Fry Crayola

I doubt the issues with kits are anything to do with the Fox Engine, but rather then core game data, that layer underneath the front end. I'd say they have a good enough grasp of the engine and what it's capable of, given the development the match day experience gets with AI improvements, animation work, etc. PES 2015 and 2020 are markedly different on the pitch, but essentially identical off it.

That's amazing. I imagine they've got this old creaky core with nobody assigned to work solely on it, so the entire front end is just built around it in whatever way works. Explains why things like the Master League and Be A Legend have been effectively the same for the best part of a decade.

It depends on how much of the memory is used by system stuff. 42 games with three regional variants is probably going to be around half of the space, at most.

The CPU team occasionally getting completely confused and ignoring the ball is a bit irritating when it happens, as it feels very cheap when you pick up a loose ball that should never have been yours. It isn't a difficulty thing either, as it's happening on Superstar. If it's intentional confusion - two players each leaving it to the other, for example - then that needs telegraphed, but I suspect it's just actually broken.

No, 360 instruments require a wired adapter from PDP to work, which is difficult to find these days.

There's a striking difference between good and bad teams here that wasn't really present in previous years, and I think it's a combination of the revamped dribbling and inability to ping pong passes around like your entire team is composed of Andres Iniesta. Which, given he was consulted on the dribbling, might just be a case of ego. I started a Master League with Oeste, in the Brazilian Serie B. They're a 2 star team, average rating about 65, and there's no stand out player. I've managed to work a couple of nice plays but nothing's coming off consistently, with players having a tough time in possession and a the value of taking time on the ball really showing up. It pays to get things under control and take a moment to let the ball stop bouncing around, let it roll for a while if you can, but it's tough going and I'll really need to find a few good players to start building the team around. To see if this wasn't just a wholesale change to the game - I had last year's Hibs team playing like fucking mentality giants in every match - I fired up a game of England vs San Marino. My god, this England side is an absolute joy to use, particularly Sancho and Sterling on the wings. They can control the ball in tight spaces, sprint off to get a bit of space, and the whole team's so much more fluid in attack as a result. I still only won 2-0 because I'm getting used to the differences and probably wanted to fanny about with the wingers more than I needed to, but it's something to aspire to with Oeste.

I think it can be very fussy and not allow a 360 game to be bought (even when free, you're "buying" it) without a credit/debit card on your account, unless you go via an actual Xbox 360. At least, that's how I understand it used to be. If you're having the issue because you're using another payment method, that might explain it.

While you could resort to passively watching a playthrough, the interactivity is what makes a game what it is, not challenge. That link between your actions and the events on screen adds to the experience, even in the absence of barriers to overcome. There's no challenge in the first ten minutes of Silent Hill 2. Does it not become a game until you reach your first monster?

You know how in FIFA 19's The Journey (well, if you played it), Alex Hunter goes down the negative road of surrounding himself with an entourage, obsessed with marketing his image? And how Danny Williams is just there trying to relax and have a normal bit of fun playing some football that just happens to be the Champions League? Well, Volta is what happens if nobody slaps Hunter across the face until he wises the fuck up. It's absolutely dripping with an obsession with image to its own detriment. it's fun but it'd be more so if it lightened the fuck up.

...and that was just the press conference!

Ireland have managed alright without him tonight, 3-1 up against Bulgaria and reacting well enough to conceding the penalty for the equaliser. First time Ireland have won a friendly since last summer. Seem to be on a rate of one per year, but surely they can make it two against New Zealand in November.

I feel the best way to do it is to run them on equal terms. Not necessarily financial - Newcastle United aren't going to throw Premier League money at their third tier women's side and nor should they - but equal in terms of access to facilities, opportunity, youth teams, and sense of community. A club that can allow the women's team to benefit from the success of the men and vice versa is a better prospect than a club run exclusively for one of them. As you say though, an independent club on their own terms is a better prospect than the team that's dropped as soon as things look tough for the more fancied gender. Making the running of such teams a requirement for continued entry to the EFL and Premier League would help mitigate against that.

Another two for Troy Parrott tonight against Sweden, as Ireland came back from a goal down and the disappointment of a missed penalty to win 3-1. If they're on course to make the country's first U21 finals, I'd like to see Kenny stay with the side until after the tournament, even if double-jobbing for a while. Better that than disrupting the side for a few Nations League games.

The continued absence of the J League frustrates me, especially with the mobile version having both J1 and J2.

It'll be the demo - the PC version doesn't unlock until tomorrow evening.