Wii (or should I say we!) owners of the game on Nintendo’s machine voices are sometimes drowned out by all the talk of the next-gen offerings required improvements, so I thought it would be worth sharing a few ideas as to how Greyhounds underrated gem could improve for PES2011 and as a result potentially deliver a game Wii(right! this ends now!) can all be very proud of. It is also worth noting that with the Wii being the biggest selling console of this generation there is a potentially huge, untapped audience waiting in the wings, so why shouldn’t we wish to see the franchise continue to improve on Nintendo’s hardware.
More as always after the jump.
Before I start I should say that some of these suggestions are worthy of consideration for the next-gen titles too. Greyhound has arguably taken bigger bolder strides with the Wii version of the game and it should not go unnoticed by Seabass and the PES community as a whole.
So here they are in no particular order :
- Live Stamina – In theory the idea was a great one, but the reality was it proved a little flawed. For PES2011 Live Stamina should be fine tuned so as it doesn’t deteriorate so quickly and varies from player to player, and from position to position. Strength and stamina stats should also have more say on Live Stamina’s impact on a player. The feature should also be tweaked so as not to favour the attacking player in physical contact. Too often contact results in the player in possession and with sapped Live Stamina getting a free kick. If a player has beat his man and takes a knock then by all means he should get the decision, but not always in a 50-50 scenario or when players are shoulder to shoulder. The key would be having some kind of graphical representation of Live Stamina’s effects to go along with some physical representation. A slider in the pre-match screen that allows you toggle Live Stamina’s effects should also be considered.
- Option Files – Nintendo have taken the Microsoft approach to some of there titles game saves in that they cannot be copied from the console to SD card. PES on the Wii thus far has suffered as a result as all edit data and gameplay save data is in one file that cannot be copied over to SD card due to the save holding online performance data. Future editions – starting with PES2011 – need to have the edit data in a separate file in order for the editing communities to shine. PES’ editing suite on Wii is pretty expansive and as a result the game could do with allowing option file transfer as a result. It will only help get more people on board with the game. PES’ apparent weak sales on 360 pay testament to how important option file transfer is. This is something Konami cannot afford to not pay attention to.
- Match Engine/Gameplay philosophy – While it is probably not likely that the games engine will undergo any major overhaul regards animation and visuals, the game needs to adopt the best of the PS2 offerings regards pace, ebb and flow and of course keeper AI. PES2010 on Wii was erratic(though by no means completely broken) in it’s performance and was magnified more so when played via classic controller. PES5’s general gameplay matched with a well paced game speed would be the way to go. The game needs to capture some of the old titles intensity and overall philosophy of the game. 16 way movement could be considered but by no means is vital.
- Classic Controller/Classic Controller Pro – The game quite simply needs to deliver using this method of control. No compromises should be made whatsoever even if it means adjusting game speed and tweaking the engine to accommodate the hardcore players preferred method of playing the game. Control itself should be refined so as to realise the benefits of the Classic Controller Pro in particular, so tricks being performed via stick rotations should be looked into. In order to allow players using the classic control method to get some of the freedom that the Wii motion control uses, Manual Modifier Control, which I discuss HERE, should also feature. the games Wii remote specific set piece control, like knuckling free-kicks should also make it over to classic controller play.
- Wii Remote Control – Greyhound is progressing the game quite nicely in this department, but I suggest the freedom that this method of control offers should be more an extension of the classic control method and not necessarily a full blown alternative. More emphasis should be put on trying to capture more of the classic controls depth regards dribbling and shooting, so skill moves and player running speed should be mapped to the nunchucks stick and button configuration as well as more shot modification also being available to the player such as finesse strikes. Defending should allow more classic control style too. By offering more scope and depth to basic control when playing the game with the Wii remote setup this would allow for the games pace and intensity to feel less pedestrian.
- Master League – It is odd that the next-gen versions of the game borrowed some of the ideas that the Wii’s Champions Road mode introduced, yet the Master League in the Wii version did not receive similar attention, so this has to be addressed. Master League in the Wii version of the game also has to have at least have two divisions and both Champions League and Europa League present.
So there we have it. A few ideas that could help the Wii version of the game evolve further and perhaps even rival it’s next-gen big brothers. I am sure there are more the community out there might also have, So I will look into opening a dedicated Wii version feedback thread in the off chance some of our Wii specific ideas can be passed on.
