All Things ViDEO GAMES

[tet]

omg, this is INSANE:

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/10/07/littlebigplanet-used-to-create-1600-part-calculator-video

you have GOT to watch the whole video - it is just nuts to imagine the sheer scale of this level design until seeing it!  the person who designed this is extraordinarily smart - they have used a (PS3, or) counting machine so advanced it can display HD graphics and allow for enough environmental interactions to create a basic counting machine.  in a game. 

mind bottling.

like my mind is all trapped up in a bottle.

[thechad]

That's insane, that person does need to get out more however.  :-)

[VA $l!m]

playing some "ratchet and clank: tools of destruction"

[VA $l!m]

well i got madden 09 the other day and left it at my buds house where we play...very fun.
great version this year, much more realistic gaming. A+
must have, IMO.


then i got socom today... all was great, i got it, my new bluetooth headset, and found my old clan right away.
had a blast playin a few games, but by the time dinner came around and everyone else had the game and logged on... of course the sever crashed..suck suck suck. knew it was coming though, hopefully they'll back it up soon. SONY had pretty much disowned socom so it was no surprise that they wouldnt have the servers ready for the onslaught of peeps that have been waiting for this game for 2 years. really sad sitchey, but i have faith that they;ll see the light when they look at the phenominal #s of pees that signed on, and they'll give the servers some more supprt hopefully.

[antelope19]

well i got madden 09 the other day and left it at my buds house where we play...very fun.
great version this year, much more realistic gaming. A+
must have, IMO.

We're already on season #2 on the PS3.  I would agree.  Major upgrade this year and much more realistic game play.  Excellent version of Madden. 

[Caravan2001]

well i got madden 09 the other day and left it at my buds house where we play...very fun.
great version this year, much more realistic gaming. A+
must have, IMO.


then i got socom today... all was great, i got it, my new bluetooth headset, and found my old clan right away.
had a blast playin a few games, but by the time dinner came around and everyone else had the game and logged on... of course the sever crashed..suck suck suck. knew it was coming though, hopefully they'll back it up soon. SONY had pretty much disowned socom so it was no surprise that they wouldnt have the servers ready for the onslaught of peeps that have been waiting for this game for 2 years. really sad sitchey, but i have faith that they;ll see the light when they look at the phenominal #s of pees that signed on, and they'll give the servers some more supprt hopefully.

couldn't get socom in the stores today, have to wait till tomorrow....I'll be stoked if it works...

[crnl4bn]

i'm thinking 'bout buying a ps3 just for fifa 09 and fifa street 2.  any other fifa fans here?

[jedifunk]

fifa blows... get a real soccer game... get PES 2009 (pro evolution soccer)

[blatboom]

fifa blows... get a real soccer game... get PES 2009 (pro evolution soccer)

I knew it was coming!   :-D

[crnl4bn]

fifa blows... get a real soccer game... get PES 2009 (pro evolution soccer)

huh, that's odd, a majority of the reviews that i've read discussing fifa vs pes favored fifa in 2008 and are siding with EA Sports again this year.
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http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/fifa-09-sony-playstation-3-microsoft-xbox-360/340017-fifa-09-vs-pes-2009-truth.html

"Suffice to say, we all have to be honest here. Fifa 07 was a warning to PES. In my view it was NOT better than PES 06. Not at all, especially on PS2 which is one of the best football games ever. However, 07 showed something that gamers had never seen before. The possibility of unpredictability in a football game. Of a balanced and paced gaming experience where you didn't just try and score more than the other guy. 07 had a TON of flaws that soon rendered it unplayable, but PES did not heed the warning.

Fifa 08, in my view, SPANKED PES 2008 all the way home. Fifa 08 had numerous problems that again rendered it unplayable after a while, but the fact is it was so much more sophisticated than PES 2008, it was unreal. You actually had to think about what you were doing.

Now we come to Fifa 09. I have saved my proper thoughts for this iteration because it really applies here. Here are the reasons WHY Fifa 09 WILL own, and copyright ownerise at that, PES 2009 and maybe even bury PES for a few years to come if not for good.
1. Graphics
Face it guys, we can argue all day long about gameplay over graphics which is valid, but if a game starts off with a solid visual base that mimics the LOOK of football, you are already on a winner. Fifa has beaten PES on the graphics front for years, but it fell down on some things till this year. Faces and heights/build. The demo showed they FINALLY got it this year. There are clear height and build differences on the pitch, and the faces actually now look like the real players. With this, the PES advantage is WIPED away and the overall graphics of Fifa obliterates PES from the get go anyway.

2. Sound
The commentary on PES 2009 is a HUGE improvement. However, they seem to have copied the style of Fifa with it. The commentary of Fifa has been amazing since 07 and it doesn't really have to change that much in my book to still be the best. The crowd chants, the player calls, the overall atmosphere in Fifa 09 will likely carry on the next gen tradition of being one of the games strongest suits. PES is not even a tenth of the aural standards of Fifa, and it won't be this year.

