8.10.2010

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is a tricky one to rate, especially in something so knee-jerk as is the 1-5* rating system. I bought my copy this morning and, after playing it for most of the day I believe I can offer you a general lowdown on the game. Let me start by saying this is a 5* game for football fans; a 5* game for Pro Evolution fans, and a 5* game for those who want to have tremendous fun and many, many laughs. On the whole though, there are a few flaws in the game - not too major - but flaws which mean 4 *'s is a just value, in my eyes.For those of you who don't already know, this game is NOTHING like the previous two PES editions. The whole engine has been ripped up,torn out and replaced with a much shinier, smoother model - Pro's been suped up and suped up good. I'll start with the passing - perhaps the aspect Konami have really nailed - and surely the most important area of the game. "Engineered For Freedom", the game's new motto, sounds clichéd but I'll tell you now, it's quite appropriate. The ball can literally go anywhere, and I mean anywhere. On the game's demo, when you played with either Barca or Bayern - this wasn't as obvious. You had Iniesta, Xavi, Schweinsteiger et al on the pitch - these player's skill, in particular their first touch/close control, really come into their own here. With such teams, the moves you can instigate and execute are astonishing - challenging - but extremely rewarding if pulled off. The mixed bag of new animations come into play here, and the "hold LT to manual pass" touch is a stroke of true class - you can literally hit the ball from 10CM to 100 yards away from your foot - a priceless tool for intricate midfield interchange when playing through gaps. At first, your play might be akin to a fish out of water, but don't be deterred - after a few matches you will gradually start to get used to the new controls. You'll find that your passes - that skewed horribly out of play earlier - will be weighted nicely. You'll find that your shots - that looked so awful at first that even I grew sceptical - will come together perfectly; you'll realise that these take into account the angle & run up mixed with the amount of power you use.Defensively, this game's difficult, where so many come up short. The key to it is your tactics - another area of the game leading a new life. You now have a system similar to that of Football Manager i.e. a board with pieces, the pieces being your formation and players. You're at the steering wheel here, you can do anything to the team - you want 10 attackers? No problem. Or 10 men behind the ball? Job done. How you position your defence is key to your success - if a 'speed demon' striker so easily breaks your backline's offside trap - you ain't gonna be catching him up anytime soon - it's all down to the goalkeeper from then on. However, if you spot him early and make your run first, a life-like neck-in-neck race will ensue - this is where an excellent new jostling system is useful. If your defender is in the form of a brute, you can use your strength to complete advantage by shouldering your way in and ushering the attacker to one side. Another nice touch is that if you are in a corner, like in real-life, where you are being hassled by the opposition, you can use manual pass to hit it off him for an easy goal-kick/throw in. I've never been able to buy set-pieces as smoothly before!Your positioning is what a trunk is to a three - you'll need it, or you'll fall apart. This counts for aerial play, both defensively and offensively - I shan't gabble on any longer though - just take my word for it that the defensive side to this game, although tricky to grasp, is ultimately rewarding. My belief is that EVERY aspect of this game is there to be mastered.Now, what have I missed? Oh, that's it, online play. The old Achilles' heel of this series. Now I haven't had much time, but even in the short time of playing it I couldn't resist getting my teeth into the online master league - competition at its very best. You start with a team of your choice - whether it be Real Madrid or Blackpool - it doesn't make too much difference, surprisingly. You have their colours/kit & name - the rest in a default squad of the lowest quality and 500k in the bank. You play games to win money. If you win, you receive maximum profits; lose, it's minimal mate. Competitions i.e. cups are also there, starting at set periods throughout the day - I haven't played one yet but I believe you'll receive even more cash there. Now I've played about 6 games today. The question is, is there any lag? No! Well, not from my minimal experience, and even this is a huge step up from recent online disasters. The competition was fantastic and I experienced some heart-pounding games - just like the Pro Evo of old.To tidy up - the graphics are a delight - from the pitch, to the players, to the referee - just adding to the game's realism. The commentary, I'm afraid to say is appalling, as ever - why can't they improve on something so apparently simple? The stadium sound effects have improved, although perhaps not to FIFA's level. The menus are precise and very easy to use - you won't have any trouble finding your way around. Another gripe I have with the game is some refereeing decisions really are questionable - I've even felt sorry for my opposition online at times.On the whole though, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 represents a success for Konami. The graphics are great, the gameplay is of the highest quality and, perhaps most importantly, it's incredibly fun and very addictive. I won't lie to you - this game is hard - the computer, on Top Player, will beat you more often than not. And online, some of the foreign players, particularly the Spaniards, seem to be masters of the manual pass and you can't get near them at times. On the whole, it's a game which is to be mastered. If you want a game that is more pick-up-and-play, but ultimately less rewarding, then buy FIFA or anything else. You can't run before you can walk remember.4*s - Because a lot of the teams aren't updated, the refs can conduct themselves outrageously and the commentary's a sham. Otherwise, a triumph.

