XBox 360 (6 Viewers)

[Wilbert]

Yeah thats about €15.

I got dead rising yesterday, i like it so far but the onscreen text is almost impossible to read on a standard telly. I'm squinting like an OAP playing it.

My mate has a €5,000 HD TV and it is so easy to read. On my own tv (Still 36" not too shabby) it is almost too small to read without your nose to the screen.

 

[Stan Bowles]

My mate has a €5,000 HD TV and it is so easy to read. On my own tv (Still 36" not too shabby) it is almost too small to read without your nose to the screen.

Reads perfectly on our 26", but then we do have a very small front room so I'm near to the screen.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Dead rising is unplayable, i cant read any of the shit on the screen so i don't have a clue what i'm doing. The controls and save system aren't exactly easy to follow either.

 

[THRILLHO]

So Live will happily accept my money and add the extra points to my account, but won't actually let me download Lumines Live? Cheers, Microsoft.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

I was able to download lumines earlier but i cant seem to sign in at the moment.

 

[Johnnyc]

XBOX LIVE has been updated, but there's still a few probs to be ironed out, hence some people experiencing fuck-ups like that.

Thankfully, I can't experience these fuck-ups cos my 360 still hasn't come back from the repair factory.

 

[Franco]

Pro Evo 6 review:

http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=734963

It’s that time of the year again. The birds are chirping, the Christmas release schedules are filling up with all sorts of tat that will be sitting in the bargain bucket during January, and Pro Evolution Soccer is trotted out once more. This sixth version of Pro Evo is the first to make an appearance on the Xbox 360, and we’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity to play it.

Based on what I played at Microsoft’s X06 conference last month, this was due to be a glowing review. The game ran well, looked awesome in widescreen on a HDTV, and was everything I could hope for. On closer inspection, it seems that Pro Evolution Soccer maybe hasn’t come on as far as it maybe should or could have done. Take the slowdown as an example. When you’re taking a goal kick, or lining up a free kick from anywhere on the pitch, the game starts to stutter and stumble, as if you were playing the PS2 version of the previous title in the series. Or, take the Xbox Live modes as your point of focus. Konami have made it easier to get a game, by providing an indicator that lets you know when a player is unavailable or is considering another challenge – but that seems to be about it. No custom cups, no custom leagues…although you can now leave feedback on a player from the “Final Score” screen, instead of having to wait until you’re returned to the menu system. Wow. If that’s all that the step up to a next-gen console that is highly integrated with its online service can provide us with, then surely something is amiss.

Thankfully the game engine still shines, and as mentioned, Pro Evolution Soccer 6 in high-definition widescreen is like being in gaming heaven. New player animations fall into the mix to give everything a wonderfully polished feel when the ball is in play and seeing Peter Crouch tuck away a goal for England from just inside the box, with arms flailing and both feet ending up off the ground for a split second is something to behold. The overly-strict referees of the previous version have been told to keep their whistle in their hand for the more innocuous challenges that really didn’t need to be blown up for, and this makes for a game that flows a lot more than before.

Another nice touch is the instant dead-ball situations that occur. You used to have to wait for an animation to play out, or for something to load whilst you stared at a black screen when you got a throw-in but now, the game just “flicks” forward to the set-piece, without any delay to the action and without any black screen shenanigans. The ability to take a quick restart when a free kick is called also helps with the speed of play.

When I say that the game flows better, I mean that the referees don’t blow up every three seconds. The play itself is a lot tighter, and there is a lot less space to be going on with. In single player, on the harder game modes (the “star” system has been replaced with traditional difficulty level names), the CPU defence seem to be a lot more aware of what’s going on, and counter your attacking moves well. This means that you have to actually FIND a space and exploit it, rather than just playing the through ball constantly. It also means that your “Xbox Live goals” (where the opposition would simply run up to the keeper, then play a square ball to a striker who could tap it into an empty net) occur much less often, simply because the defenders are wise to the play. It can be done, but not anything like as easily as before.

Looking at the way PES6 controls, there have been changes made. The “Dash” button which used to be mapped to your right trigger in the days of the original Xbox, has been switched to the right bumper button. The “change player” button has been switched from the left trigger to the left bumper button. And this is where fans of the series will be split. In my opinion, the bumper buttons aren’t designed to be used that often, and are there for use as switches – so I’ve remapped the controls to put things back to how they should be. Other points of note include the stacks and stacks of new moves and variations on old moves that can be pulled off. Indeed, the “Game Controls” section of the manual now stretches to six pages, and I’d highly recommend that you read them since the game doesn’t provide any real tutorial mode. The training mode is as useful as ever to try and master those new skills.

