Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Review
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 represents the biggest overhaul of Konami’s footballing franchise to date, as it strives to reclaim its former glory as the footy fans favourite sim. Stephen Ebert took to the pitch to see if it could hit the target.
The good
From the moment you punt your first pass in anger, PES 2011 feels different almost immediately. No longer does passing feel like players and the ball have velcro strapped to them. The ball doesn’t stick like it used to. That’s because Konami has turned off all manner of assisted passing. You’ll now have to judge every pass using the D-pad or control stick and pass buttons, being sure to keep an eye on the power bar.
It’s the same with shooting. No longer do shots swerve towards goal when you’ve got your back to the keeper. Precise directional aim when passing and shooting is where it’s at. It takes ages to get used to, but it feels more like real football. The extra effort makes passing moves more difficult, but increasingly satisfying to put together.
Because dribbling and close control have been tweaked, it’s now impossible to give the ball to your fastest player and watch him dribble through the entire team. While this penalises the very best in-game dribblers such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s a welcome tweak ensuring that matches play a little more fairly, even when teams are mismatched.
Master League remains one of the PES series best features. As per usual you get to either play as one of the default teams across whole seasons, or begin with the default Konami team composed of made-up players. You get to control all facets of a football club: from transfers, to sponsorship deals right down to how much money you spend developing youth players. Watching your team (especially if you’ve started from scratch) is as satisfying as it has been.
The bad
The PES series has in the past been coveted by its fans for its gameplay. However, today presentation is just as vital to delivering a proper matchday experience on console – something PES 2011 rival, FIFA 11 excels at. Playing matches in PES 2011 can at times feel like drab pre-season games, lacking in atmosphere and sense of urgency. The crowd barely helps, droning rather than chanting.
Commentary is also lacking. Phrases that are supposed to express excitement feel as if they’ve been shouted at random, and feel almost robotic, as if button activated at flash points during matches.
The changes to the passing and dribbling represent a more realistic footballing experience, but won’t be to all tastes. It’s now more difficult for players to pull of tricks, most of them have been shifted to being activated by the left control stick and a button combination. Changes to passing also mean that your game will almost certainly be littered by amateur footballing errors – even the simplest looking pass are easily under-hit. Lofted through balls are an altogether trickier proposition. But as mentioned earlier, this can mean they’re more satisfying to pull of.
Once again a severe lack of licenses lets the game down. It’s hardly a detriment to the gameplay but playing as North London, instead of Arsenal isn’t the same.
The bottom line
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is a radical departure from PES games of old. It’s much slower and difficult to get to get a firm boot on, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a joy to play. It’s not the best football game out now – it still lacks in many areas such as commentary, presentation and matchday feel. However, PES 2011 is still one of the better PES games of recent years.
