Well, it’s been four months plus since a new post, and that last one was merely to whine about the state of FIFA online, nothing has changed in that respect, I simply haven’t been playing any career-mode orientated games, or anything that was bloggable, I was playing FIFA FUT most days, but EA have crippled the game so much since release that it is now a mush of complete unrealistic BS, where having skill or playing the game tactically does nothing, you will only win if you pay-to-win and amass the fastest players on earth who can and will dribble past you with ease, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
In the last FIFA patch, EA apparently fixed long range shots, as they were too accurate and too easy, and they were, people were scoring from all kinds of distances online with regularity, I waited for the 4.6GB patch to install then booted up, first opponent in FUT, 4-2-4 formation, Salah, Neymar, MBappé and Benzema up to, quite obvious what was gonna happen.
I lost 3-0, to he had 3 shots on goal all game, i closed him down, blocked passing lanes, tracked his runs, didn’t let him use his speedy players, but he scored three 40 yard shots into the top corner, all with MBappé, so much for the patch, I haven’t loaded up FIFA since that day.
Needing a footy gaming fix in the background always, the only other option was to revert back to PES 21, I had removed it off my PC so the laborious task of re-installing and then downloading all 220GB of the VirtuaRed 4.1 patch was underway, a few install issues with stadiums fixed, and was finally back underway.
I personally think that PES 20/21 was the best game in the series, ever, none of this PES 5 adoration, with its 8 way clunky dribbling, rock hard nets,, supersonic speeds and stoppages every 5 secs, it may have had AI advanced for its time, but it just does not hold up these days.
Remember, PES21, is PES20, the absolute same game, just with a roster update, remember they took a year out t devise this grand plan for ML and PES, so much for all that.
PES 20 was released back in 2019, so a game 3 years old, is still going strong, and the PC modding community are still releasing game play patches and graphics, and add-ons etc to this very day, testament to how well it plays, and it was certainly a refreshing change playing t again after the insane pinball of online FIFA.
I chose to return Rafa to the North East, and use the Arab billions to follow real life and turn the Toon into a world footballing powerhouse, I gave myself maximum budget and started with the proper club players, no ML defaults in sight.
Upon starting this new ML adventure I immediately remembered just how lackadaisical and unbothered Konami became towards the end of PES, as choosing the ‘fairly large’ transfer budget, which was the highest choice possible, gave me a £220mil starting transfer budget, not too bad, can work with that, but to go with that, only a piss poor 200k wage budget!!!! Which immediately ruled out making any marquee signings.
Every decent player commands more than 200k a week salary (I chose salary to be weekly not yearly), so was immediately limited as to who I could try to sign, I ended up picking off a few ‘end-of-lifers’ and signed CB Bhurkal, and CF Higuain, who was a bit of a coupé, only on a 2 year deal, but he will be useful as a big target man, lastly in the door was Montiell, a decent pacey RB.
As per standard, I shipped a few dead woods out of the door and recouped a few quid.
I’m playing on Professional level, as all those months of FIFA muscle memory and ways of doing things need to be slowly readjusted, and I’m also using the ‘eSim Beyond revolution’ game play patch which adds extra AI difficulty, tweaks ball trajectories, improves reaction times etc, so far so good, but definitely difficult enough, shown by my opening results.
After 3 defeats in our opening 3 games, we picked up a well earned 2-0 win at Tottenham, followed by a confident 3-0 drubbing of Palace, hopefully the muscle memory is easing, I’m adjusting back into PES’s more realistic and considered approach, and the TS (Team Spirit) rating will rise, its currently at 61, which is awful, players don’t make the runs, everything’s a bit static, and passes and shots are more inaccurate, there are patches that remove the TS, but I can’t be bothered, it’s crude in its implementation but does make some realism sense, I will grind on.
A couple of goals and highlights from the opening few matches to finish off with, including a nicely taken goal by Higuain:
FIFAFX.com 
Hello Paul, I did like PES 20 &21 but the only gripe I had was the variety of goals as many or the goals seemed to resemble Lineker goals inside the box. Great games in terms of defence and the natural flow and build up.
Yes ‘The Forgotten City’ is the time loop game and certainly reccomend it as it has great characters in it and there is plenty to explore in such a small world. I have the X Box Game Pass and just randomly pick a title to play at a time from there till I finish. Great value.
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Darryl – That’s the good thing with PC Modded PES, so many game play tweaks out there you can find one that satisfies you, there are certainly many more goal types with these, as some patches tweak ball physics etc so you get a greater variety.