Shooting seems to have undergone an overhaul, too. You can still power the ball over the bar from two feet in front of goal if you’re too ham-fisted with the controller, but in general, shots seem to fire off somewhat lower than they used to do. Volleys are now properly playable, based on your timing, rather than the game’s decision as to whether or not you’re allowed to spank one this time. The whole thing feels more “real” than it did before, and when you’ve got five players all sliding for the same ball in the penalty area, and you’re screaming at the screen as if it’ll help your striker be the one to get his boot to it first – you’ll have to remind yourself that it’s only a game.

You’ll be initially shocked at the slowdown and minor issues that Pro Evolution Soccer 6 contains, but extended play reveals that the improvements made in this latest edition are firstly much more numerous than you’d initially imagined, and secondly not of the kind that can be emblazoned across the back of the box as “this year’s greatest feature.” It runs much deeper. It runs to the core of the game mechanic and can’t be summed up in just one line. Seabass has been hard at work for sure, and yet again, he’s made a game that you’ll be playing right up until the day before next year’s edition is released. Maybe the lack of any real innovation on the Xbox Live front is for the best, since some of us need to eat and sleep.

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is the best football game available for any format. Period.

Addendum: To clear things up a little regarding the "Edit" mode - you CAN edit players and create them, but you can't edit or create teams. So you can't change Manchester United into Exeter City, but you can change Wayne Rooney into Steve Flack.

Words: Ken Barnes9 out of 10

*drools

 

[Johnnyc]

Fucking Konami and their inability to fix issues like slowdown. I'm fussy about things like tearing, iffy framerate and shit. They detract from the game. It's unforgivable that they couldn't sort em out.

It's also a real shame they didn't give the LIVE aspect a major overhaul. Setting up leagues and cups... maybe even a feature like Project Gotham TV would have been nice. Boo!

I'm sure the game will be as playable as ever and I'll probably play this game on my 360 more than any other, but shit like slowdown on a next gen console, especially in such a highly anticipated game, is stoopid.

 

[Stan Bowles]

Looking at the comments under the review, it seems as though the framrate issue is only a problem during goal kicks. I reckon I can cope with that.

And I guess we'll just have to do the thumped league the old fashioned way, just have to keep track of it here I guess.

 

[Johnnyc]

Looking at the comments under the review, it seems as though the framrate issue is only a problem during goal kicks. I reckon I can cope with that.

And I guess we'll just have to do the thumped league the old fashioned way, just have to keep track of it here I guess.

I dunno about the framerate issues. I've seen two vids of PES6 gameplay and there definately looks to be a bit of an issue when the ball is flying through the air over a long distance. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I can see slowdown .

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Bit of a bitter sweet review, i wonder would an upgrade/fix patch get released in the future to sort out slow down and leagues?

Fuck it, its still gonna be great.

I finally got into dead rising late last night, spent ages going through the seemingly endless items that can be used as weapons. The lawnmower is my favourite.

I dunno about the framerate issues. I've seen two vids of PES6 gameplay and there definately looks to be a bit of an issue when the ball is flying through the air over a long distance. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I can see slowdown .

Ah, the excuses are already startin...

 

[Johnnyc]

Excuses, smexcuses!

We simply HAVE to do a thumped pro evo 6 league though. We could set up a thread dedicated to the league and I could also lash together a webpage, if needed, so we could view the league table, results and shit like that.

A few have declared their interest, so let's get down to business....

/goes about setting up new thread

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Game and gamestop have stopped taking prebookings for pro ev. Looks like it'll sell out next friday.

 

[Franco]

If you don't have it pre-booked, it's worth going in on thursday evening and trying to get a copy. Some shop usually breaks the game selling date early, and when one does, they all follow.

 

[Johnnyc]

Stopped taking pre-orders? Shite...I don't start work til 10:30 (though I might take a days holiday on the 27th) and there are 3 game shops on my doorstep, so I should be ok.

Who am I kidding, I'm going into town to book it tonight.

 

[Stan Bowles]

I was the first to pre-order in game in Liffey Valley at the start of the month, well they started a new page in the pre-order folder anyway, so it might be worth giving them a call...

 

[pete]

so the dead or alive xtreme 2 trailer is up on live.

what. the. fuck.

quite possibly the most ridiculous thing i have ever seen.

 

[pete]

that tony hawks demo is rather good.

 

[Wilbert]

Pre-booked Gears of War and Pro Evo yesterday. Oh yeah!
Lets get that league up and running ASAP.

How will it work?
Do you use standard teams or can you ramp up your teams abilities and play with that team? Can you build a team from scratch and give them all 99% on their abilities?

I want answers, dammit!

 

[nofriendo]

Splinter cell delivered for €38.50
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-dw-49-en-70-1bfu.html