The Grand Turismo of Soccer???
Back in the day of playstation one era, WE is the standard of any soccer game. The speed of Ronaldo, the power kick of Carlos and who can forget the crazy goalie Chilavert. The pace of the game is fast but not overwhelming and the sound effects make your blood boil. Then WE4 come along and changed everything, it is a classic game. It had slower pace but much more realistic movements and reactions. It included master league where you have the freedom to have the players you like on your favorite team. And with that high note, PS2 came.
Everything got better, everything. WE5 to WE 8 are all good games but WE9 defined what a great soccer game should have. It have realistic simulation, great control, logical pace, etc. And the best thing is they mix those great criteria together so perfectly. It was the peak of the WE series.
However there is something else changing about the game. It got harder. You can pass anybody using Ronaldo back in 1998 but it's impossible to do in WE9. Also, to score a header you can't just be taller than everyone else anymore. You have to have good header technique and stronger body. Things got a lot harder over the years, many old fans remained but few new fans joined. To make things worse, here comes PES.
I'm not very familiar with what's been going on with the title change. Whether it is just a simple new name or the internal change of the company, I don't care. All I know is that the game is never the same again. I don't know how many controllers I broke when I first played PES but bits and pieces of them were everywhere in my room. I think anybody who's been playing the series knows what I went through. The ref was a joke and controls are very tough, for the first time I had to sit down and go through the tutorial. It was a nightmare. But after about a month or so worth of playing time, things started to turn around. I started to having fun again.
It was the same learning curve for PES 2008, 2009 and the current 2010. However they made few changes which are crucial, for instance the ref. They are much more reasonable. The movements are much smoother and reaction are much more life-like. They also introduced the BAL mode in 2009 which is much improved in the 2010 version. You can gain experience much more quickly and the effect of team influence is ever greater. But they are still dumb as a rock. And the most important change is the improvement of strategy implementation. Every little change will effect the outcome of player performance. You are in much more control of the team than ever has been. It felt great.
So in conclusion the game has become much more difficult for newer player to adapt. But if you have patient, it will be the most addicting game in your life, well....until next year that is.
Thank your patient to read through my mumbling, I hope it'll help you understand the series better.
GO WE!