Thats a good approach, pot-luck pick up and play gaming, can unearth some gems.
I recently bought LA Noire for PC off steam, loved the old PS game, but annoyingly it just crashes every time once it gets to the loading screen, i have tried all manner of fixes from goggle but nothing works, 30 quid on a game wasted, and Steam dont give refunds after 14 days, I bought this about 3 months ago.
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The whole football gaming world is sleeping on PES 2021! pes 2021 is the best pes of the PS4 generation, the only one that comes near it is 17 and I think 21 beats it because it’s a lot harder. it cheats of course but when isn’t that true of any football game? My last spell with FIF 22 nearly made me insane because of how the game would go when I was in the lead,
PEs 21 I must have 1000 hours in now, on PC and console. 80% of that on console. The PC version is magical really, your own a new game is possible with mods. Vaniall on either is fine too tho
PES 21, I don’t agree it’s just an updated 2020, it’s a very different feeling game now, a friend said the same thing that you do Paul and so I went back to play 2020 for a month, it’s different! Not different enough you might say but when isn’t that true with most new editions! Or wasn’t, I should say as it’s all in te past….
There’s an idea for an article for you, go back and play 2020 and test whether it is or isn’t.
Bravo PES 2021 ! The best sendoff for the series and the best pes since… pes 2012. The numbers are just opposite lol
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Happy new Marillion album out yesterday all….what? Just me? No new game planned abbeyhill?
Fifa is living up to its previous reputation for stupid career possibilities, but to be fair they both have done that in the past, they’ve never got the move club option right (unless of course they have and just like FUT they want you to immediately get the huge jobs). I’m midway through season two, having started at a made up club in division 2 England. I moved to fortuna sittard in the second half of that season having hit all my objectives. I saved them from relegation and brought in a decent low 70s squad. I was 4th or 5th in the league by November, 99 approval rating as the targets were so low and was therefore offered the China job! Wtf? Of course I said no. But then I was offered the Villa job and I had to say yes. Meteoric, although they are in the championship so must have dropped some real clangers last season. I guess the only thing you can do is house rules it and say you’ll stay in place for x seasons to make it realistic. In the meantime I’ve got a midfield heavy, striker light villa squad to overhaul – while they expect me to win the title and get to the semis of the fa cup.
Btw I clicked into ultimate team as it said it was some birthday thing. It’s awful, didn’t even play a match, just reams of add on shit to buy – gimmick strips and backgrounds, it’s on a par with the worst years of pes’s “funny” heads.
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Turf – FIFA 22 started out decent, then with some slide tweaks, was actually very good, then over the last 4-6 months EA have patched the shit out of it and its gone to hell, its a disgustingly unrealistic game, that plays like dogshit, no wonder they dont use the ‘If it’s in the game, its in the game’ strapline anymore.
FUT gameplay is the most diabolical thing you’d ever see, and could quite literally drive a grown adult to jumping out of a window.
PES21 is a nice alternative because in comparison its slow, methodical and you don’t feel harassed and rushed every step of the way, sometimes a little crude in that it feels like a few control commands (compared to FIFA) are missing, such as close control (tight dribbling and turning), driven passes and crosses etc, but overall it does play a lot better.
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well I’ve patched my copy of pes 2021 but the master league is such dogshit that it’s hard to get excited about it – stupid budgets as you say, ridiculous logic to decisions, virtually no management to speak of. Fifa isn’t much better with the aimless press conferences – neither of them have cared about the mode for years as they are surely a day’s work to fix. For the moment it’s Villa and Fifa till I get some kind of resolution.
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by ‘patched’ I mean option filed – none of that actual making the game better stuff you PC folk have
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Turf – You dont play on PC do you? so assumed you meant option file as opposed to PC full on patches.
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Correct, simply updated the teams, badges, etc etc. The biggest problem with both of them imho is they will make some games unwinnable. I started laughing at fifa the other day when I managed to hit both posts with one shot having had 90 mins of absolute dominance and their single attack won it… I remain amazed that NG managed an invincibles on PES, he must have gone into some games and realised after 5 mins he had to aim for a 0-0. Before reaching Christmas I can say with absolute confidence that my Villa team will be pegged every week against the surrounding teams, always just off the title, always just above the playoffs.
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I never experienced this in FIFA Turf, I experienced the ‘hectic xmas period’ many times where from around mid December through to end of Jan, it was virtually impossible to win a game, but never felt any form of league table massaging, and have won pretty much everything on FIFA CM, UCL, rem, FA Cup, League Cup etc.