23.10.2010

After years of disappointment with the latest generation of PES games konami have finally delivered a great game, which is probably the best football simulation yet. They have completely reworked the gameplay and it is utterly unrecognisable from previous games.The thing that really marks this game out is the superb semi-manual passing system, a problem that has dogged football games over the years is how to get this right as if you make it too easy ie you press the pass button and it magnetically goes to the nearest player then the game becomes far too easy and previous titles have tried to solve this by ramping up the game speed so you have less of a window to make a pass but then the gamebecomes unrealistically fast and if you ramp up the speed to this level you also have speed up everything else including making players run like ussain bolt with the ball at their feet, and players must always have perfect first time control and when defending you just hold the sprint button and the defend button as the player with the ball is going so fast you there isn't enough time to do it any other way. Up to now this has been the norm for football games and this a problem fifa still suffers greatly from.However with the new PES system this problem has been addressed as you have to direct and weight your passes and the game is played at a slower more realistic pace and passes won't automatically fly magnetically straight to another player and passes can often go out for throw ins and players usually need one touch to control the ball and a second touch to make a pass, just like in real life, and you have to adapt to mistakes with underhit passes messing up flowing moves meaning you have to backtrack and play it back to defenders/keepers and start building again. If you overhit passes too hard then players will miscontrol and often lose the ball and if you play a pass too slow it gives defenders time to close you down ant this is a massive leap from previous games with the right balance being struck in terms of difficulty.The other big leap foward is in defending, no longer is it a case of holding down sprint and tackle buttons and the game randomly deciding whether you win the ball, miss the ball or commit a foul. If you get the wrong side of a player or go through a player to get the ball you will give a free kick away every time which is frustrating until you learn to discipline yourself, the game is slow enough that you have time to get yourself in the right position to prepare for an incoming attacker and tackling is done using the stick rather than a button and is more about slowly easing an incoming player off the ball with player physicality and shoulder barging an important part of defending, holding the sprint button will often help you tackle but when using it you are unlikely to come away with the ball often going out for throw ins or running lose so it is often good to try and avoid using it when possible. Also defenders now will always try and hold a flat back line and work as a unit, unlike in previous games (most noticeably fifa 10) where one defender would fly up on his own making it easy to score from through balls for other players, though this still hasn't been perfected as there is a problem with nearby players not reacting when the ball comes their way and watching as it sails past them sometimes.The shooting system hasn't changed that much from previous games and it was always one of the strong points of PES.Other nice touches are in the game plan settings which have been greatly improved and simplified using a simple mouse pointer system to let you drag players about and edit things in a much more efficient way and you can set three different sets of tactics depending whether you are winning, level or losing. You can also map tricks such as step overs, flicks and turns to LB and the right stick, initially I thought this might lead to it being far to easy to dribble around players but this is not the case as you need to perfectly time your tricks and more often than not you will just barge straight into a defender and get knocked flat on your arse although sometimes you can get it just right and pull off amazingly satisfying moves. Also presentation is vastly improved as is the music and both are now great compared to previous games.

