P
Perky Intruder
Guest
I'm going back to Winning Eleven 8: Liveware Evolution I am afraid.
Note: This review is based on my play as an analog user, the main issue I talk abot does not effect players who use the d-pad.
After 3 matches, I have seen about forty to fifty sidesteps by my team which I never intended to do, most of them on first touches which distrupted my play. Everyone is moaning at filthydani, yes he is going about it in the wrong way and spamming, but I am afraid what he is saying has a lot of truth in it. The fact is I can not be bothered to learn how to use the d-pad to control my players, and I was actually still enjoying Winning Eleven 8: Liveware Evolution where I had the choice if I wanted to do fancy moves and sidesteps, I do NOT like it being forced upon me.
So this is a direct warning to people thinking of purchasing the game, be prepared for a dramatic increase in the number of sidesteps.
Personally I think it's a real shame, so much of the game I liked. The menu system and presentation really has improved ten fold, the kit customisation is very handy and the edit mode looks superb. There are so many great new animations but these are overshadowed by the number of uncessary sidesteps. Often I would be passing out of defence, my defender would control it, sidestep, get tackled, and consequently surrender possession, that really did enfuriate me. The shooting system is also brilliant, I hit some cracking efforts and although the R2 shot isn't the "curling shot" people had hoped for it certainly is different to the normal shot.
Another aspect I didn't find endearing was the heading. The animations were definately improved, it was the results of the heading I found poor. A lot of times headers looked false and too fast, my first ever goal in WE9 came from a Joe Cole, yes, I did say Joe Cole, bullet header into the top corner, this was not something I was expecting.
The other thing that struck me as odd was the gameplay, reading the general opinions I couldn't figure out what to expect, some people were saying it was slower, others saying it was faster. What I found was the general game player was slower, but the actual passing and dribbling was faster. Perhaps it takes some getting used to, but this came across as rather unrealistic, it was almost like the animations were too quick for the gameplay?
The responsiveness of players is exceptional, you can really think before the ball gets to the players and play a quick first time pass, increasing the flexibility in attack build-ups, you can really play quick-fire passing triangles to split open your opposition. I did not notice any great changes in the off-the-ball AI, the runs were still slightly limited but the aerial through-balls and through-balls are now much more effective so you can make better use of the few runs your team do offer you
One thing which I didn't like was the fact that when the ball is on the far side of the field (away from the camera) the camera does not zoom in like it does in previous versions. This makes it feel too far away when you are playing on the far flank and this led to countless mistakes, dribbling off the field etc.
There are so many small inclusions which leave a smile on your face, as small as a player running into the net and putting their hands out to stop themselves tearing a hole in it. At the end of the day though, a sour taste is left in my mouth and this is what is making me head for the confines of Winning Eleven 8: Liveware Evolution.
A real, real shame - I can only hope other people who use the analog stick can find a way to reduce this problem.
Famitsu Style Rating: 31/40
Note: This review is based on my play as an analog user, the main issue I talk abot does not effect players who use the d-pad.
After 3 matches, I have seen about forty to fifty sidesteps by my team which I never intended to do, most of them on first touches which distrupted my play. Everyone is moaning at filthydani, yes he is going about it in the wrong way and spamming, but I am afraid what he is saying has a lot of truth in it. The fact is I can not be bothered to learn how to use the d-pad to control my players, and I was actually still enjoying Winning Eleven 8: Liveware Evolution where I had the choice if I wanted to do fancy moves and sidesteps, I do NOT like it being forced upon me.
So this is a direct warning to people thinking of purchasing the game, be prepared for a dramatic increase in the number of sidesteps.
Personally I think it's a real shame, so much of the game I liked. The menu system and presentation really has improved ten fold, the kit customisation is very handy and the edit mode looks superb. There are so many great new animations but these are overshadowed by the number of uncessary sidesteps. Often I would be passing out of defence, my defender would control it, sidestep, get tackled, and consequently surrender possession, that really did enfuriate me. The shooting system is also brilliant, I hit some cracking efforts and although the R2 shot isn't the "curling shot" people had hoped for it certainly is different to the normal shot.
Another aspect I didn't find endearing was the heading. The animations were definately improved, it was the results of the heading I found poor. A lot of times headers looked false and too fast, my first ever goal in WE9 came from a Joe Cole, yes, I did say Joe Cole, bullet header into the top corner, this was not something I was expecting.
The other thing that struck me as odd was the gameplay, reading the general opinions I couldn't figure out what to expect, some people were saying it was slower, others saying it was faster. What I found was the general game player was slower, but the actual passing and dribbling was faster. Perhaps it takes some getting used to, but this came across as rather unrealistic, it was almost like the animations were too quick for the gameplay?
The responsiveness of players is exceptional, you can really think before the ball gets to the players and play a quick first time pass, increasing the flexibility in attack build-ups, you can really play quick-fire passing triangles to split open your opposition. I did not notice any great changes in the off-the-ball AI, the runs were still slightly limited but the aerial through-balls and through-balls are now much more effective so you can make better use of the few runs your team do offer you
One thing which I didn't like was the fact that when the ball is on the far side of the field (away from the camera) the camera does not zoom in like it does in previous versions. This makes it feel too far away when you are playing on the far flank and this led to countless mistakes, dribbling off the field etc.
There are so many small inclusions which leave a smile on your face, as small as a player running into the net and putting their hands out to stop themselves tearing a hole in it.
At the end of the day though, a sour taste is left in my mouth and this is what is making me head for the confines of Winning Eleven 8: Liveware Evolution. A real, real shame - I can only hope other people who use the analog stick can find a way to reduce this problem.
Famitsu Style Rating: 31/40
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