Well, after going at it with the game for a couple of days I'm ready to put an impression.
Firstly I couldn't understand why people who had rightly ridiculed PES 2010 (rubbish rubbish game) were suddenly lauding PES 11, really couldn't figure it out as what I saw on the gameplay videos was simply unimpressive. To ensure I got a full appreciation of exactly was going to be different about this version I booted up PES 2010 & (painfully) had 2 games as the '11 demo was downloading.
Now I know I've been hard on PES especially with 2010 (rightfully so) & this is with all the bells & whistles of the PC version but it was really rancid.
Booted up PES 2011 and here are my impressions.
Within a minute I could obviously feel this was a dramatic change over 2010, huge!! Most obvious was the need to use the analogue stick for the first time on PES, actual 100% 360 degree movement is subjective but this game is definitely MUCH less restrictive in movement, mirrors the analogue stick input very well. What I kept thinking whilst playing the game is the whole 'engineered for freedom'
The players are sufficiently mobile & it's clear to see the difference between the more agile and the John Terry kinds. What I was disappointed in is the lack of analogue left stick movement with regard to player acceleration from standstill to jogging it's still basically job & sprint - I believe the changelist for PES 2011 included an analogue approach. Going back to animations, they are a mixed bag but on the whole really are fine and very much acceptable this year but must obviously be worked for PES 2012. This game pretty much is empirical evidence to the importance in harmonizing button input, animation & digital output in producing a believable and satisfying football game.
Playing as Spain v Japan "(PC version) I sent a Xavi aerial through ball to Torres who beat his defender for pace and tried a first time lob as the keeper had slightly come off his line ... I couldn't believe how smooth, fluid, responsive and believable the whole sequence felt & Torres chose the exact best way to attempt the chip (which didn't go in by the way, it's the thought that counts). I was really impressed with some of the contextual animations that appear in the game when trying various shots, passes, moves etc but above all else I find the shooting satisfying especailly as the player seems to position himself much better in the situation they are; something I always admired about FIFA. However there are problems with the animations with blind sided pass animations cropping up quite frequently. Infact there still are many animations that still do not fit the situations but on the whole I can forgive the game with the amount of positive contextual animations that occur especially in the 18 yard area. Almost forgot, the crossing animation is tripe .. the one where you run to the byline and are presented with a pretty repugnant crossing animation. But the game really has MUCH more freedom then any PES before it & almost FIFA to an extent.
Passing is very satisfying and much has been said for the freedom of direction and placement, this adds so much depth to the gameplay and is why a lot of the crowd that went to FIFA since next-gen have been agressive at getting this intergrated into PES. It works really pretty well most of the time and the positives you've heard about this system is pretty much accurate and it can be very rewarding and has a good balance between how you want the pass played and the player's actual ability. However there are some fundamental issues that negate the potential this passing system has, mainly player animation & position with relation to the ball & the ball physics as well as inconsistency in the actual system itself. Personally it sometimes feels like the power bar accounts for the speed of the ball then the actual distance or maybe it is taking into account the player's passing speed but it can really come across as being quite quirky or wonky at times. For instance there are too many times where you'll simply tap the pass button and the player animation is one of a cushioned pass but the ball shoots off at an amazing speed (i.e. a player will be standing almost still and the power of the pass garners more power than it ever should have); the inconsistency can make passing frustrating at times. Another annoying occurrence is seeing passes that do not match the animation & this happens frequently, there are quite a few blindside passes i.e. some of the 90 degree or side passes can be met with a rather unconvincing animation & this on top of the pass speed inconsistency is annoying).
The ball physics in the game are just all over the place, sometimes very realistic and sometimes very glued to the player and very unrealistic, very frustrating. The ball on the whole doesn't enjoy bobbling ... I've notice when the ball does bobble from a standard pass it will maybe bounce once or twice and then plants itself on the surface. This isn't as bad as PES 2010 but it still at an unacceptable level. However, sometimes I see the ball bobbling nicely but mostly when it is a ball that was going out on the onset; it's almost as if the game tries to keep the ball within the pitch and even slows the ball down. I would say 90% of the grounds passes/through balls all slow down for some reason & it's horrible combined with the bullet speed passes, the ball goes from unrealistic acceleration to an unrealistic deceleration 'sigh' Other ball physics problems include floaty aerial balls or through balls that seem to slow down mid-air sometimes. On the whole the passing is good but is let down by the inconsistencies in ball physics. Another rubbish thing that happens is shots flying straight up in the air from a keeper with incredible hang time, very wierd.
The overall AI of the game is certainly an improvement from PES 2010, the CPU isn't in a constant spiral of ping-pong keepaway football that was the hallmark of last year's game. I'm even surprised sometimes of the plays/movements. I've also noticed they seem to clip at your attackers more often in midfiled which can result in many fouls, this I like as it presents a mini game between your attacker dribbling through/past a player of holding it up just before threading a ball through & the refs are pretty sharp to spot this. Still notice the odd jog where the the CPU should really by sprinting. However, there is still that looseness to respond and react to situations or balls from your own team AI as well the opposing AI. Just as fluidity, freedom and response has been worked on in this version the reaction and sharpness of the AI has to be targeted as there are moments when it's all not alert enough. Also the game needs to be worked on more in relation to the pitch borders, the player's (controlled & AI) are not alert enough or sometimes feel almost unaware of the part of the pitch they're at and may sometime just ram into a bouncing ball near the touchline.
Other stuff & comments
- Tactical and management side of the game look very deep indeed and I can see lots of fun to be had in setting up teams & mixing things up in the ML, I've never had a
problem with this aspect of the game.
- The game really has removed a ton of the rails through it animations, fluidity & passing system
- Refs are decent & most of the calls I'm honestly fine with, as they are mostly within the realms of believability. Advantage rule seems to be hardly noticeable, 'd say 90% of the time it isn't adhered to at all but I have seen slight instances where I've felt it's been applied ... however this could be down to collision detection, who knows?
- PKs are rubbish
- GKs are horribly animated and move very cumbersome, I've experienced them to be the best in this version then they have been on next gen (not saying much) but they are there, do a job and aren't as rubbish as some of the gameplay videos show but they still have AI issues that let them down. They make good saves sure & are decent enough but there's that element of craziness to them that has been around since PES 08.
Yeah that pretty much is enough for impression but PES 2011 is a respectable game indeed, a game I'm pretty content with and a really solid title. I've played the FIFA 11 demos both on PC/PS3 & there really is a lot to like in this year's Football titles. Whichever way a person goes this year I think they'll be fine as opposed to the last 3 years.
The game is definitely engineered for freedom but it's not perfectly engineered but has great potential.
Although I wouldn't say the King is back, he's definitely not bed ridden anymore.
edit - Also I knuckled a ball with Dani Alves yesterday, wow!!
A few time's i've won comfortable but in the next game is never the same as the last!
