Pro Evo v Fifa

[vocoderfreak]

Ok folks, I have been out of the football game loop for a few years but am looking to get back into it, my enthusiasm for the game currently at a fair-weather high what with Portsmouth doing so well in the Premier league (not set to last!). So I wondered about setting up a separate topic where people could debate the merits of Pro Evo this year versus Fifa. It seems to me that we are at a point where the two games have their share of positives yet both are playing a very different game of football. Having played both the demos on Live, I have to say that I preferred Fifa, which surprised me as I am very much a Pro Evo player. But it seems that Pro Evo has gone down a quicker, slicker route whereas Fifa seems more about build up and simulation this year. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I thought I would set this topic up so that people who have played the games could put forward their merits and discuss.

[Jebus]

On a very basic level :

If you want a very good football simulation that is fully licensed with up to date teams and with LOADS of online options including leagues AND interactive leagues (play real life fixtures in a bigger league) then it's FIFA you want. It also has the "Be a pro" mode which is fascinating and apparently they are releasing DLC soon (for free by the way) to allow 5 vs 5 (I think its 5 vs 5 anyway, or thereabouts) online. EA has shown lots of intuition and the want to make their games better.

If you want a very good arcadey football game with very little licensing and not quite up to date teams and with literally 1 vs 1 online (that is laggy as hell at the moment and damn near unplayable) then it's Pro Evo 2008 you want. Konami has shown that they are willing to release the same game year in year out with minor updates and (imho) no real advancements to the game online or offline, such hideous irony as that is what EA were guilty of previously.

However, I think there is a place in your home for both games as they play SO differently, and the people on here will still be playing Pro Evo 2008 over FIFA I'd expect.

[Bleeders]

FIFA 08 has impressed me this year, not only has it moved on progressively since the previous iterations, EA Montreal have incorperated an online featureset that is far beyond PES and plays pretty well to boot; the package as a whole is a footballers fan's wet dream if that's what they go for.

That's not to say the game itself plays pap, quite the contrary. It's getting there and to be fair it's not far off at all from playing an excellent sim-based game of football. In fact, both games have done a complete 180 on each other, since from limited play, PES2008 plays more like the arcadey, end-to-end game of football. The problem with PES is that it hasn't moved on much for the last few years, owing pretty much to limited resources, an engine that has been the basis of the series for aeons (which IMO, is starting to show it's age a little now) and on the surface, perhaps a lack of impetus to change things up and really evolve the series onto a new plateau, which obviously is down to the fact that the game is a good seller across all formats, especially PS2.

Both games are coming from different perspectives and as such, there's no reason as to why both can't happily co-exist in anyones collection, IMO.

If your bothered about online options, licensing etc. Then it's FIFA 08, if not and you prefer the tried-and-tested methods of PES, then go for that, either way you'll get a decent game of footie.

[eastyy]

i only play football games very occasionally to me personally all football games play similar

got pro evolution for the ps2 that has done me pretty much ever since

[Jebus]

The problem with PES is that it hasn't moved on much for the last few years

Both games are coming from different perspectives and as such, there's no reason as to why both can't happily co-exist in anyones collection, IMO.

Thank you Bleeders, thought I was alone!!

I agree with you as well as I said, they both deserve to be in any footy fan's gaming collection.

[Bleeders]

Absolutely, I'll end up with both no doubt.

Random thought;

One thing I've loved and hated in equal measure about PES has been it's "luck" scripting. We've all experienced it. Pummelling opponents with shot after shot after shot, narray a goal has gone in, then they saunter up the other end and rifle there only chance into the net. Similarly, it works the other way as well, I remember competing in the National PES League when PES5 was the game of choice and being absolutely pummelled by one of the higher ranked players, yet I managed to walk away with a 2-1 win under my belt.

Whilst I do enjoy FIFA 08, I'm thinking maybe it's lacking this little piece of frustrating character (if that makes any sense?!?!) to really elevate it above PES?

[Jebus]

Oh I know exactly how you feel...played nearly 20 matches yesterday trying to get the "Score from 35 meters" achievement...no luck.

So frustrating, the shots seem to go all over the place!

I'm not sure I'd miss that If you're the better player you should win, not be cheated by "luck" but I guess that's like real footy!

[Bleeders]

Exactly, it does happen. Giant-killer matches en' all that, as I said frustrating and elating in equal measures.

[hudson]

I personally find FIFA a joy to flick through due to all the nice official teams and cups, them gets my juices flowing. Graphically it's a mixed bag. Players look like fantasy creatures. Ogres, zombies and imps are rife here. Not so moist.

Gameplay is not very enjoyable for me. Found it quite easy to net, found the one on one with a defender upsetting to do have to rely on a trick as turning quickly with and a quick touch seemed non existent and was achieved with luck. I never really felt i have full control of my players. I felt like I was fighting animations i.e "You can't do what you want to do just yet as we want to finish this current animation, doesn't it look great?"

Bottom line is this plays differently than PES. I personally think they gave up trying to be PES i.e adding PES controls systems etc and have decided "no, we're different type of soccer- yeah we're a siulation now"... no, to me, the closest thing I can get to footy on a console or PC is with PES... regardless of which version. I just feel like I have more control over my players, you need to practice at it, it requires some skill, it's a top laugh and it's the champion game of all.

The day the FIFA license is handed over to Konami is the day called Judgement Day where thousands are left naked holding nothing but soccer lies and ogre bones.

Viva the evolution!

lol YNWA

[babs]

Oh I know exactly how you feel...played nearly 20 matches yesterday trying to get the "Score from 35 meters" achievement...no luck.

So frustrating, the shots seem to go all over the place!

I'm not sure I'd miss that If you're the better player you should win, not be cheated by "luck" but I guess that's like real footy!

This is the beauty of PES for me, the fact that simple things like making room, using the right foot and setting up are so important. Yeah, you can nip in the 18yd box and score without too much thought, but for things like the long shots it's worth experimenting until you get the technique down.

For example knock the ball out of your feet from standing, make sure you aren't running with a full sprint, make sure the ball's out to one side a little to get the foot around it rather than toe-poking. Watch the timing too. To some it sounds like too much depth, but when you start working with it like this it's amazing the difference it makes. The number of times I've managed to stop people spooning the ball over the bar or as wide as Geoff Thomas would just by getting them to release R1 is daft.

[Bleeders]

Pulling back on the stick/pad helps as well just before the point where the player strikes the ball, keeps the ball low I've found in my experience.

[hudson]

A good example of how deep the mechanics of PES are. I seriously recommend the guide this year. It comes with an excellent coaching DVD. Plus the book itself is great... sneaky peek it here (official link).

[Ajay1986]

No doubt PES plays well but its by no means perfect and tbh Konami's lack of progress with the games is shocking to put it lightly.

Im still playing FIFA which is great but i know i'll be playing PES more due to online play with you guys just like with PES6, which makes Konami's laziness even more annoying. If EA can manage to make a good game of football with tons of great features then i see no reason why Konami couldnt have.

I think PES needs a massive overhaul in the next couple of years if it wants to be undisputed king like 2-3 years ago. PES is great but if Konami had put the effort into it that EA put into FIFA it could be sooooo much better.

[eastyy]

well was thinking as EA have done with fight night and skate perhaps a new control system might be in order

[Yoshimax]

I can see that happening - they're really trying to evolve controls (NHL adopted the "twin stick" style as well) but I dunno how they'd do that with FIFA - Perhaps they left be a pro mode out for now so that when they release it they can measure how well it does/how much it's used.

From there, if it's really popular, I can see next years gaming focusing primarily on that and the controls being adapted to suit.

Could make for interesting times...