Athlon_
Registered User
I was pleasantly surprised to say the least when I found that my copy of PES2011 arrived today.
After installing the game, deleting the play list, turning off the commentary and configuring all of the settings, I dived straight into my first match of PES2011. A big moment. Anticipation, and dare I say it – clenching.
After three years of installing PES, and finding that I had essentially bought digitised dog crap and a thirty pound beer mat, my anxiety was justified – would this be another turkey?
Top player, 15 minute game, Normal player condition, no injuries, no subs. A test game. Club Brugge K.V. [P1] v Bologna F.C.
First impressions of gameplay is that it may even be better than the demo (thank you know what).
It is certainly more difficult. AI closes down more sharply than in the demo, and is also more potent in attack.
I found this out the hard way - a 3-0 gubbing by the Rossoblu.
I played a second match with the same settings, this time Atlético Madrid [P1] v Deportivo la Coruña.
I played the first half and got to 2-0 infront before I decided it was time to do the editing.
So overall gameplay impressions:
- The gameplay is a joy. When playing as Atlético, it was so fluid, the passing, movement, possession, even defending was good once you get used to it.
I have now got into the habit of looking at the radar immediately after I lose the ball, to assess the whole defensive situation. Once you do that, you can make the right choices, and defending was fairly comfortable, but always requiring full concentration.
If you get sloppy for even a couple of seconds when defending in this game, you will be punished, full stop. As it should be.
---
After this I spent four hours of editing and configuring until I finally got the game set-up just so - more or less.
The addition of being able to customise competition logos is a nice touch, the menus are all very smooth and intuitive.
Something Konami might want to consider for the future, is a copy and paste addition to get team names corrected quicker. Wikipedia is every PES editors best friend.
Also Konami might want to put more effort into assigning clubs a stadium that actually looks vaguely like their own. Half the teams had been assigned the Konami Stadium behemoth, something that obviously needed correcting.
Assigning each club a more appropriate stadium took up most of Hawksbee and Jackobs, and about two of the four hours it took to set the game up properly.
I am half tempted to right to Konami and tell them to put my check in the mail.
---
After giving all teams their correct logos, I was left with a slight disappointment.
Because the menus in PES now actually look smooth and professional, the bits you edit yourself, unless you are really good, really do stand out as bits you did yourself.
Like someone trying to fix a crack in the Sistine Chapel roof with stuff they got from B&Q.
The logos I added for the teams and competitions that needed them will do the job, but I will definitely be keeping my eye on the editing community for some better professional looking logo packs.
---
The stadium editor if I am honest was a touch disappointing. I am VERY glad it is there, but I feel it is something that needs a lot of expansion, especially in components to choose from.
I was disappointed that, when using the smallest stand components, I could not use the same design for all stands, and my best effort at a small stadium for a D2 club looked a bit of a League 2 botch job if truth be told.
Also the display picture of the stadium is very pixelated, again showing up the bits of the game that are home made.
Overall though, it is a good addition, with enough components to do the job, but not quite enough to leave you satisfied.
I may change this view slightly after I've unlocked all of the stadium bits from the Extra Content.
---
After completing the editing, I started a Master League.
Athlon Voetbal Vereniging were resurrected from the ashes of PES2010, and placed in their rightful place, the Eerste Divise of Holland.
Adding team logos is easy as ever, importing data gives a good quality image for the most part.
Disappointingly however, the kit components are exactly the same as PES2010. Nothing new, nothing taken away.
Also, I think Konami missed a trick by not getting a tie up with some manufacturers, such as Umbro and Addidas, to get some real kit elements in the game. They do it with boots, so maybe kit parts are the next logical step.
I for one would love to have a range of kit parts from say, Puma, and give my custom club a stonkingly good looking set of uniforms.
As for Chest Logo, if you go for the full wack of manufacturer logo and shirt sponsor, it is difficult to make it look good.
Images imported onto kits still look pixelated and a bit amateurish.
I think being able to upload pictures of good quality into the game first, storing them, and then placing them on the kit as you like would be better.
This would then allow users to mix and match manufacturer and sponsor logos.
Another slight downside is that the club emblem is fixed positionally again this year. The only way to get it into a central position is to build a .png template with it in, and import it into the game. Again, making it look a bit pony.
I think it is a symptom of perhaps Konami not quite having that eye for the little touches that make a game stand out anymore. But I suppose when you have been making the same game for nine hundred years, and for the last three of those years making it badly, that's perhaps to be expected.
Hopefully PES2011 will allow Konami to regain that enthusiasm for the series, which showed in the little touches such as being able to mix and match shirts, shorts and socks in kit selection.
But you cannot deny the effort they have made this year, to turn around a game that was essentially broken in every way in one production cycle is a monumental achievement. For a production team not comfortable working to a yearly deadline, it is even more of an achievement.
Returning to the Master League, you are presented with a swish new menu, one I feel long-time Master League bores like myself will feel right back at home in. Horizontal menus, intuitive control, things in the right place; it feels PES is finally doing things the right way again.
When you first start, you are immediately thrown into the deep-end, and asked to try to sign a player. This I found fairly pointless.