9.10.2010

Pro Evolution 2011 is the revamp this series needed; it puts the last few instalments to shame and exposes them as the shallow arcade games they are. This is a real simulation of football and it soon became obvious that a lot of what I had learned from playing previous PES games was irrelevant. It has a steep learning curve because the AI has dramatically improved and now finally shows real attacking intent, the new passing system requires concentration and quick thinking- it is very unforgiving but can be immensely rewarding and because the game is now slower and much more realistic. I have a lost a fair few games against the AI while trying to get to grips with the game,you have to play it like your playing a real game, be meticulous and patient. When you get it right PES 2011 is easily the closest you can get to recreating football in a game, there is little that is as satisfying as putting good moves together and it never gets formulaic and my range of goals have been diverse to say the least.GRAPHICS: The graphics are excellent (HD) and some of the player likenesses are the best seen in any football game; I think PES 2011 certainly has better visuals, plus I love the new camera angle which really highlight the detail in the presentation.AUDIO: The crowd noise seems much more authentic this year, a lot of recognisable chants rather than a generic blur. Plus you can hear players shouting to each other. The commentary is pretty weak but much improved on the previous few games. No more Lawro thankfully, his voice acting was appalling and Jim Beglin does a much better job of making it sound authentic.AI: The artificial intelligence shows great improvement and improves the game play immeasurably. It has been so frustrating in the previous two games because the AI would simply pass along its back line and in midfield and showing little urgency or attacking intent. Now the AI knows how to cut you open and will do so successfully, it shows much more urgency and will attack you, especially when losing. It makes for a much more challenging game and it has been a great pleasure learning how to play it.TACTICS: The tactical system has such depth that it's like a mini- management game, you can set your team up exactly how you want them to play and see it executed sublimely on the pitch; there is a huge array of options. You can set your team to play different strategies you set for different situations- Level, leading or trailing. The new drag and drop system is fantastic, you can set the exact formation you want and it is so simple. The new interface is excellent and makes it easy to meticulously create your own tactics. You can also leave it to automated with a few different options which works fine for when you want to just get on with the game.To conclude, this is the best football game yet made. I played both demos PES and FIFA and have to say I enjoyed them both. It wasn't until I got the full game and really got stuck in when I realised the depth that PES 2011 has. It is real football simulation for the purists who want to play a proper game of football; you have to play the game well to win. No more pinball passes and huge AI automated assistance in everything you do. The altered defensive system now allows you defend realistically, you are able to keep your defender backing off their man and hold them up, you have to get the timing right if you want to put you foot in but it means there is a real technique to defending. There was no real system before and defending well was difficult because you couldn't back off and the AI pulled out your centre backs- this has been overhauled. The physicality of the players now has a real effect, it is much more realistic and restricts player being able to just sprint past everyone. Stamina now plays a bigger part so you can't afford to be sprinting non stop with your best player (which was a lame and tiresome tactic anyway).- PES 2011 has what i've been dying for Konami to do for years. A return to being a proper football simulation; it has really surprised me to be honest. Yes, it doesn't have the licenses and that is a great shame; but there can be no other choice for the purist, this is how the game SHOULD be played. Sublime.

9.12.2010

After being a huge fan of Pro Evolution on the PS2 (Especially the editing side) I bought the 2009 and 2010 version on the Xbox 360 after upgrading a couple of years ago. Altho0ugh the Xbox graphics are far better than the PS2, the gameplay and editing were far worse IMO.When Pro Evo 2011 was released a few weeks ago I waited a few weeks for it to come down in price, not expecting the gameplay to be any better. In fact 2011 is far better overall. The master league has finally improved and even playing against the computer has some enjoyment (Compared to all other versions of the game).The best thing about PES 2011 is that you can really put together some fantastic moves and team goals,as well as some fantastic long shots (Once you've mastered when to shoot). For the first time ever you can finally also score some great headed goals from crosses and corners, something which I found lacking in previous games.Overall the game is a far more enjoyable experience (On the Xbox 360) although there are still a few flaws...Tackling/Fouls... Fouls and cards are given out far too often, mostly for slight mis-timed challenges. Which although you do get used to this, it does really become annoying. Especially when you get a Man sent off for 2 seemingly fair challenges from the front.Goalkeepers... When playing the computer, Goalkeepers are hugely annoying. Simply whack the ball out of defence to the edge of the box, and run your strikers forward and 9 times out of 10 the Goalkeeper will stay on his line and you end up with an easy tap in. Not good!Commentary... Although it is better than previous versions and Jim Beglin is a huge improvement to Mark Lawrenson, this is still not even 50% as good as Fifa. Most of the commentary is far too repetitive and also often doesn't match. i.e. You smash the crossbar from 35 yards and they moan at you for shooting from there.Or you miss a sitter from 5 yards and you are told your player was unlucky.Editing... The editing on the PS2 was fantastic, you could have a number of different heights, hairstyles, faces, sunglasses and other funny heads, etc (Dogs, Penguins, etc). Although you can still do this and editing is only a bit of fun, it is very annoying that you are very limited to what you can do. i.e. Make up a short, thin player and a huge, fat player and despite the size difference they don't look that much difference.Also you cannot add faces easily using the Xbox 360 (Not like you can on the PS3) which is very annoying when you want to add your own Faces, logo's and crests, etc. The webcam option is no substitute either as the faces look awful.The final real annoyance for me is that if you are an International team (Say England) playing on easier levels or against the computer, then they play well, but as soon as you play a Human opponent they suddenly cannot control the ball, run fast or basically do anything. So playing is a real annoyance. This doesn't happen however when using Club sides.Despite my seemingly long list of annoyances this game is far better than 2009 and 2010, and is actually really enjoyable to play against the computer, or in Master league. Which has never been the case before.I'd give PES 2011 a 4 star as the positives do outweight the negatives.Well worth a try!

