Adam Ryland

Yeah, I've had that same problem with the computer walking through tackles as if they didn't exist, I just thought it was because the opposition was using the slow dribble, which I hardly ever use. I don't think the goal keepers can be down to bad luck - I've had maybe 40 matches so far, and I've had at least 15 own goals where either the goal keeper has parried a shot but it's gone straight into the net, or the ball has bounced off him from a defender's clearance off him and gone in. Own goals seem to account for about a quarter of all the goals I've scored! I'd be interested to know if you're doing something different from me with the AI. To give you an example, it usually happens when one of their midfielders gets the ball in the center circle and makes a direct run towards my goal. If I'm controlling the midfielder and am behind him, trying to catch up, my center halves (under AI control) will literally move out of his way, essentially marking the two corners of the "D" (even if no players are there), and basically let the midfielder have a free shot. It happens almost every game where the opposition has an attacker right behind the strikers. The other AI problem is at the other end - I'll burst into the box as a midfielder, go wide, turn to cross it...and nobody is in the box, even the main strikers are just standing outside the box like idiots. I could understand if they were waiting to give support a striker, but even guys like Crouch are standing there. I dunno, maybe it's down to my particular style of play, but these seem like glaring problems that happen nearly every match. Just for the record BTW, this isn't a case of me not liking a game because I'm not good at it - I'm winning 90% of the matches I'm in.

Are you playing on PS2?

So what's the general feeling about this game now that it has been out for a while? I'd give it a 4, maybe 5, out of 10 personally. On the positive side: * I like that they're clearly attempting to make it play like a real game of football, not a fantasy version * Occasionally everything comes together, and it plays amazingly * Some of the additions (cross from anywhere, quick free kicks, the improved slow dribble) are great On the negative side: * The AI is absolutely atrocious, especially in defence when you're controlling a midfielder. It's crap in every PES game, but they even advertised on the back of the box that they're fixed it this time around. * Even the best goal keepers are terrible (I'm averaging one AI goal keeper own goal every 3 games!?!) at everything but close range shot stopping * Some of the very basics of football are not done properly - even Sunday league teams can do a decent job of marking from corners, why can't International teams in PES? There's no excuse for six defenders to not be able to mark one striker when he's the only person in the box. Stuff like that drives me crazy, because it should be one of the fundamental parts of the AI. * Passing seems a lot worse than PES4 (only had a few games of PES5, so I can't comment on that), it seems far less fluid to me. * The computer seems to cheat a lot - why can Alan Stubbs keep up with Henry when he's an AI player, but not when he's controlled by the player? I think the game has a lot of potential for PES7, but there's just so many really basic flaws in the AI that it puts me off.

Presumably it'll be because anyone who falls under the header of Legends will be portrayed in their prime; given that they're a fantasy addition to the roster, that makes sense. I'm sure if Flair had retired and was in the Legends section instead of the main roster we'd have got 1980s Flair instead.

Playing the PS2 version, has anyone else experienced what seems like "invisible areas" around opposing players when receiving passes? If the computer makes a pass to a team-mate, and you have a player standing quite close by, it seems that you physically cannot move in quickly and either intercept the ball just before it reaches his feet, or get in quickly and put pressure on him...it's almost as if there's an invisible wall there, at least until he's controlled it. It doesn't seem to happen to the computer when you're doing the passing, it's just when you're the guy trying to make the block...?

People are complaining because at best the game hasn't gone very far forward from the last version, and at worst may have even gone backward. Yeah it's better than FIFA, but that's hardly setting the bar very high.

Can't say I'm too impressed so far - I thought the AI was supposed to be "much improved", but it seems just as bad as always to me? Several times already one of their midfielders has come running from the half way line right down the center, with me giving chase, and my two center halves have just parted and let him basically get a free shot at goal. Strikers also seems to stand in ridiculous places; i've had a few moments where I've taken a player into the box, got into a goal mouth scramble, and had my main striker standing motionless at the corner of the penalty box doing nothing. I agree about the first touch, seems absolutely awful unless you're one of the big name players. All in all, it doesn't feel like a PES game. It feels like PES, mixed with Fifa, played underwater

There's two issues with the previous game that would stop me buying this version, and that's the terrible tag team partner AI (i.e. where your partner seems incapable of either breaking up pins, or making any effort to stop the opponent's partner from making the save) and the heel AI (i.e. when any heel wrestler gets in trouble he spends the remainder of the match climbing out of the ring every ten seconds for weapons and then trying to get DQed). If I read it correctly, the demo doesn't have tag team mode yet, but can anyone who has played it comment on the heel AI? Any improvements?

