Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 Demo #1 Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

[spartansocc12]

Pro:

-The passing especially on manual is fun and should present a steep learning curve.
-Shooting is much improved.
-User AI defending and ball winning is excellent
-Goalkeepers are way better. Generally they are more active and the animations make sense. I have yet to see a goalie simply look at a ball without reacting when a save should have been attempted.
-The player characteristics are very noticeable. Right away playing as Italy, Pirlo leans back to pass balls in the air. His balls also die in the grass as the approach the receiver. This could be based off his player ratings. Whatever it may be, he along with other players are distinct when controlling them.
-Passing the ball on the ground especially out of the back seems riskier which makes it a bit more challenging to keep possession. The game generally does a very good job of making the middle of the pitch feel congested when many players are present in that area of the field.
-The pace of the game is also very good.
-The games can be very cerebral especially when attempting to break down the CPU defense.

Cons:

-It is still far to easy to out possess the computer on Superstar difficulty. Although the game does a great job of making it difficult to score, it is very easy to keep the ball away from the computer when playing methodically. At some point, the computer should attempt to push me into my own half and move their lines in order to close down spaces deep in my end. Instead, the computer is willing to allow me to have the ball as long a it is away from their goal even if they don't see the ball much for the entire game. This would be OK if the match ups favored this (Italy dominating possession vs England in the Euros), but when two teams that are typically good at keeping the ball play one another, it should be a challenge to not only score, but to also hold possession. If I am playing vs Barcelona or Spain on Superstar difficulty, I should expect to only have the ball 25-35% of the time. To out possess them would be incredibly unrealistic. Actually, I can't remember a time where I have ever been out possessed in PES 2012 when playing on the hardest difficulty. This hopefully will not be the case when PES 2013 is released.

I usually play on fully manual. This makes the passing stats and flow of the game more divided, but when using one bar of assistance, I can almost guarantee that I will have the ball 60-75%+ vs. the best teams on the hardest difficulty.

-Long balls are much better now, but they seem to go directly to my player when using a minimal amount of assistance. It would be great if we could designate assistance levels for both ground and aerial passes.


Overall, the demo is fantastic. The individual player characteristics works very well. I would like to see the CPU teams play more distinctly. Playing vs England as opposed to Germany should feel completely different. Their styles should be more pronounced. Currently (and in PES 2012) too often it feels like the only difference between teams is their level of difficulty.

Ex. Spain is better than England, so I know they will be harder to win against. However, I do not expect Spain to out possess me nor do I expect England to play organized tight defense while willingly conceding the ball. It is a great addition to have individual player IDs, but without the context of the team around them, it feels shallow.

[whitehippo24]

Here's a goal I put in last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siCbrME7QL8&sns=em

[kennyacid]

They need to add an option to turn on manual pass , just like they have the option to turn on manual shot so that L2 button press can get eliminated all together. Might just try turning the pass assist to 0 and see how that is.

[Yeats]

Quote: Originally Posted by kennyacid

They need to add an option to turn on manual pass , just like they have the option to turn on manual shot so that L2 button press can get eliminated all together. Might just try turning the pass assist to 0 and see how that is.

The pass assist bar is the same as the manual shot button, just a different setup. Pass assist to 0 = manual, no need for the L2 modifier after that.

[ezio]

Quote: Originally Posted by rckabillyRaider

a couple quick impressions.... -Through balls still seem a bit too effective, especially for the CPU AI.

I agree with this. that is my only real complaint right now. The same goes for balls over the top of the defense too. Although I think it is a little easier to cut it off but it is still too effective.

[aloncho11]

Dynamic first touch in action

[RoyceDa59]

Only got to play the demo about four times at a mates place but I really like what I saw especially with me playing as England and Italy a few times. Did anyone get a chance to mess around with the tactics? Example would be to see if you were able to make the defence play further back or further up.

[ezio]

Quote: Originally Posted by RoyceDa59

Only got to play the demo about four times at a mates place but I really like what I saw especially with me playing as England and Italy a few times. Did anyone get a chance to mess around with the tactics? Example would be to see if you were able to make the defence play further back or further up.

Yes you can. But you can only do it with certain formations. As an example, if it set to posession it will only allow you to set the Defensive line so far. If you switch it to standard then you can change it. I did it once to try and deal with the CPU through balls so I changed it to have the defensive line play deep. I honestly don't recall the results but I think it helped will do it agian and see