Usually I spend about a week on a game to write up the impressions. For the FM 14 beta, as you can probably tell, I needed a little more time. The biggest reason is because I can’t really figure out where I stood—I still can’t, actually—with the new tactical system. Honestly, it’s quite a change, and it can take some getting used to, especially for those of us who've gotten very...

kelvinmak

I remember, way back in the day, when one of my friends first tried to convert me to from PC to a Mac. I asked him why I should switch, and he used the now quite popular phrase, “I don’t know, things just work.”

That’s kind of how I feel after spending time with the PES 2014 demo. Yes, there are a number of rough edges here and some legacy flaws there. But yet, when I was just playing, and not consciously...

kelvinmak

One of my most overused phrases in the past few months has been "let's wait until we get our hands on the demo." It's part laziness and part bad writing, but I'd like to think there's a hint of truth buried somewhere in there too.

Watching the FIFA 14 gameplay videos that came trickling out of Gamescom, featuring mostly human vs. human matches, it was somewhat hard to tell what changed between this year and...

kelvinmak

After PES’ busy week, it’s now FIFA’s turn to draw the headlines.

First, it’s the 30 minutes or so gameplay video, then a reveal of Career Mode improvements, and finally news from the PES camp that there will be no Spanish stadia because, erm… because EA, basically. Sure, the producers of each game can still “respect our competition very much” and all, but the gloves are very much off as each side looks...

kelvinmak

1) Expectations Are Raised

Of course, right after I write about PES’ litany of inflated pre-release expectations and false dawns in the past, Konami goes on a week-long blitz, releasing daily clips on PES 2014’s various new features, culminating in two twelve minute matchplay-slash-interview with IGN, and forcing me to once more ask the question: is this the year PES recaptures its glory?

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kelvinmak