He has been a legend in one of the previous titles - he's pictured on the back of the box, I think it's HCTP.

One of the books they released had Vampire Giles as the main villain; I'm pretty sure it was The Lost Slayer by Christopher Golden. It's actually a pretty good read.

For those interested, the trial of Wrestling Spirit 2 is now out at Grey Dog Software.

Yeah, and it's still like that in 2006. Except if you're the computer, in which case you have the ball control of a Brazillian superstar even if you're the second choice Crewe left back....

Amen to that. How you manage to ruin a control system that only has two buttons in the first place is beyond me. It's not like they've even messed it up by adding tons of improvements - it still has the same crappy front end menu system that SWOS had, and (other than the 3D stuff for replays) it looks exactly the same. Grr...I think this is the most disappointed I've ever been with a computer game.

Not true - Sensible World Of Soccer was a fabulous game! Admittedly it doesn't really hold up all that well compared to today's football games, but in the early-to-mid 1990s, Sensi pretty much had a God-like status amongst players. It used to be one of those brilliant things that was incredibly simple (it only used two buttons and an analogue stick) to pick up, but really fun and addictive.

It's cell shaded for the replays and close ups, which looks a bit weird - but to be fair I think they were going for a quirky cult-appeal with that aspect of it, so at least they had a reason. The actual games are done "classic sensi" style, with a top down view. Unfortunately it doesn't support widescreen and has no on-screen display, so a lot of the time you are passing completely blind.

Anyone else played it? I don't generally buy PS2 games any more, but I picked SS06 up this morning without reading any reviews purely on the grounds that Sensible Soccer used to be THE football game when I was at school. I wasn't expecting it to match up to Pro Evo, just to be a fast, solid, fun game like the old days....but they didn't even manage that. :thumbsdown: It's actually gone backwards from where it was ten years ago, which was is quite an achievement. It's slow, fiddly, passes appear to have a mind of their own, and the goalies seem to save everything bar the very easiest of lobs.....

Putting side all the "legal points" you came up with (which incidentally were all wrong), your point about there not being sequels is incorrect.

Ballpark date is this summer.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going to be in TEW05, you just had to take the best features from the publically available Suggestions forum and you were guaranteed to be get at least a few correct. That's all Hate did.

Just something I noticed today - if you have interference turned on, and either competitor has a stable mate available, you don't seem to get the title belts at ringside, and you never seem to get the "pre-match mini game" either. Turn interference off, or have nobody available to run in, and the belt does appear and the mini-games become active again. I can sort of see why the belt wouldn't be there if there was a chance of a run in - to reduce the amount of possible objects on screen - but I can't figure out why the pre match mini-game is affected?

Same here, it's not worth sitting through the snorefest that is GM mode just for two suits. I'm surprised they didn't make the reward something more worthwhile to force people to play it.

Ah..that explains it. One of the first matches I ever did I was sure that I did a move involving the guard rail, but as I could never repeat it I figured it was just a normal move that had looked weird from that camera angle. Good to know I'm not going crazy :-p Great find!

Bah, sometimes this can be the most frustrating game ever. As RVD vs Orlando I beat him senseless, hit seven frog splashes onto him while his body was well into red, and he kicked out before the two count each time. He then hits a stomp to the leg, a regular stomp to the body...and gets the three, despite the fact I was only in orange. 28 minutes for that finish. :thumbsdown: I wonder if they really have coded it so that the computer can "cheat" and has an easier time pinning you than you do of pinning it? It seems to happen too often to be a coincidence...

I thought some people might be interested to know that with .400 Studios closing its doors at the end of the month, TEW04 has had its price dropped to $14.95. At midnight on January 1st the game will be taken off the market permanently (although licenses purchased before then will still work), so if you are interested, you only have about two weeks left to get it. To answer a common question, the game will not be being released as freeware \ shareware in the future, December 31st is the final day it will be available in any form. Thanks, Adam

I did a tag team cage match for the first time yesterday - I could have sworn it said it was "first person out wins" on the menu, but it's both people isn't it I know it's realistic, but it's a bitch when your partner leaves and you're then stuck 2-on-1, as it's virtually guaranteed that you're going to get killed until one of the opponents decides to leave too.