3. Licences
Very important. I hated the monopoly before, but if Konami are not willing to pay the money for it, then EA are fine to take them all. The fact you can have more or less any team you want, is huge. This to me though is a WEAK argument for Fifa. To be honest, it is the game that matters most, not how many teams are in it. Euro 2008 was a very good game with NO clubs.

4. Online
Fifa 09 decimates on this level. 08 was good but had many silly things (forced penalties, online gamers exploiting glitches, quitters, team abuse with no points reflection for using weaker teams, the manual vs assisted handicap). However, it STILL wiped the floor with the woeful PES 2008 online. This year, the 10 v 10 and Fifa Clubs thing will be a revolution if they implement it right. How on earth can PES compete with that? They simply can't. They have been playing catch up, so as they copy one feature in Be A Legend, EA have added three others. That is what happens when you refuse to take a risk and innovate, and rather watch the competition and try to beat them at their own game. If Fifa 09 sorts out those online issues I mentioned, on that alone, PES is a finished. We all know EA though and how stubborn they are. It is unlikely all those issues will be addressed for 09. Maybe some will.

5. Gameplay
The main thing. The feature that Fifa always lost out on. Fifa 09 IS going to change that. I have played the demo a lot. I was a Fifa 08 veteran for the first 4 months or so with a rank in the top 200 - 600 in the world when I was really active online. I know this game inside out and I HATED fifa 07 and then 08 for SOME of the horrible glitches they had in the game. In the end I quit playing them for the reason that once you get good enough at the game, the problems become GLARING. The game becomes unplayable because you no longer do anything by accident. You begin to realise the limitations and failings.

FIfa 09 EVEN ON THE DEMO, is astonishing. I have read some of the complaints and I have to shake my head. You complainers are confused. This game plays more like real football than anything that has ever been made. I am a football game aficionado. I have played them ALL and OWENED them ALL. ISS, Actua Soccer, This Is Football, Adidas Power Soccer, Sensible Soccer, Striker, World Cup USA 94, Super Soccer, All fifa's till 2000, Most ISS and PES's till 2006 (took a football game hiatus from 2000 - 2005). Most on this board will not even know some of these games. I can tell you that as a veteran football game player, FIFA 09 IS GOING TO BE THE BEST EVER FOOTBALL GAME HANDS DOWN!

Here are some reasons that people may not realise unless they are similar to me.

1. The physicality.
I have NEVER. I mean NEVER seen anything like this before. It is unreal. You go into challenges and have no idea what is going to happen. Guys push, pull lean and stretch. Everything is a fight and you get this feeling of 'effort' being put in by your players. Some players are more aggressive than others and you can feel and see it on the field. This ALONE has changed my view of what a football game can be like to play. The headers alone have a ton of different animations and I keep seeing new ones. EA have to be commended on this mechanic. People are under estimating the impact of the physicality engine. THIS is what is going to set the game apart from PES and all before it. Not all the other bells and whistles of gameplay, it is THIS. To me, this feature is the biggest step forward since the introduction of the free ball in 07. In fact, this has made a bigger impression for me. They hyped it, but it was UNDER hyped for me. It is better than I expected. Guys jumping over prone players, tripping over outstretched legs, stumbling and keeping balance, pushing to get at the ball, man kudos for this addition. PES owned on this, BIG TIME.

2. Off the ball animations
Here is another HUGE addition for me. Players raise arms for offsides (even when they are wrong and have to keep playing). Players point into space for passes. Players express dissapointment IN GAME and not in some DUMB cut scene that is filmed unrealistically. EA still have some of these DAFT cut scenes, but thankfully they are reduced and the new in game ones added. I have had players do prayers on the field looking up to the sky when they get hacked down outside the box. Gesture angrily to a team mate when a pass doesn't come and do so IN GAME and NOT in a stupid cut scene. EA seriously, you do not realise how much better you have made the game by doing this. Your cut scenes, sorry to say, SUCK compared to the real TV like cut scenes of PES. They kick your *** on that yearly and this year they will OVERALL be better on the real TV like presentation of subs, time boards, trainers, dugout, on pitch antics, quick free kicks etc. EA DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPACT OF TV PRESENTATION! The changes you have done are excellent, just keep going. Do it with free kicks, subs, everything. WATCH FOOTBALL ON TV AND COPY THAT AS PES ALWAYS DOES. Hey, PES go so far as to have SLO MO celebrations after the goal and celebration has been done and replayed JUST like tv. It really helps. You have started something great with 09. Seal the deal and you will bury PES on this.

