Without the STRATEGIES, PES11 is a good video game, for me it is the best PES to date in terms of dribbling with the ball and scoring goals.
However, when I consider the STRATEGIES, PES11 is one of the worst video games I have ever played: the STRATEGIES are completely automatic, things that you could do in PES10 are impossible to do in PES11 because the off-the-ball movement is entirely out of your hands.
In PES10, I could manually control the ball carrier with the left analogue stick, whilst at the same time, control the movement of another individual with the L2 STRATEGIES; this offered a very substantial and addictive hook to the game, one that I had never experienced in any other Football Sim: I could dictate my own script on-the-fly, I could dictate the passing angles, I could control two individuals at the same time, and it was easy and intuitive, etc.
With PES11, Konami simplified things, you can no longer dictate the movement of another individual with the STRATEGIES, you can only control the ball carrier, pass the ball and tap the R2 button, and that's about it; the game is very insubstantial and automatic in the most important area.
PES10 was more substantial than PES11 in terms of football, PES10 had a very substantial and addictive hook hidden underneath all the robotic animations; PES11 is just a shallow game that feels good and looks good, but has absolutely no substance where it matters the most.
PES11 would have been a brilliant game, had Konami elaborated on the thing that PES10 actually did right, and mixed that with the animations and passing system of PES11; but unfortunately, PES11 is just a technical game, cheap thrills and spills with no substance where it matters the most, it has very little to do with Football.
PES11 feels a lot like FIFA09 in that there is no build-up play, every attack feels and flows like a counter attack; passing the ball feels very ping pong, you tap the passing button and the next thing you know..... you are in the final third of the pitch.
I have played the game, I have enjoyed the game, but it lacks a certain hook: I cannot dictate my own script, I am forced to follow random opportunities as dictated by the COM.
After experiencing the difference of dictating my own script as opposed to following random orders as dictated by the COM, I think PES11 is very restrictive and automatic in the most important area; at the end of the day, it's just too dumb and insubstantial and automatic: when I reach the final third of the pitch.... I never feel like I had to think in order to get there.
But the truly remarkable thing about PES11, is that despite how dumb and automatic it is in the most important area; it feels good, it looks good, and scoring goals has a certain PES5 feel to it; despite how dumb the game is in terms of Football, the technical side of the game is good enough for you to enjoy the game.
I really like how it feels, I like to score goals, and I like how it looks; but it all boils down to the fact that, when I'm looking for a substantial feature that has something to do with Football, the game fails to provide me with the substantial hook that I had back in PES10.
In addition, the on-the-ball system does not clicks in with the new passing system, it makes the game too easy; it feels and plays like the passing system is too smart and advanced for the actual video game.
That's the thing that stands out the most for me, regarding PES11, that the game actually feels and plays like the passing system is too smart and advanced for the FAMICOM FOUNDATION that is hidden underneath all the motion capture and graphics.
PES11 has no substance, but it feels good; PES11 is enough to give you a taste, of how good the game could be, if it achieved the correct balance between substance and feel.
All things considered, PES11 has massive potential... if Konami finally replaces the FAMICOM FOUNDATION.... with something that actually fits in with the new passing system; and makes the game feel advanced as a complete package, instead of feeling incomplete due to the FACT that the passing system is more clever and more advanced than the FAMICOM FOUNDATION that supports it.
If Konami changes how the left analogue stick works, simplifies and makes better use of the accessible buttons, massively improves how the off-the-ball movement works, replaces the old defensive system: PES11 has massive potential.
But in all honestly, I do not think Konami will produce a clever and substantial video game; because it is abundantly clear, that Konami has replaced the substantial with cheap thrills and spills... and I don't see them changing any time soon.
