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[lachesis]

What's the general verdic?
I've been hearing things regarding Namco's football kingdom as a decent soccer sim, especially for national teams. Even WE8 is copying lots of elements from it. Although my pre-order copy of WE8 should arrive my office by tomorrow - but I'm wondering if I should give FK a try-out. So, how's the game compared to WE?

lachesis

 

[Fowler]

I actually hadn't seen anything on Football Kingdom... I'll check it out next time I go down to the shops. That won't be for a while though, been playng WE8 non-stop for a few days

 

[lachesis]

you already have WE8? Wow...

Anyhow, I've been reading around the reviews, impressions on various websites, and alot of people actually don't like the changes made in WE8, I realized. (Some saying that it feels more like "Fifa", rather than traditional WE8), with slow-downs, etc. I have to judge it for myself - as I had similar feeling regarding first WE7 when it first came out. (Still, I don't like WE7 - but I loved WE7I jp ver.)

Can't wait, really.

lachesis

 

[AstroLad]

you already have WE8? Wow...

Anyhow, I've been reading around the reviews, impressions on various websites, and alot of people actually don't like the changes made in WE8, I realized. (Some saying that it feels more like "Fifa", rather than traditional WE8), with slow-downs, etc. I have to judge it for myself - as I had similar feeling regarding first WE7 when it first came out. (Still, I don't like WE7 - but I loved WE7I jp ver.)

Can't wait, really.

lachesis

I remember a lot of people saying that about WE7, too, which pwned; I'm sure WE8 is probably the same, plus there's a mode after 5 stars I believe, and you can't get much less "FIFA" than WE 5 stars.

 

[cja]

Think the "feels like FIFA" comments, every time a new WE/PES gets released, comes about 'cause the subtle changes make the game seem so unfamiliar. Against the comp many start playing on 3 star again so it is more of an arcade-like experience while in multi-player you can get some high scoring games due to the altered defensive nuances. Certainly, for me, the tweaks in tackling, off the ball movement and closing down are the most difficult aspects of each new WE/PES to grapple. Haven't played WE8 yet but from the great IGN preview it seems it takes more concentration and composure to deal with talented strikers than ever before.

There's a 1000+ post thread on Football Kingdom at evo-web (may need to register to view, well worth it for all the footie talk) for anyone who wants to read up on the game more. Haven't heard anything about a European release :\ .

 

[Socreges]

First impressions of new Winning Elevens should never be trusted. They always play differently and are difficult to adjust to. People don't feel comfortable playing and can be quick to criticize the game. Give them a week and suddenly everyone is singing its praises and deeply appreciative of the changes. Then, however, the new version comes back and people look back at the previous one with distaste. It's a constant cycle. I've trained myself not to become a part of it and not make up my mind immediately.

I've played a couple dozen matches of WE8 now and I still have a difficult time of expressing how the overall game has changed without resorting to finer details. The passing is much better. You can hold X to fire a pass to distant teammates along the ground. And through passes are now extremely dangerous. CPU players make more frequent and intelligent runs. They're also longer (ie, L1 + X --> instead of returning the pass, pass it to someone else, who can send it to the person who you initially sent running). Dribbling is also much better, though difficult to get used to. I feel like I've got more control over the ball (tap R2 once and you quickly stop dead, but can cut away quickly - it's a very fun and realistic way to beat defenders and maintain possession), but the ball doesn't stick to the feet as easily as it did before. The AI is also noticeably improved and is better at checking, so possession can never be careless.

My one complaint is the slowdown. When there's a lot of activity inside the box, the game starts to chug. But turning the crowds to 1 star effect has seriously helped the issue. I can play at the Wide angle (furthest out) and the framerate doesn't interfere much.

5 star is more difficult so far. To the point where a loss might be because I wasn't good enough to win, rather than just being unlucky. Mostly because I haven't gelled with the game yet, but the AI is definitely better. 6 star should be interesting.

 

[Socreges]

New actions:

http://darada.altervista.org/P1010001.mov

(no, i dont know how it was done)

http://www.wearepes.com/~akhena/we8/cap1.mpg
http://pesgroningen.ath.cx/files/fakefreekick.AVI
http://www.harvy2001.plus.com/pires01.wmv

http://www.zen24241.zen.co.uk/kevano/ (bunch more. one that illustrates the R2 stop that I was talking about)