13.10.2010

It's actually really, really good! After about ten minutes playing this new version of Pro Evo I was loving it. Had it for just under a week now and it's there to see that the quality of gameplay has definitely increased. I played the last one to the death right up until this new release. The changes made for this version are becoming pretty apparent pretty quickly. I don't play online (still play multiplayer though) so I can't comment on online play.They have tweaked the game to make the passing more important, and you can't just pass it to Theo Walcott or Messi and then skin the defence, you don't make enough ground (1 because the players running speed are more similar,and 2 because defenders put you off your stride more). Through balls have become more important for this reason, and getting the timing right on them is a interesting skill to nail down. Your not just gonna push a button and have it land at your strikers feet everytime, but they are not as generally useless as in 2010, and I have scored some nice goals so far. Gotta beat the defense using clever quick passing and timing in this one I think. You generally have to be more patient with your possession, and the players move it around nicely with varying degrees of skill which is good to see. Players with excellent ball control stand out now, so where as in real life Fabregas is top midfielder, it didn't really seem to show up in the last game. In this version players like him stand out because the possession (playing football!) counts.It seems more competitive. I used to pick random teams with my mates and 9 times out of ten if you picked Real Madrid and the other player picked North Korea, then Real Madrid would win, but it's not as easy now.Another very welcome feature is the import data from 2010 action, which does all the transfers that you had in the previous game. So if like to me you have kept up to date with transfer, you don't have to do them again (which traditionally would take hours). For example out of the box in this game Ibrahimovic still plays for Barcelona and Robinho is a free agent, where as they both obviously went to AC Milan this summer.There's obviously a lot of style changes that were always going to come about with new game. They've brought back the hexagon to show how good your player is. Also they have got rid of the feature of when you complete a world cup with certain nations, you can unlock the classic team. Now you have to earn points playing one player to unlock more features. Also you get silly unlocks like 80's arcade graphics crowds and sounds, as well as massive heads shaped like pumpkins and footballs that look like cardboard boxes, etc. Not particularly important, but not a bad thing either!So most people won't read the reviews and just buy the game that they bought before. That's why I thought it was important to put out the simple message that this is a good game! It's fun and worth playing. You can't ask for more than that now can you?(Also Newcastle United are back, unrealistically though Ben Arfa's leg is still in once piece).

12.7.2011

The most impressive aspect of this game is that it actually feels, looks and plays, like a real game of football. Be it when you're at the controller and seeing how your pass clears the last defender for the onrushing striker to latch onto, or observing how it compares to watching a game on television, as how a player makes a run into the channels.For this reason on its own, it far outstrips the FIFA franchise.An example, playing as Roma and currently 1st in Serie A, an away game against Parma, who were in 11th. I had just beaten Bari 4-0 at home and to most observers, an away win was on the cards. However, like it does in real life, the 'better' team couldn't get their rhythm going and I soon fell behind to an early Parma goal.

18.2.2011

I have always been a fan of PES Series, 2010 was great, but PES 2011 is even better, with amazing graphics, refined controls and better commentary. What makes PES 2011 stand out from the rest of the series is the new refined controls, in the past when you passed the ball it would simply go to the next player, it was simple, it was great, but it made the game unrealistic when you are scoring 5 goals + in one match. In 2011 the controls are much harder and more realistic, now you have to pass the ball in the direction you wish to pass it, otherwise it will go out or to the opposing team. Goals are much harder to score now, its not simply a case of hit the joypad button and score, but more of a look,

28.11.2010

After years of enjoying PES on the PS2 I bought the 2009 game on my new Xbox 360. It was okay, but I actually the the 2008 game on the PS2 was better. Anyway, being a little disappointed, for the first time in about 7 or 8 years, I bought FIFA 10. It was a great game, with excellent online modes with the only lag coming from people with very poor connections. Still, I thought it proved my prejudices about FIFA where the ball is stuck to the player's foot, only a couple of variations on long passes and all the goals come from one on ones.So this year I got PES, as it got good reviews and I played FIFA 11 and it was quite boring. After playing it for a couple of weeks I was, to be honest,

