The first Rugby League Live 2 trailer has been released and I've heard it's going to be released in September. It actually looks quite good on the trailer. although they always do so I guess I'll wait till I've played it before I make to much of a judgement. The stadiums and crowds and all the rest of it looks a lot better, but I guess it counts for nothing if they can't get the gameplay right. Hopefully with the "Dynamic tackling" defending will be less frustrating and I hope it means you can call more men into the tackle etc. http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2012/07/first-rugby-league-live-2-tralier-available/

The first Rugby League Live 2 trailer has been released and I've heard it's going to be released in September. It actually looks quite good on the trailer. although they always do so I guess I'll wait till I've played it before I make to much of a judgement. The stadiums and crowds and all the rest of it looks a lot better, but I guess it counts for nothing if they can't get the gameplay right. Hopefully with the "Dynamic tackling" defending will be less frustrating and I hope it means you can call more men into the tackle etc. http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2012/07/first-rugby-league-live-2-tralier-available/

To be honest, it's not very impressive. It doesn't start well with a poor cut scene intro featuring players in the wrong teams (Pedantic I know). The menus are typical Pro Evo and very 1990s Nintendo still, why? They have always felt cheap and nasty. The demo starts in the tunnel and Fabio Concetrao looks like a Japanese burns victim, although after a few games I realise it's whichever player is in that position in the tunnel for some reason. Then we find out it's a made up stadium, why do that in a demo? It then moves to the national anthem and the players lips juttering about randomly as if they are all singing different songs, with the wordless anthem playing in the background.

The game then starts with a low camera view and pans upwards as the game starts. Whilst the previous Pro Evo's have been arguably better graphically than FIFA, this demo isn't. It's really washed out, like a watercolour. So, as ever, the menus and presentation are terrible. But you expect that from Pro Evo, how does it play? The first impression after being a FIFA player is how slow it is. It's so unbelievably slow that you can easily read a chapter from a book as you move up the pitch. Pace really isn't a factor on the game, isolate Ronaldo against Terry and it matters little. After a few games I did like the weighting of the passing and the arrow that appears when you press the left trigger is a clever idea that lets you play some clever balls. It's one of those games that will take an investment of effort from the player to get the best out of. After a good hour on the game I was churning out some decent moves and saw a couple of really impressive moments, but being frustrated by it in equal measures as the satisfaction was coming. I don't know what difficulty level the demo is on but the AI on the default level is non existent. I played an hour as an unfamiliar player, learning the controls and the AI never got into an attacking position and didn't score a single goal. It repeatedly banged balls into the middle of the stands whenever you close them down in wide positions, which grew frustrating. This Pro Evo doesn't stand a chance of stealing the mantel from FIFA, it's not as accessible, it's not as fun. It'll never be the game you go to when your mates come round or when you get in from the pub. It's not as intuitive and immediate as FIFA and ultimately it doesn't feel right. I will admit I've got doubts I could adapt to a new football game as I'm that entrenched in the way FIFA feels, but this game isn't worth trying to change for.

Remember you can increase the overall speed of the game via the options menus if it starts to frustrate you.
I'm discounting your entire first paragraph because all the points you make are ultimately irrelevant to a football game.
I agree with your point about the AI players hoofing the ball into the stands when you press them. No idea wtf this is about, hopefully it is rectified before the final version, but this is Konami so we all know it won't happen.

I seriously think Konami should just revamp the PES 6 engine and stop trying to beat FIFA on the whole 'realism' side of things. They clearly do not have the skill as game developers to get it right, and they will never have the financial power of EA to ensure the game is polished and promoted to an extent that they actually make a dent in EA's grasp on the market.

PES 6 was, and still is, the best football game ever made. The game engine was absolutely spot on, it played like a dream and it soaked up oceans of my spare time. Hell, even the online matches were (for the most part) error free.
An updated version, with a nice HD spit polish, could revert to taking the arcade approach to a football game. Fast flowing, easy to pick up and play and ultimately FUN.

So I've played the PES demo. My opinion is mixed but I definitely like it. I'll start with what I like about it.

The deftness. The game plays so smoothly when you're playing, you can make the little flicks, the deft touches, you can toe it away at full stretch, you can take little rolls to change your angle, or allow the ball to roll across your body to work a better angle for a shot. The attacking play is smooth but requires skill, precision and timing. I think the defending overall is good, you have to make a good challenge to win the ball, which makes sense, you have to track your runners, your AI players swap positions well and generally keep a good shape without looking robotic. My favourite area is probably the overall style in keeping possession, I can play long balls, through balls down the line or I can get into little passing triangles around the pitch knowing full well I'm in control and I'm not about to be shut down by four players, or I'm not about to pass it to the wrong team mate through poor game mechanics.

The negatives. I think the speed is definitely an issue, you can't outrun your defender which isn't realistic. If the speed stats aren't the same, why can Terry keep up with CR7, and so on? I don't like the 'bars' for charging up shots/crosses etc., and I don't really like the set pieces at all, but set pieces get on my nerves anyway so if they're ineffective, that's fine by me. I've had no issues with the AI doing stupid things on the ball, but I have had a few refereeing problems. Quite a few dodgy reds/yellows and quite a few dodgy fouls that should be red/yellow. My other issue has been with the skill area, I've not looked too much into it, but I flick the stick around and press R3 and not a lot seems to happen, I'm not sure if the trick stick is supposed to do little, but I've tried all kinds of combos and very little seems to happen.

Overall, I'm really impressed with the game as it's still months away from release. I think the general attacking play is beautifully balanced (except the speed), I have turned defenders and created great opportunities, at the same time, they've predicted me well and haven't had to resort to magical shirt pulling/Godlike strength to get the ball back off me. The game feels very nimble and precise, and, whilst it has its flaws, the core gameplay is brilliant and easily better than FIFA 12.

I admire your desire for it to be good, but that demo does nothing to suggest it will be. If anything it gets more and more like FIFA and less like the PES of old with every passing year. The Pro Evo community aren't too impressed either. They all talk of a minor improvement on PES12 but not enough to mark a return to the halcyon days of PES being better than it's bigger brother.

It plays nothing like FIFA. FIFA is clunky, sloppy and the play is generally scrappy. If FIFA passed like PES it'd be twice the game it is; FIFA's passing is woeful.

Not really fussed on the PES community's thoughts, I'm not part of that, I'm a FIFA player and I think PES' 'core' game play is better, it flows more, the touches and turns make things less predictable.

I'm playing Tom Clancy's Futre Soldier Ghost Recon at the moment. I'm no usually into war games but I'm loving this. 8.5/10 so far.

Max Payne 3?

Far too much cut-scenes and very repetitive gameplay. Wait till it hits budget price.

Oh, and he's still a mardy nice bloke. 12 years on after the death of his wife and daughter, he's still waiting to die and still drinking.

Tbh I wasn't expecting you to mention the positive things the "community" have said about the demo. Only the negatives about PES, as usual!

His version of the 'PES community' is the local Howley youth centre near him. Do ignore.