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Monday, November 2, 2015
01:41 PM - November 2, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
Konami's PES 2016 has only been out for roughly 60 days, yet the controversy surrounding the game continues to escalate. If you haven't been following the news, here's a brief recap of PES 2016:
- Early reviews and feedback from builds shown/played at Gamescom and E3 were very positive.
- The PES 2016 demo dropped before FIFA 16 (nearly a month before the game's official release) and the hype for release continued to build.
- PES 2016 released to favorable critic scores (8.0 on OS & 88 on Metacritic for the PS4 version) DESPITE not having updated rosters.
- Konami releases a statement saying that the offline rosters (Master League) will be updated on October 29, nearly 40 days after the game's release.
- October 29 rolls around and the official roster release isn't 100 percent accurate, missing deadline-day deals and others close to it (most notably, Anthony Martial from AS Monaco to Manchester United).
- On November 2 Konami releases this apology to fans.
If you're confused and frustrated, please know that you're not alone. In this day and age of instant gratification, there is no excuse for this kind of mix-up. All positive momentum Konami gained before and leading up to release has come to a grinding halt, and the explanation/apology Konami rolled out does little to inspire any confidence in a company that has recently announced its intentions of moving forward as primarily a mobile publisher.
It's already painful enough to have to wait until after the official European leagues kick-off to play the latest iteration of the series, but having to wait nearly two months to play the game's main mode is an additional slap in the face to a community that has done so much for the series over the years. As we wait to see how this saga plays out, it will be interesting to see the community's reaction and how this impacts PES' credibility moving forward.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
12:07 PM - October 28, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
FIFA 16's player career mode has been largely ignored over the past few years as Ultimate Team and the standard manager mode have taken up a majority of the development time. At its core, the player career mode can be a very fun and rewarding experience as you go from a youngster (the game starts off your created player as a 17-year old) to club captain and maybe even captain your country. Unfortunately, there's a lot in between that falls short of what we should be seeing in 2015. Here are three areas where the career mode could use some improvement...
Read More - FIFA 16: Three Areas Superstar Mode Could Improve
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
07:26 PM - October 20, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
While FIFA 16 does not offer the Career Mode overhaul that many crave, it still presents players with an offline experience full of fun and gratification. As with any mode, there are items that could be added or tweaked to provide a more realistic and enjoyable experience. In this piece, I will throw out five suggestions that could make Career Mode even better.
Read More - FIFA 16: Five Additions We'd Like to See in FIFA's Career Mode...
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
09:53 AM - September 22, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
FIFA is a game that divides the community like no other. On one hand there’s the online crowd, partly comprised of Ultimate Team fans who prefer a quicker pace and in general, more open gameplay. On the other, there is the offline simulation bunch who like to slow things down (whether it be through changing gameplay sliders or the speed of the game) and play primarily vs the CPU in Career Mode. While there are some who can navigate between both worlds, it’s clear that the two groups have separate ideas of what direction FIFA should take. If early indications are true, it looks like EA has listened to and catered the game to the simulation crowd.
Read More - FIFA 16 Review (PS4/XB1)
Monday, September 21, 2015
11:09 AM - September 21, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
On the surface, Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2016 looks a lot like the 2015 version which won various awards (IGN Best Sports Game of 2014 & 2015 Gamescom Best Sports Game) and received an “8.0” from this very site. It’s not until you spend a little bit of time with it that you fully realize the improvements the team over at Konami made to this proud franchise. From the initial kick-off to the final blow of the whistle, there’s a lot in between to satisfy your yearly footy fix.
Read More - PES 2016 Review (XB1/PS4)
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
10:08 AM - August 12, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
Between Gamescom and E3, there's a lot of positive buzz that many fans of the PES series will be expecting Konami to build upon as we move towards the release of PES 2016. While PES 2015 received critical acclaim, several notable enhancements went missing and prevented PES from reclaiming the soccer throne. It's what that in mind that I will take a look at what PES 2016 must get right.
Read More - PES 2016: The Keys to Success
Monday, July 6, 2015
03:45 PM - July 6, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
For a game that received such critical acclaim, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding PES 2016 going into E3 2015. For one, there was Konami's mid-May announcement stating that going forward mobile gaming would be their future. While that statement was clarified in early-June several outlets sparked furious debates regarding the future of PES After some reassurances from Konami, the release of a teaser trailer before E3 2015 helped to erase doubt and raise expectations for PES 2016 as they debuted this year's tagline "Love the Past, Play the Future."
A few days prior to E3 2015, the team over at Konami released their first features list. With some time to digest this list -- and to witness the game in action -- let's revisit what we've seen thus far...
