Ok my first impressions,
Fortunately someone on here was kind enough to offer their PSN+ account to download the demo. I won't name names to save their pm box from overflowing with requests but you know who you are and it's very appreciated.
Background
Been a FIFA player since PES3
60 and FIFA07, thought neither were especially good. PES was pretty much the ps2 version but without all the editing stuff which made the ML horrible. Ended up playing it for about 2 months after getting it cheap at xmas. FIFA07 showed it's potential with the new engine but was still flawed and lasted me a month. No need to talk about PES08/09. FIFA improved till 09, which I spent a whole year on MM till FIFA10 was released. That was a big disapointment as the MM was a bug ridden sh!tfest and they managed to screw up their physics engine by introducing 360 control. This meant that players started to skate around, something which was far less apparent in 07-09. FIFA10 lasted me 1,5 month before I got sick of the nonsense in MM. Bought PES2010 out of curiousity and liked the basis from which Konami were working (player individuality, 1st touch, tactics, etc), however the lack of transition animations and the rigidity of the game in general just made it pretty impossible to play for me from FIFA. Bought WC2010, again cheap as I didn't want to fill EA's pockets anymore then needed and enjoyed it for a month. It seemed a bit more "grounded" to control compared to FIFA10, however the lack of decent AI (read: team formation and tactics) started to piss me off. Then came the news from both games, and I feel that FIFA11 just hasn't done enough for me as a MM/ML player to keep me interested. PES2011 on the other hand seemed to have improved my major problems from 10 so I am looking at it as a potential replacement for FIFA11.
Gametime
So today I have managed about 10 matches,....and it's a steep learning curve! Wow, very tough to get into. Being a FIFA player for so long has really made it hard to step back over, but I'm trying. Played a mix of the Libertadores and the "Ba"'s.
Good
-Animations have improved quite substantially but are still short of FIFA's, no surprise there. I do find that they need just a bit more transitions as it sometimes goes from really good to poor and that is mostly down to lacking the in-between angle's for me, but they are getting there.
-Graphics are good, lighting looks spot on, game and replay camera's are really good and I can't find a fault with them. Even when some of the replay cams actually miss part of the flight of the ball I can't complain as that would happen in real life aswell. The thunderbolt in combination with a sideline cam for example. Players are easily noticable (physical difference) although I think FIFA's faces have become better, not that I personally care about that.
-Passing is good with the powerbar really making a difference, especially when over powering a pass to someone with a poor first touch! However as a "D-pad Dino" I was never likely to really notice the new freedom.
- Defensive system, admittedly the way I play/defend I don't notice it much. I don't tend to go in or pressure but block passing/movement channels. So it's essentially FIFA's jockey combined with the X to tackle. A good and natural development for me, but something I tended to do anyway.
Great
-Tactics, they work great. Love the dynamic tactics to change your team automatically depending on the score and also love the custom tactic A/B button! I've been moaning about this for a while with FIFA but it's great to be able to override the dynamic tactics to go ultra defensive when 1-0 up with 10min to go. And what's even better is that they work! Was 1-0 up in a Libertadores match-up and decided I would stop playing and just park the bus. It was great to see my defense staying near their area even when I countered, or tried to. The opposition just couldn't get through and I "hung on" for the win. I say "hung on" but it was pretty comfortable with my excellent tactical set up.
-Player individuality, nothing new, but it's so noticable whether playing with a slow defender or angile winger. Which brings me on to....
"Poor"
It could be me just needing to get used to the game, however I do feel that at times players just knock the ball too far ahead of them, or take too much time. Even the top players. It's difficult to say exactly what it's down to, could be a lack of transition animations or just down to player stats but I find I'm having a lot of difficulty controling players when in possesion and wanting to make short turns. Even with the likes of Messi and using R2 it feels too "loose".
Another element I'm finding a bit poor is the defensive AI when a throughball is passed through the center, half the time I find myself expecting the defender to just stick his toe out to change trajectory or stop the ball but he does nothing and the striker runs onto it between my defenders. The ball just gets too close without him doing anything.
The net, when it moves too much get's a weird effect which is quite dissapointing to me.
Conclusion so far
Bit of a mixed bag at the moment and will stick with it till release. I love quite a lot of aspects of the game; the tactics, the player differences, the presentation (camera's), the pace but at the same time it feels slighlty unresponsive which is due to a combination of factors for me; transitions, player having too big a touch in general. It feels very much like FIFA08, not literaly but the phase in which the game finds itself. A very solid base with good aspects but a couple that need to be improved to really make it the game of choice. I'll stick with it, as I hope the responsiveness niggles are mostly down to getting accustomed with the game as the ML sounds great! At the moment I think I might be getting both games.