I am playing with the originals, I have no money and I have a level 1 scout. To get the game to proceed I simply set the Scout to negotiate a loan, and then cancelled the negotiations almost immediately.
The addition of actual staff is a good one though, something which can be expanded perhaps in the vein of Football Manager in the future.
The depth of the training section of the game has been improved too. To teach a player a new position, you no longer have to pay an arbitrary amount, it is now set according to the players original position. You can also teach players new skills for a nominal fee.
This is the first time I have used the Gameplan on PES2011. There was no point in using it on the demo, as your set-ups cannot be saved.
Overall it is OK, but I don't really see how it is that big of an improvement over what was there before. In fact is is probably more clumsy than PES2010, and a return to the Game Plan screen of PES4-6 would have been more advisable. I am not a fan of the new screen at all I'm afraid. But maybe time will make a difference there. In a few months time perhaps it will be second nature.
I don't see the value of the change though, it is probably an unnecessary one - another symptom of Konami fixing what's not broken. Effort which could have been better spent on fixing bugs and improving what actually needs improving.
---
Overall, I would say PES2011 is a fantastic game on the pitch. If like me, you could watch Barcelona and Spain all day, literally, and be totally transfixed by the religious experience, you will love PES2011.
If you love watching League 2 on a wet Tuesday night in Lancashire or Stoke City and other artillery footballists, you will also love this game.
The gameplay has true depth. You can play any way you like, and more importantly, any way the team you have wants.
Put simply, I love the gameplay in 2011. I have played every PES, every FIFA, every TIF and some Actua Soccer titles. It is the best gameplay I have ever experienced bar none.
This is the game of the passer and the thinker, not the mindless dribble-fest of some PES's of old, or indeed every FIFA to date.
If you want to just pick up and play, this game really is not for you. PES has remembered its herritage and where it comes from: the hard-core football fan/obsessive.
I have already scored more great team goals since the demo and my first two games on the full game than I have done in all the time since PES6.
This game has an overall feel of a launching pad - every component in the game feels like it was specifically designed to be a foundation for the years to come. This then, well overdue, is PES true début into the next gen era. We should rightly feel optimistic about the future, and I think we should again be able to expect, rather than hope, for greatness from PES in the games of the next few years.
Sorry for not reviewing other parts, but I only care about edit and ML
This is the PES I want.
Happy camper.
Athlon_'s verdict:
Gameplay: 91/100
Sound: 72/100
Graphics: 90/100
Interface/usability: 80/100
Replayability: in general: 85/100, if a ML addict: 99/100
Overall: 86.4/100
After installing the game, deleting the play list, turning off the commentary and configuring all of the settings, I dived straight into my first match of PES2011. A big moment. Anticipation, and dare I say it – clenching.
After three years of installing PES, and finding that I had essentially bought digitised dog crap and a thirty pound beer mat, my anxiety was justified – would this be another turkey?
Top player, 15 minute game, Normal player condition, no injuries, no subs. A test game. Club Brugge K.V. [P1] v Bologna F.C.
First impressions of gameplay is that it may even be better than the demo (thank you know what).
It is certainly more difficult. AI closes down more sharply than in the demo, and is also more potent in attack.
I found this out the hard way - a 3-0 gubbing by the Rossoblu.
I played a second match with the same settings, this time Atlético Madrid [P1] v Deportivo la Coruña.
I played the first half and got to 2-0 infront before I decided it was time to do the editing.
So overall gameplay impressions:
- The gameplay is a joy. When playing as Atlético, it was so fluid, the passing, movement, possession, even defending was good once you get used to it.
I have now got into the habit of looking at the radar immediately after I lose the ball, to assess the whole defensive situation. Once you do that, you can make the right choices, and defending was fairly comfortable, but always requiring full concentration.
If you get sloppy for even a couple of seconds when defending in this game, you will be punished, full stop. As it should be.
---
After this I spent four hours of editing and configuring until I finally got the game set-up just so - more or less.
The addition of being able to customise competition logos is a nice touch, the menus are all very smooth and intuitive.
Something Konami might want to consider for the future, is a copy and paste addition to get team names corrected quicker. Wikipedia is every PES editors best friend.
Also Konami might want to put more effort into assigning clubs a stadium that actually looks vaguely like their own. Half the teams had been assigned the Konami Stadium behemoth, something that obviously needed correcting.
Assigning each club a more appropriate stadium took up most of Hawksbee and Jackobs, and about two of the four hours it took to set the game up properly.
I am half tempted to right to Konami and tell them to put my check in the mail.
---
After giving all teams their correct logos, I was left with a slight disappointment.
Because the menus in PES now actually look smooth and professional, the bits you edit yourself, unless you are really good, really do stand out as bits you did yourself.
Like someone trying to fix a crack in the Sistine Chapel roof with stuff they got from B&Q.
The logos I added for the teams and competitions that needed them will do the job, but I will definitely be keeping my eye on the editing community for some better professional looking logo packs.
---
The stadium editor if I am honest was a touch disappointing. I am VERY glad it is there, but I feel it is something that needs a lot of expansion, especially in components to choose from.
