Sorry but this game = fail.
Whoever gave the go ahead for it to go live on sale on the PS3 needs to be shot. The game is a bug ridden mess. No matter the settings the gameplay jitters, is sluggish, and controlling players is akin to a football pitch full of pensioners with their walking aids trying to hold on to that very last minute of life.
I have no idea why Konami would even consider this in its current state ready for people to play.
Disgraceful…
I haven’t played it on PS3 so can’t comment on the state of that build but the offline on pitch play on the 360 is second to none. It is easily the greatest football sim that I have played. Once you get away from the offline on pitch action, things then start to go awry.
Players likenesses leave a lot to be desired, but there is a promised data pack with 100s of new likenesses. The non licenced teams don’t really annoy me, I actually enjoy the editor, but this can be seen as a big issue for some people, but unfortunately there’s not much Konami can do about that. They add new licences every year (Argentina and Chile along with AFC Champions League to add to Champions League, Europa League and Copa Libertadores)
The game does suffer some slow down, but not on the pitch, in the cut scenes and pre match preparations. The menu presentations are fugly and the online is a shambles. If you get online and have a game, it works as well as the offline (So long as you don’t use Advanced Through Balls, where once you pass the ball the receiver will automatically play another pass, whether you want to or not. Stick to Basic Through Balls) But getting online is next to impossible. I played almost exclusively Master League Online for the past couple of years so I want to get back into it in this one, but have only played 5 matches since release as the service constantly seems to be unavailable.
But I cannot fault the on pitch action, it is “sluggish” in comparison to previous PES because it has slowed down the action and made it more realistic. Every PES comes with a new learning curve and this one more than most as it has moved to the FOX engine. But the gameplay is sublime, I don’t know why you think otherwise, everything you do has a consequence and there’s never been a mistake made in the game that I’ve thought wasn’t my fault. The physics are superb, the player movements are fluid and realistic, the AI makes more intelligent runs than I could have hoped for, overall it’s the best game of football I’ve played. The general consensus amongst critics is also that the on pitch action is great, but let down by everything surrounding it. I honestly can’t fathom how anyone would think otherwise.