29.12.2010

I was in two minds on which to buy out of this and FIFA 11, but after reading reveiws, I thought I'd go for this. As we know since pro evo 6, it had been a terrible game and FIFA 10 was great. I've loved pro since it was called International Superstar Soccer so I went and bought this.It is much improved, great gameplay, good choice of modes, Master League now including champions league and europa league. This is what I've mainly been playing. I've seen people moaning about the passing and shooting because you now have to apply the right power to each move. This isn't that hard at all once you get used to it. Unlike FIFA the higher ranked players perform much better than the lower ranks.

24.10.2010

I must say that I had given up on PES and didn't intend buying it this time around after enjoying Fifa since 08. But after the bitter disappointment of Fifa 11, and because PES is so cheap at the momment at game & gamestation I decided to buy it. I am so surprised at how much fun this game is. Yes it does seem a little bit more arcadey than Fifa, but its so damn enjoyable, and the goals you can score are hilarious. You can also choose the player traits of your team which is awesome. In some ways the graphics are better than Fifa, and in others not so. However, the commentary sucks bigtime on PES LOL, but that's hardly a big deal.If you're frustrated with the pathetic scripting of Fifa's boring simulation,

15.1.2011

Great gameplay and stadiums, players and animations look FANTASTIC. For a handheld the graphics are amazing! I've owned every single Pro Evo on PSP and this is by far the best looking! However the amazing graphics come at a price. Unlike previous editions of Pro Evo I've played, the gameplay on Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 lags in areas of intense matchplay. For example in crowded penalty areas with multiple players. It's not as bad as FIFA on the PSP and if you are new to the series it's so trivial you probably won't notice it. But as a Pro Evo veteran it's just annoying. I have only played friendlies and looked around the menus so far so cannot comment on any differences to the master league.

20.10.2010

This game is very different to previous Pro Evo's so takes a bit of work to get used to it. I have played all the ISS/Pro Evo's since ISS Pro 98 (I also have every FIFA from 1994 to FIFA 10 and pretty much every other football game attempt from SWOS to This is Football!) and have to say this is by far the best. The passing will annoy you at first and the shooting definately will! After a number of games though, once you have got out of the old PES games mode of having to pass directly to feet, you find yourself playing some wonderful free flowing football and pulling balls into open space for players to run on and have a shot. When you do score it is very satisfying and feels like you have earned it and not just pressed a few buttons in quick succession.

19.10.2010

Well I have bought pro Evo 2011 two weeks ago and im still playing it to all the hours godsend, some people say I a need a life but who cares.To start off with the game play has completely changed (for the better)and at last I have a very satisfactory footy game to play, the game play is smooth and more importantly its damned hard to win games.Most people give it less stars for games that are hard but thats the whole point you need a challenge.I have been playing Pro Evo since 2004 and in my opinion nothing has quite matched it since until now.This game has a stadium editor so you can create your own stadiums,

18.10.2010

After playing demos for both pes 2011 and fifa 11 and i went for PES 2011 and dont regret it one bit. The gameplay is great, there is a total revamp of tricks and skills and the new option linking feints, passes much more resemble where you want to pass, and there is greatly enhanced precision when dribbling. The modes are similar to previous years but the addition of master league online is inspired, slightly dissapointed at the lack of player development but i have literally have not been able to stop playing it. You become completely caught up in trying to create the best team in the world to beat other users.In terms of graphics, the cut scenes don't look quite as good as fifa but during actual gameplay they are better in my opinion,

21.3.2011

I used to play Fifa 98,2000... I thought it was the best football game ever... until I played PES.Since then, I have been playing PES for Playstation until PES 6, then I bought PES2009 for PC. And now PES2011.I have tried different versions of FIFA, and still, it's really good, but PES is superior.I can say there are many improvements from PES2009 to PES2011, graphs are much better (although you need a good processor and a graphics card for good performance).You have more options, more real teams and players, the online mode has been improved, excellent music, players behave quite realisticly... I am missing the Konami Cup, though, I can't create my own Cups (ie. Champions League from Quarter-final or Last 16...).

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (PES 2011) - Reviews

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