It’s always PES that massaged the league table to allow you to stay in some form of contention if you lost, or pushed an AI team on a super winning streak if you yourself was romping away with it.
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It’s definitely massaging it for me now Paul – January and I’m still level pegging with Fulham above me and Stoke below. I’m whacking teams 5-0 but nothing changes. Have noticed a ridiculous bug though – I player swapped a load of Villa players pre-window to my old Fortuna side, Liverpool, etc. I then realised I needed a cover at right back. Search brought up the player I’d traded to Liverpool and said he was on the last 6 months of his contract so I resigned him on a free. Checked every other player I traded – all the same, 6 months left. That said the number of free agents is at ridiculous PES levels – you simply don’t need to buy a player any more and can get them for tens of thousands of pounds in wages below what they currently earn. In season 2! This sums up the lack of effort both companies have put in.
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We have reached a point Turf where EA just wont bother with CM, even though youtubers amassing millions of views, play RTG CM’s, its all about money making through FUT and online, we’ve known this for years, it’s now a cold harsh reality.
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More insanity last night Paul – that player I traded to Liverpool was in return for Origi. Realised he wasn’t as good as existing options so sold him again within the same transfer window. Clearly against the rules about playing for multiple clubs. No doubt I could probably get him in the summer on a free…. I’m thinking I might have to start again if I don’t last at Villa and enforce some house rules to plug the absolute shambles that is the transfer system/job offers/renew contracts. Quickly fired up PES 21 and saw the same bullshit – apparently an average starting budget is 30+k short of being able to afford the wages of just one decent player. Stuck Minecraft on in disgust.
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ha, same thing happened earlier in current FIFA career – lost one of my key Exeter players as release clause paid, immediately bought him back for less in same transfer window, utter farce. Still, it’s good to have you back playing/posting Paul, I greatly look forward to seeing how you get on with PES2021. The options remaining to us as single player career mode enthusiasts are narrow these days. Enjoyed the video – looks as though PES free kicks still too easy! Nice presence of mind for Higuain’s chip in that situation
How about Darryl’s Forgotten City, Turf? I believe it originally started life as a Skyrim mod, might be your sort of thing
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I pulled the trigger on a restart abbeyhill, with full purity, no gaming the system angles. I will only apply for jobs at the right level at sensible times and never break transfer rules or logic. I’ve gone with a old fifa14 favourite – Newcastle jets – so it’s a quick season and a likely step before better things.
I’m still unfinished with skyrim itself. Never did complete everything, never even found everything. Gave up on online though, far too repetitive.
And how master league was that Madrid psg game? Pure controller smashing fury if you were the French.
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Abbeyhill – Indeed that is right and imagine it would be Turf’s kind of thing and there is a bit of history learning thrown in as well.
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My next project in the focused gaming in Greedfall and have just finished the opening. Looks good so far.
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New post will be up later today (Friday) gents, been in some long assed work meetings last few days so haven’t had time to edit the footage up, but will be up later.
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Interesting possibilities as I approach end of season 1 with the Newcastle Jets. It’s a 12 team league with a bizarre number of games – 28 I think. If there is a cup I didn’t remember it. I’m doing poorly in 10th but only 3 points separates us from mid table. It’s all a bit scrappy. Even after a couple of windows I have a poor squad, mainly because the scouts just haven’t turned up anyone worth having, and loanees won’t come. My youth team produced a worldie though – I’ve already been offered 17m for him. No point selling as I couldn’t use the money to buy anyone good. I’ve also got a couple more really good 16yos. One key objective was to make 4.3m profit which I have so I was on 94 overall. The other was contest the play offs – now out of reach – so I dropped to 63. I’ve no idea if they will keep me. I think the stupidity of players leaving out of contract and saying they are unhappy might be a problem. I want another season with those youngsters but whether I will I really don’t know.
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Sorry for the delayed post guys, turned Gaming PC on Friday to get it all done, and had major issues, left me unable to compile the post, HDMi signal out issues from the GFX card, think it occurred as I was rewiring everything through surge protected units, and must have knocked the PC or something, all sorted now so will be up soon!
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…think he needs to turn it off and turn it back on again…
I got my second season at the Jets thanks to that financial objective. Shocking but they do seem stacked towards money making. All the scouting seemed utterly pointless when the regens dropped – far better at 16 than anything I had found. Consequently I’ve listed virtually my whole squad and brought in loads of youngsters. It’s all a bit ridiculous really, I suppose they wouldn’t be good enough at a better club but for Australia a 68 is top level. I should fly through this next season and then I plan to look for a new club.
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