Wow, what a day! Plenty of video, plenty of negativity, plenty of positivity. As you would expect really. After a long look at the boards, we give our thoughts on what first day of Gamescom brought the PES community.
It’s been difficult for me on so many levels today. I’ve watched boards get overrun with the usual negativity that follows PES these days, the two have become synonymous with one another. What I’ve found though is that much of it is rash judgement, and what tends to happen is that as the day goes on people start to take everything in and formulate a more considered opinion.
Animations have been the hot talking point, and while key movements are worryingly familiar, the difference from this year to last year is profound. Unfortunately, thats a comparison that doesn’t sit well with everyone – understandably. When me and Suff sat in front of Jon Murphy back in June he asked us what the one thing we would like to pass onto the development. I said ‘its all about the animations’. Jon, along with press releases before him, confirmed much work will be done in this field, and to expect a game that moved realistically and convincingly. Whilst there is improvement, the impact of such things have been lost in translation.
Then there’s the worryingly consistent feedback we’ve been getting from press at the event, stating response times are extremely poor, with the instant movement PES is known for non-existent. That, along with glitches, seem to be leaving most testers with a bad taste in their mouths.
All this would worry most, but I stand by my commitment to believing that PES 2010 will be a game to remember. Not crazy blinded loyalty, but more a look to the response and playtest reports compiled days before the event. After all this talk of PES 2010 not being up to standard, we can’t dismiss previews from Eurogamer, IGN, GameSpot etc etc this week. All the big sites spoke of surprise and enjoyment at playing the latest code, after been very skeptical after their initial hands-on in June.
Then there’s the reports from PESFan that the code on show floor is behind the code they have, perhaps eradicating fears of glitches and poor response times. And while that’s reassuring, it’s concerning to think how the public will respond to the code in the coming days. Surely an inferior code is the last thing you want people to see? Clearly Konami haven’t thought this one through.
But criticisms aside, the one thing that shines above everything has to be the visuals. While it’s been dragged into the background by gameplay issues (rightly so), I didn’t want to simply dismiss it altogether. Revolution is a big word, perhaps a word ourselves and Konami should think twice before using freely, but you can use it to describe what Seabass and co have achieved this year in the front end.
If Konami do iron out these bugs and keep their word on animations and fluidity – that coupled with the gorgeous graphics will surely make PES 2010 a winner.
Pop back tomorrow for more from Gamescom, including the much anticipated Seabass interview!