3. Reaction Times and flow/controllabilty
Contentious issue here. Fifa is trying to be realistic, and in real life, you can't pass a ball if it is not at your feet yet. PES can do this instant pass because the ball is stuck to their feet. If you press pass or shoot in Fifa, he will do so when his foot next hits the ball. There can therefore be a delay if you are sprinting or have the ball knocked on or even if you are jogging. The times have been sped up, but there will never be that instant hit you get with PES as a standard. Sometimes it will be fast, and others it won't be. I think they have some work to do on this, but they are getting there with reaction times. I think players need to realise that in real life, you can't kick a ball before your leg has time to reach it!

Fifa 09 have thankfully sped up players control and trapping and the overall flow of the game is much better than it has ever been. Tricks reaction can be much better though. They still pull off tricks too slow for the skillful players, but this may be a demo thing. There is an issue with the manual vs assisted and semi controls too.

Manual is EASILY the most realistic shooting mechanic on any game I have played. In my view it should be standard for the game. You really can't turn on a dime and shoot with manual unless you are a skilled player. The computer won't help you. You do it all yourself. This means the misses you do look and feel realistic. Maybe the manual shooting is TOO unforgiving though. I mean a pro player will not miss an open goal from 5 yards, but you can easily with manual. In my view this is a weakness of Fifa over PES. PES have confidence in their control set up and EVERYONE uses the same ones. Fifa give you too many options here and it makes for an unbalanced online experience. If EA had confidence in their control set up, there would be no assisted, semi and manual choice. It just is what it is. In my opinion, this has to be looked at.

Well there you have it. I have stated my many issues with FIFA and this demo in other threads, but I felt I had to be clear on how impressed I am with the game and how the battle with PES has been won before it starts.

EA listen to some of the things I pointed out and your game will bury PES for good unless they do a similar overhaul to their engine. Little things like removing the lateral L2 R2 dribble makes NO SENSE. Do not take out things that are working for you. Do away with those sill cut scenes and replace them with the kind we see on TV and on PES. Use more in game animations. Implement things like the fast free kick. Sort out the online balance etc.

Very simple things need to be done, because you have got all the difficult and complex things sorted.

FIFA 09 is going to be big time."
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PES blows... get a REAL soccer game... get in shape and join an amateur league   :wink:

[jedifunk]

funny, cuz any real soccer game fan will tell you that PES is and has always been better where it matters.... with game play.

i've played both the FIFA 09 & PES 09 demos and will most certainly be waiting for PES to come out next month rather than getting FIFA.

i found the fifa demo to be way too arcadey... sure its fun and you can score lots of goals, and there are plenty of tricks that are easy to do.... but as far as simulating an actual game of soccer, i stick with PES.

i'll also say that i was a fifa fanboy for years... up until i got my 06.  i got fifa 06 and enjoyed it but it stopped working so when i went to take it back i decided to get PES and wow, what a difference.

yes, fifa has all the leagues and players and licenses, but again the core gameplay of how an actual soccer game flows and develops is more true in PES.  the AI is better IMO... they make better/more intelligent runs when in attack, keep their defensive shape better.  the speed and flow of the game seems more real, there's more buildup play and passing back, and making the long diagonal runs into space, etc.

i think the player animations are a bit better in fifa, but the ball physics seem way off to me... the ball feels like it floats in the air and hangs, kinda like kicking a beach ball instead of a soccer ball.

thats just my opinion.  i suggest you download the demo for PES and try for yourself. 

[crnl4bn]

i guess when it comes to soccer games, I like the arcadeiness of fifa 09.  i've always had fun playing fifa and in the end, that's what counts.   

but now you've gone and ruined it for me by telling me there is something similar but different. :cry: :cry: :cry: 

you make a good point with regards to PES being a more realistic match simulator. i've played soccer all my life, and I may find that I like the realism delivered in PES.   like i said, i've always had fun with the fifa franchise, so ill probably have just as much fun with PES.


i'll have to give PES a test drive.

[VA $l!m]

2 days of a crashed socom server= SLIm is STRESSFRATED!!! 

[Caravan2001]

2 days of a crashed socom server= SLIm is STRESSFRATED!!! 

Crud...I've got it right here, headset charged up....Is this the same crash still from yesterday, or did it crash again?  Is it up and down, or just down?

[VA $l!m]

2 days of a crashed socom server= SLIm is STRESSFRATED!!! 

Crud...I've got it right here, headset charged up....Is this the same crash still from yesterday, or did it crash again?  Is it up and down, or just down?

the server is fucked...i'm gonna check right now, but i dont have any hopes until monday when a new patch is coming out.
your best bet to get in a game is to log on anytime outside of primetime hours of 6-12pm eastern.
also, if you can get on the server but continually get disconnescted, try deleting your profile and making a new one. worked for me for a bit yesterday, but then the whole server froze up and noone was gettin in games.
we'll see about tonite. i'll be trying for sure, but if it doesnt pan out i'm going to play COD on LIVe b/c i got to kill someone soon or i'm gonna freak!