Reviews mean nothing really. I never have and never will buy a game based on a review. COD get's great reviews, should I buy it? No, because I detest the game.
I'm not even a Fifa hater either, because I thought 10 was much better than Pro last year and 11 is pretty damn good. Rating it 97 is beyond ridiculous though. 100% is PERFECT. 97 i near on perfect and Fifa 11 isn't anywhere near perfect. No football game has ever been close to perfection. We've had some amazing games, but calling it perfect is stupid. I'd give Fifa 11 around the 88% mark or so, with Pro probably around 90%.
The fact is that I couldn't really care too much about this years reviews. For me, Pro Evo is back. It's back to what made it so amazing. I remember back during Pro 5/6 etc when the game was so fantastic, hard fought victories, last minute goals to snatch a draw in the rain, great build up play, great back and fourth matches, great feeling to the career mode,. And for me, that's all back here. It'd been lacking for the last two or three years, but IMO it's back (cant speak for the career mode yet of course). I'm back to fighting for victories, back to learning the game, back to truly feeling like I'm having a great and realistic match. I even get frustrated at the game sometimes, but it's a good frustration, it's not like Fifa where I get angry because certain things are downright ridiculous, it's an anger at wanting to perform better, which is in the player, not the game.
Fifa plays great, but it still doesn't give me the same amount of excitement and realism. Pro just makes me happy. I've sat and played the demo for hours on end, knowing once I get the full game, I'll be spending days nonstop on it, knowing I'll be playing it for months down the line. The problem with Fifa is that it doesn't play like that. Within a few weeks, I'm bored of Fifa. The same thing it's always had, it's just too easy to get the hang of. After a week, I know I'll be playing at the top level and dominating, I know I'll have little interest in playing anything other than the online mode. With Pro, I know I'll want to spend ages upon ages on the career mode just like the old days. I know with Pro that even after weeks of play, I'll still be learning and progressing with the play and that's what makes the huge difference between the two.
It's just my opinion. I think Fifa is great competition, but for me Pro is back to being at it's best.