I was disappointed that, when using the smallest stand components, I could not use the same design for all stands, and my best effort at a small stadium for a D2 club looked a bit of a League 2 botch job if truth be told.
Also the display picture of the stadium is very pixelated, again showing up the bits of the game that are home made.
Overall though, it is a good addition, with enough components to do the job, but not quite enough to leave you satisfied.
I may change this view slightly after I've unlocked all of the stadium bits from the Extra Content.
---
After completing the editing, I started a Master League.
Athlon Voetbal Vereniging were resurrected from the ashes of PES2010, and placed in their rightful place, the Eerste Divise of Holland.
Adding team logos is easy as ever, importing data gives a good quality image for the most part.
Disappointingly however, the kit components are exactly the same as PES2010. Nothing new, nothing taken away.
Also, I think Konami missed a trick by not getting a tie up with some manufacturers, such as Umbro and Addidas, to get some real kit elements in the game. They do it with boots, so maybe kit parts are the next logical step.
I for one would love to have a range of kit parts from say, Puma, and give my custom club a stonkingly good looking set of uniforms.
As for Chest Logo, if you go for the full wack of manufacturer logo and shirt sponsor, it is difficult to make it look good.
Images imported onto kits still look pixelated and a bit amateurish.
I think being able to upload pictures of good quality into the game first, storing them, and then placing them on the kit as you like would be better.
This would then allow users to mix and match manufacturer and sponsor logos.
Another slight downside is that the club emblem is fixed positionally again this year. The only way to get it into a central position is to build a .png template with it in, and import it into the game. Again, making it look a bit pony.
I think it is a symptom of perhaps Konami not quite having that eye for the little touches that make a game stand out anymore. But I suppose when you have been making the same game for nine hundred years, and for the last three of those years making it badly, that's perhaps to be expected.
Hopefully PES2011 will allow Konami to regain that enthusiasm for the series, which showed in the little touches such as being able to mix and match shirts, shorts and socks in kit selection.
But you cannot deny the effort they have made this year, to turn around a game that was essentially broken in every way in one production cycle is a monumental achievement. For a production team not comfortable working to a yearly deadline, it is even more of an achievement.
Returning to the Master League, you are presented with a swish new menu, one I feel long-time Master League bores like myself will feel right back at home in. Horizontal menus, intuitive control, things in the right place; it feels PES is finally doing things the right way again.
When you first start, you are immediately thrown into the deep-end, and asked to try to sign a player. This I found fairly pointless.
I am playing with the originals, I have no money and I have a level 1 scout. To get the game to proceed I simply set the Scout to negotiate a loan, and then cancelled the negotiations almost immediately.
The addition of actual staff is a good one though, something which can be expanded perhaps in the vein of Football Manager in the future.
The depth of the training section of the game has been improved too. To teach a player a new position, you no longer have to pay an arbitrary amount, it is now set according to the players original position. You can also teach players new skills for a nominal fee.
This is the first time I have used the Gameplan on PES2011. There was no point in using it on the demo, as your set-ups cannot be saved.
Overall it is OK, but I don't really see how it is that big of an improvement over what was there before. In fact is is probably more clumsy than PES2010, and a return to the Game Plan screen of PES4-6 would have been more advisable. I am not a fan of the new screen at all I'm afraid. But maybe time will make a difference there. In a few months time perhaps it will be second nature.
I don't see the value of the change though, it is probably an unnecessary one - another symptom of Konami fixing what's not broken. Effort which could have been better spent on fixing bugs and improving what actually needs improving.
---
Overall, I would say PES2011 is a fantastic game on the pitch. If like me, you could watch Barcelona and Spain all day, literally, and be totally transfixed by the religious experience, you will love PES2011.
If you love watching League 2 on a wet Tuesday night in Lancashire or Stoke City and other artillery footballists, you will also love this game.
The gameplay has true depth. You can play any way you like, and more importantly, any way the team you have wants.
Put simply, I love the gameplay in 2011. I have played every PES, every FIFA, every TIF and some Actua Soccer titles. It is the best gameplay I have ever experienced bar none.
This is the game of the passer and the thinker, not the mindless dribble-fest of some PES's of old, or indeed every FIFA to date.
If you want to just pick up and play, this game really is not for you. PES has remembered its herritage and where it comes from: the hard-core football fan/obsessive.
I have already scored more great team goals since the demo and my first two games on the full game than I have done in all the time since PES6.
This game has an overall feel of a launching pad - every component in the game feels like it was specifically designed to be a foundation for the years to come. This then, well overdue, is PES true début into the next gen era. We should rightly feel optimistic about the future, and I think we should again be able to expect, rather than hope, for greatness from PES in the games of the next few years.
Sorry for not reviewing other parts, but I only care about edit and ML
This is the PES I want. Happy camper.
Athlon_'s verdict:
Gameplay: 91/100
Sound: 72/100
Graphics: 90/100
Interface/usability: 80/100
Replayability: in general: 85/100, if a ML addict: 99/100
Overall: 86.4/100
