The final game of my first FIFA 08 Manager Mode career with Celtic, the Scottish Cup Final against Hibernian.
The chance to grab silverware, having narrowly lost the League Title on goal difference to Rangers, I trailed for the majority of the season, so I wasn’t too despondent.
My fortunes in FIFA 08 turned around after switching from assisted to semi-auto shooting, I am scoring more goals from various areas of the pitch and have a higher percentage of attempts on target. Previously, I was scoring the same types of goals, mainly from crosses, now I am more successful from long range and inside the box where the semi-auto is giving me more control of my shots.
SCOTTISH CUP FINAL
CELTIC 2 HIBERNIAN 0
Shunsuke NAKAMURA scored 2 glorious goals to give me my first trophy in Manager Mode, I dominated the game from start to finish. I can see a big improvement in performances from the start of season to the present. What I will say is where are the title celebrations? A 2 second team picture, I hope they introduce the EURO celebrations into FIFA 09.
I have qualified for the EFA Cup (UEFA Cup) I will have to play a qualifying round, I will be looking to win the 3 trophies I compete in next season, it should be a quadruple, but EA have omitted the League Cup for some reason.
I have been set a challenge -
to win the League, Scottish Cup and European Cup on professional difficulty
This is still a couple of seasons minimum away from achieving, the League Title is the priority next season.
I have said before that FIFA 08 has a steep learning curve, I have slowly got to terms with the differing game-play from PES, what I have been accustomed to, for the past 10 years. They have contrasting styles, I have always preferred the PES game-play, but Seabass has put the emphasis on speed and attacking in recent instalments. How both titles have reversed in fortunes, I don’t want to run through a team with any player and score a goal as you can do in PES 2008. FIFA gives me a challenge, and that’s what I like from football games. Both titles have their faults, but FIFA is the title I favour playing at the moment.
I want a playable PES in 2009, that’s what I am hoping for. I will play both titles, if they are 2 good games, no problem. My fan-boy days are over, I am primarily a football fan, I want to play 2 good football titles and that’s what I hope for in FIFA 09 and PES 2009. As I have said, both titles have contrasting styles, and both will appeal to me, if Konami sort out the problems that plagued PES 2008. It will be the best year yet for football gamers.
It’s always good to bag the first trophy, but as you have found it can feel a little anti-climactic (there’s that word again) without a proper trophy presentation ceremony.
Re. the challenge, feel free to go one better and step up to World Class if you start finding the games too easy on Professional. I’ve yet to win more than the odd game on World Class, never mind a Treble/Quadruple.
Re. the early PES2009 news, it is far too early to consider throwing myself off Beachy Head, but that early screenshot isn’t encouraging for me. It just looks like PES2008, right down to the dumb AI players with their backs to the ball, as you spotted. I suppose I could take a crumb of comfort from the camera angle—it suggest the return of camera panning in PES2009, but there’s no guarantee the screenshot was taken from regular play. It could have come from a devkit or a replay. At this stage, most of my hopes for a great football game this year rest with FIFA09.
I might try World Class with my Yeovil MM. See how I get on, I am not conceding many goals, did you find this normal.
I will wait till I see videos of PES to make a judgement. I appreciate WENB time and efforts in bringing PES news. I’ve read their blog today and you can’t criticise PES. FIFA is better next-GEN, FACT. Now that they have allegedly Exclusives, they will never put the boot into PES, incase of upsetting Konami.
I will read a couple of other forums for views from PES and FIFA fans, who want 2 good titles and not just 1.
heraldo - no, the CPU won’t score many goals on Professional in FIFA08. I hate it when they head miles over from a three-yard free header! On World Class though it’s a different story - for me anyway - with the AI scoring the kinds of goals you never see them scoring on Pro. 25-yard raspers from Gerrard and things like that. What stopped me persevering with World Class/Legendary before was the frustration of being unable to get the ball when the AI decides it wants to keep it. If you think it’s bad on Pro….
After following WENB last year, to be fair to them they did call PES2008 out on the slowdown and the low difficulty before its release. It was a long time before I was prepared to admit to myself that those things were problems that had ruined the year for me. (I think January was when I finally admitted defeat. I’d spent £400 in August last year on a PS3 just for PES2008 and I felt so foolish. I was in denial.)
This year WENB have hitched their wagon to Konami and they’re going for official exclusives. I think they’ll still be honest about the final game as fans. I think the next milestone on the road to PEs200 will be the Leipzig festival, where PES2009 should be playable. That’s in August, just a few weeks away now!
Greg
The Mrs has just went to bed, I am going to give world class a go now. Will let you know how I fared.
WENB - I can’t get a hold of their podcasts from last release. I have subscribed via iTunes, but it only goes back to May.
I will tune in shortly, podcast due. I am intrigued to what they think of that picture with Argentina players. I still can’t believe they are running away from the ball.