Read More - Breaking Down the PES 2016 Features List
Sunday, June 14, 2015
With E3 upon us, our first real look at FIFA 16 is coming this week. After news released about the inclusion of the Women's National teams pre-empting this summer's Women's World Cup, many FIFA fans felt a bit disappointed there was not more news beyond that. As great as it is to have women's soccer being represented in FIFA, impatience still gets the better of all us at times, but in this instance it's best we practice a little bit of it. With another summer of footy action (the aforementioned Women's World Cup, MLS action, the crazy summer transfer rumors and Copa Sundamerica 2015) we'll have plenty of footy to keep us occupied as FIFA 16 news is slowly released. It's with that in mind that we'll take a look at what FIFA 16 must get right in order to maintain its spot on the throne.
Read More - FIFA 16 Keys to Success (Written by Kevin Groves)
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
10:25 AM - June 2, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
FIFA 15 Gameplay.
With the European season winding down, FIFA fans will still be going strong with FIFA 15. It's time to look at ahead by doing what we do best: compiling the ultimate FIFA 16 Wishlist.
Read More - The Ultimate FIFA 16 Wishlist
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
02:26 PM - February 24, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
Scour the internet (OS Other Sports Dynasty Forum, Twitch, etc…) for FIFA 15 career modes and you’ll quickly come to the conclusion that the majority of FIFA players don’t often leave the friendly confines of England when it comes to FIFA 15 Manager Mode. It’s totally understandable as the Barclays Premier League is the most popular league in the world and well represented in FIFA 15 with accurate stadium renditions, tons of player face scans, and live Matchday presentation. Going off the beaten path can be just as fun and quite the challenge. In this article we’ll take a look at a few of the other leagues represented in FIFA 15 which can offer hours upon hours of virtual footy enjoyment.
Read More - FIFA 15: The Road Less Traveled
Sunday, January 25, 2015
10:08 AM - January 25, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
"Play hard, play smart, play together, play to win."
Truer words are rarely spoken, especially when applied to the defensive side of the ball where defenders must be on the same page. It's with this in mind that we'll take a look at the defensive approach in PES 2015 after previously delving into the PES 2015 Offensive Tactics Guide.
Read More - PES 2015: Defensive Tactics Guide
Friday, January 9, 2015
10:03 AM - January 9, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
The great Dutch footballer and former Barcelona manager Johan Cruyff once said "Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple." It's in this vein that we'll explore the intricacies of PES' latest rendition as it relates to attacking and defending. In this first installment we'll take a look at the attacking side of the game because, let's be honest, strikers get the glory.
In order to set your side up for a successful attack in PES 2015 you'll need to take a few minutes to understand how PES 2015 is set up. The first area we'll take a look at is...
Read More - Pro Evolution Soccer 2015: Offensive Tactics Guide
Friday, December 19, 2014
01:12 PM - December 19, 2014. Posted by DustinT. Written by Kevin Groves
Achieving success in FIFA 15's Manager Mode can be challenging, even for the most experienced player. Building your ideal squad takes a mixture of skill, patience and a little bit of luck. With tools such as the Transfer/Loan Market and Youth Academy at your disposal, finding the right combination of experienced players mixed in with some promising youngsters can lead to sustained success. In this article we'll take a look at a few approaches centered around building a squad capable of winning trophies give some fairly common scenarios.
READ MORE - Achieving Your Ideal Squad Balance
Monday, November 17, 2014
05:25 PM - November 17, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
It's been an interesting year for Konami's PES team. While EA rushed to harness the power of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with FIFA 14, Konami decided to release PES 2014 on the Xbox 360 & PS3 utilizing the critically acclaimed Fox Engine. Despite receiving numerous gameplay patches throughout the year, PES 2014 often felt more frustrating than fun. Those who stayed the course with PES 2014 were ultimately rewarded with the best gameplay since PES 2011.
As news began to emerge on PES 2015, the community remained cautiously optimistic as Konami boasted that this year, "The Pitch is Ours." It's a claim that the community had heard before and all signs were pointing towards a pivotal year for a franchise that has seen its market share decrease in Europe and the United States over the past few years.
With the release of PES 2015, Konami has attempted to re-embrace its roots, focusing its attention on what it does best: gameplay. Now that kickoff whistle has blown, it's time to take to the pitch and see how successful PES 2015 is this year at replicating the beautiful game.
Read More - In PES 2015, The Old Magic is Back on the Pitch (XB1/PS4 Review)
Thursday, November 13, 2014
10:26 AM - November 13, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kevin Groves
With a plethora of slider options at your disposal in FIFA 15, the task to create a realistic experience can be quite daunting. Thankfully, Operation Sports has two of the best slider-makers in the business in Matt10 & Orion523, and they have recently joined forces in their quest for OS Community Sliders. They took time out from their busy schedules to answer a few questions for us...
Read More - The Quest for a Better Playing FIFA 15, An Interview With Matt10 And Orion523
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