hit a ball properly while their bodies are in an unnatural position�instead they�ll have to gather themselves to regain their balance before doing so. That means, like it does in this year�s FIFA, you have to use the speed burst button at your own peril.

There�s also more physicality on the pitch, and thanks to FOX engine, the animations look quite realistic when coming together, whether it be shoulder barges or a target man holding the ball up. The ball itself feels, true to Konami�s claim, like a separate entity, and it especially shows when you�re trying to maneuver out of a tight space under pressure. The technically skilled players can tip-tap their way out, while lesser ones will invariably take a bad touch. It�s hard to explain fully what it�s like, but having the ball at your feet does feel different than in previous PES�. To bring out the old clich�, the ball doesn�t feel glued onto a player�s cleats anymore.

On the negative side, this wouldn't be PES without some goalkeeper and defensive AI issues. Goalkeepers, I found, tended to be overly conservative when it comes to coming off their line to challenge 1v1s, and they still make the odd gaffe here and there�nowhere near as many as some have reported playing the leaked demo, but they are still there in a reduced capacity. There were also moments (again, rare, but not rare enough to be just dismissed) when defenders would just switch off and let their man run by.

Graphically, it�s also a mixed bag at the moment. I don�t know how big of a factor the file size restriction was (for the record, I�m playing on a PS3), but the cut sequences are quite choppy, and there is a noticeable lag when the referee is about to blow the whistle. The player�s faces are, erm, interesting to say the least. They ranged from amazingly accurate (Lahm), to looking like they�ve put on some mascara and eye shadow (Vidic), to just way way way off (Rafael). However, as I�m sure you�ve all heard, Konami will continue to update player faces so this is something that can be resolved, hopefully, before the full release. In general, the graphics and animation are a step up from PES 13, but there are still some weird things that will jar you.

Another element that still needs work is the shooting, as currently it�s just too anticlimactic. Plenty of times I�ve shot from close range and the ball felt like it was floating through the air thinking it wasn�t going to go in, only to realize that the goalie was moving even slower and couldn�t reach it in time. I wish I can be more descriptive in what it�s really like, but basically, at the moment there are just too many instances when a shot (and a goal) lacks �oompf.�

So to round it all up, while there are still a number issues that Konami still hasn�t fully worked out (a few them are quite noticeable), somehow I still managed to have a lot of fun with the game. To me, at least from my time with the demo, this seems like one of those games where the sum is greater than its parts, and that despite the flaws, everything still comes together to present a very satisfying simulation of the beautiful game.

Comments

# 1 xman2k @ Sep 13

"looking for things to evaluate", that's my problem playing any sports games nowadays. Great review, after the first game I wasn't impressed, but when I started the second go around, I was hooked.

# 2 Dazraz @ Sep 13

For me I was far more impressed with the PES Demo than the FIFA Drmo. Looks & feels great.

# 3 Manny_Shevitz @ Sep 13

I've been having the exact same reaction to the demo. I didn't buy PES last year, because after downloading that demo, in spite of whatever improvements Konami claimed to have made, I just immediately felt all of the same old problems rearing their many heads like a Hydra of broken promises. But the 2014 demo just feels right. It's got that addictive fun factor that's been missing from PES for the past few years. It has some issues, and I'm sure some, if not all of them will remain in the final code, but the foundation is solid, and that has not been the case in quite some time.

# 4 karlos @ Sep 13

Fair write up. Really impressed with PES this year from what I've seen in the demos. It has issues but it also sprinkled with magic.

If you tried the US PSN demo then perhaps try the UK PSN demo - I have tried both - different file sizes and the UK demo is definitely more responsive and just feels a little more polished - player switching is better too which I found a problem in US demo. The Japanese PSN demo - Winning Eleven is reputed to be better still.

I also found the UK Xbox demo to be be better than the US PSN demo and similar to the UK PSN demo - maybe even slightly more responsive still and smoother frame rate.

Looking forward to trying PC version with crisper higher resolution graphics and much higher frame rates resulting in better response then his could be really special. PC demo supposedly post release.

# 5 mauro78 @ Sep 14

Karlos how to download jap demo from PSN?

# 6 willyfantastic @ Sep 14

you need a japanese psn account - not hard to set up, get a new usero n your ps3, and set up as if youre from japan. find any japanese address and away you go

# 7 karlos @ Sep 14

I have a US & UK PSN account but not Japanese. Same principle though.

Have to set up account by giving fictional Japanese address - like a hotel or business address. If you google it there will be a lot of guides online - required for Japanese because of the language barrier (for most !). I understand there is a Winning Eleven Englush version demo on the Japanese PSN.

Have you tried the US or UK PSN demo ?

# 8 karlos @ Sep 14

http://youtu.be/YOjsixzS1Bo

From full game which the youtuber says is an improvement over the demo. Full game Barca v Real - looks like the uploader can play some nice skills. Looks very interesting.

# 9 DBMcGee3 @ Sep 16

I couldn't disagree more about the shooting, I love shooting in this game. Banged one in off the bar with Ribery from about 20-25 yds out this morning and I almost had to change pants. The weight and trajectories of shots and passes just feels right, in my opinion.

I can agree about the keepers occasionally being too tentative, but generally any time I feel he should be coming off his line, I just do it manually and it is actually more rewarding when he dives on the ball or makes a good clearance. Sometimes I wonder if Konami has purposely done this to reward user control.