FIFA 09 Demo Available, Impressions Here

[Vince]

player models are amazing.

the responsiveness alone has made this already a must buy.

[Acid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vince

Wow, they removed the jockey buttons.

L trigger, right?

I'm loving the aerial game, I'll dominate with Adebayor in my Arsenal manager mode.

I just hope the FKs are fixed by then, they annoy the **** out of me now.

[kcxiv]

Anyone else feel that its a bit herky jerky this year? i only played a little of the demo on the ps3 though. I didnt play it all that much, but it didnt feel as smooth as 08. I will have to play more though.

[stmark]

loving the demo this game will be better than last years its more responsive and setting up your tactics is fun....... change of between sprint and regular feels way more balanced.....cpu take more outside the box shots which i like keeps you honest on defense ill play more tomorow

[stmark]

Quote: Originally Posted by kcxiv

Anyone else feel that its a bit herky jerky this year? i only played a little of the demo on the ps3 though. I didnt play it all that much, but it didnt feel as smooth as 08. I will have to play more though.

no it felt pretty smooth to me better than 08 imo

[taiketsu]

The demo looks great and there's so much to like, but after hours of play I have 2 growing complaints:

1.) Does anybody else feel the goalies are too good?

Having been a PES devotee for the past 5 years (except 2008), there are certain situations where I KNOW I am very likely to score if I can delicately maneuver into an opening without mistakes. Generally, if I get past the last defender with a driving shot at a decent angle, the PES goalie will at least be off-balance and forced to block the shot, if it hasn't hit the net already. Then it becomes a matter of which team can reach for the rebound, first. These kind of situations in real-life soccer are also likely to produce goals, as many of you football fans know. Granted, there are rare moments in PES when a shot will fly wide/high, depending on if striker's ratings, his body orientation to the goal, defensive pressure etc.

When playing the demo at "world class", all my shots look and feel dangerous, as they're fast and driving strikes coming at all sorts of angles but the goalie catches them with ease. I'm convinced he's applied glue to his gloves. Another possible factor to this feeling is that there's a lack of variation in shot speed. As I mentioned before, all the shots LOOK deadly, but it's hard to tell what's really a good strike. In PES, it was pretty obvious when a shot wasn't going in, but in FIFA09, since all my shots look so deadly, I feel as if the goalie should be having trouble with most of them.

Perhaps I haven't spent enough time with the game, but do you FIFA veterans have any strategies that or runs you use to consistently produce goals in this series?

2.) Speaking of a lack of variation, there doesn't seem to be too much difference between the players in ability during offense. I'm able to produce a very a similar posession% and on-target goals with Toronto as I do when using Chelsea, AC, or Real. This might not all be bad, since players who use lower ranked teams might have a chance against players using the big clubs, now but I seriously felt the difference should be more pronounced.

On the up side, the improved "physicality" is not hype! I can certainly feel my bigger defenders out-muscle weaker players off the ball.

Also, the team tactics really gives each team unprecedented strategic character. I was very impressed when a cpu-controlled AC Milan sat back on their half after going 1-0, or when Real Madrid ran their weaving plays.

[Vince]

Quote: Originally Posted by Acid

L trigger, right? I'm loving the aerial game, I'll dominate with Adebayor in my Arsenal manager mode. I just hope the FKs are fixed by then, they annoy the **** out of me now.

I think if you did L trigger + R trigger it would initiate it.

[demencia_total]

Quote: Originally Posted by taiketsu

The demo looks great and there's so much to like, but after hours of play I have 2 growing complaints: 1.) Does anybody else feel the goalies are too good? Having been a PES devotee for the past 5 years (except 2008), there are certain situations where I KNOW I am very likely to score if I can delicately maneuver into an opening without mistakes. Generally, if I get past the last defender with a driving shot at a decent angle, the PES goalie will at least be off-balance and forced to block the shot, if it hasn't hit the net already. Then it becomes a matter of which team can reach for the rebound, first. These kind of situations in real-life soccer are also likely to produce goals, as many of you football fans know. Granted, there are rare moments in PES when a shot will fly wide/high, depending on if striker's ratings, his body orientation to the goal, defensive pressure etc. When playing the demo at "world class", all my shots look and feel dangerous, as they're fast and driving strikes coming at all sorts of angles but the goalie catches them with ease. I'm convinced he's applied glue to his gloves. Another possible factor to this feeling is that there's a lack of variation in shot speed. As I mentioned before, all the shots LOOK deadly, but it's hard to tell what's really a good strike. In PES, it was pretty obvious when a shot wasn't going in, but in FIFA09, since all my shots look so deadly, I feel as if the goalie should be having trouble with most of them. Perhaps I haven't spent enough time with the game, but do you FIFA veterans have any strategies that or runs you use to consistently produce goals in this series? 2.) Speaking of a lack of variation, there doesn't seem to be too much difference between the players in ability during offense. I'm able to produce a very a similar posession% and on-target goals with Toronto as I do when using Chelsea, AC, or Real. This might not all be bad, since players who use lower ranked teams might have a chance against players using the big clubs, now but I seriously felt the difference should be more pronounced. On the up side, the improved "physicality" is not hype! I can certainly feel my bigger defenders out-muscle weaker players off the ball. Also, the team tactics really gives each team unprecedented strategic character. I was very impressed when a cpu-controlled AC Milan sat back on their half after going 1-0, or when Real Madrid ran their weaving plays.

1) At first, I felt the same way. But after playing 20+ games (I'm freaking addicted, although 4 minutes game do fly by) I can honestly say that they weren't over hyping the more realistic behavior of the goalkeepers. You can also tell the difference between say, Cech, & Toronto FC's GK in terms of how well they react towards certain situations. The best GK's seem to cover the corner angles effectively and have good twitch reactions, but you can still get a well placed shot past them. They just seem more natural, whereas in 08 and Euro they seemed really unrealistic in their behavior, going from superhuman to completely ******** from play to play.

My only tip so far would be to try and use the finesse shot whenever possible, specially when trying to hit an angle, instead of firing a powerful straight shot. This also works well when the GK charges you, because you can precisely place the shot around him and still be on target. It's much easier than trying a lob shot, which often goes over if the power isn't precise, and the regular power shots often drift away if not close enough to the goal.

As far as getting opportunities at goal, triggering runs for your teammates while creating space for yourself while in possession of the ball works great, as well as lob crosses after the run is triggered. It's not a surefire thing like it was in 08 to the point that it was major cheesing, but it works if the players making the run are not too close to the GK. The AI defenders react well to these this year, but it can lead to some clear chances vs the GK if timed right and with a little luck.

2) I've noticed this too, but I still think that the players with better balance and dribbling skills can survive contact better and keep possession of the ball to keep the offense flowing more consistently than the weaker ones. For example, if I try to play possession football with Toronto and the AI is being aggressive on defense, I end up losing possession easier than if I acted more proactively to push the ball forward with longer passes since their players aren't as skilled dribblers. But yeah, there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in how you can perform with the different teams, even if they are employing different tactics and are of different skill levels in the demo. It's kind of hard to pinpoint and explain, but I think I see what you mean.