Pro Evolution Soccer 2011

ditorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is the 2010-2011 version of Konami's long-running, video game soccer franchise. The tenth release in the series overall, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 refreshes the popular series by merging the best features that earlier iterations have presented to video game footballers worldwide over the years, along with new features that will carry the franchise into the future. Combined features include: 1,000+ new motions available in-game; unprecedented control over every pass, shot, throw-in; drag-and-drop functionality for team management; the ability to map favorite moves to the analog stick; an online Master League and much, much more.

Freedom of Play Lifts the Game to New Levels

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is here and brings digital soccer to the next level. Central to the heart and soul of PES 2011 is the idea of freedom of play. This freedom invigorates the series with the most advanced set of gameplay improvements ever attempted by the Winning Eleven Production game development team, coupled with the greatest stride in new content. The result is a game that allows total control over every element of play – even online – to give the most lifelike soccer experience next to actually putting on a uniform and taking the field.

Key Game Features

Take total control on the pitch on offense, defense, online or offline.
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• Total Control - PES Productions has enhanced the 360-degree passing ratio, offering unprecedented levels of control over every pass, shot, throw-in, through ball and lofted through balls. Users can pass the ball into space, and move their play with total freedom. Players must precisely weight their passes and second-guess the runs of their teammates and exploit their movement. Players even can apply pressure on opponents to force them off the ball.
• Shot and Stamina Gauge - In addition to the generic power gauge, the Shot and Stamina meter details the player's exact level of fitness. Constantly sprinting will have an adverse affect on performance and statistics.
• New Defender AI - Defenders now hold their positions naturally, instead of chasing balls that enter their area and work to close down the attacker to force mistakes.
• Animation and Player Physics - PES Productions has totally reworked every element of in-game animation. These additions will become clear before even kickoff, with the players enjoying fluid, natural movements, with more realistic acceleration and inertia than ever before. The physicality between players is also improved, which was a priority requested in PES forums. Jostling and blocking now looks stunning, while there is a larger variety of convincing tackling styles. Ambient animation also adds immensely to the in-game atmosphere, as players behave realistically when off the ball, and walk and run with a variety of individual styles.
• Speed of Play - The new level of control means that PES 2011 enjoys a more varied pace of play, which depends on the situation at hand. The game will burst into life as counterattacks come into play, but players can dictate the pace via slow build up or exploiting available space to surge forward. It is harder to make long runs from midfield, and successful play will depend on making quick passes to create space.
• Aesthetics - PES 2010 showcased the best likeness' in a football game, and PES 2011 ups the ante further. Facial animation has been enhanced, but the key advances are over 1000 all-new animations which have been recreated from the ground up using over 100 hours of motion captured footage yielding more organic runs, turns, throw-ins, tackles, and interaction.
• Tactical and Strategy - The PES Productions team has implemented an all new 'Drag and Drop' mechanism that can be used in every aspect of team management. These settings are also animated to promote better understanding of the plays that have been altered.
• Feint settings - PES has always offered a wide range of subtle skills, feints and turns, but PES 2011 allows users to map their favorite move sequences to the right stick, making them more accessible than ever before.
• Master League Online - PES 2011 marks the online debut for its much-loved Master League element, with players bidding against each other for the world's best players, and attempting to build a squad that can compete with the best against online peers all over the globe.

Additional Screenshots

Evasive dribbling techniques. Customer Reviews A step in right direction - New kind of PES altogether First, let me start by providing my experiences with FIFA 2011. After reading rave reviews on FIFA 2011, I decided to give it a try after skipping FIFA 2010 (also had glaring reviews) and going with PES 2010. You can read my review on FIFA 2011, but bottom line is I ended up selling it mainly due to unrealistic and indistinguishable gameplay despite FIFA touting the "realistic" gameplay. Unrealistic because you can never execute a deadly thru-pass with a top player with just one lowly defender who stood between you and the forwards running/waiting for that thru-pass. A defender would always intercept the pass unless you direct the pass to a completely open area which defeats the purpose. In real life, playmakers like Gerrard, Iniesta, Xavi, etc provide deadly thru-passes toward inside the box past 2-3 top defenders. Indistinguishable because no matter which team you play or who you're controlling, they all have the same characteristics and speed. Messi or Ronaldo can't out run a lowly defender. The game was boring and tedious. I loved FIFA's clean presentation, soundtracks, editing capabilities, even down to customizing the chants, but it failed to deliver in gameplay and fun factor which is the core of any video games. So I went back to PES series and my experiences have been mostly positive. PES 2011 have a much more streamlined and clean interface. You still don't have all the licenses or real stadiums but the game play is so much better and exciting compared to FIFA. First and foremost, you can forget about all your previous skills that you may have acquired from previous PES series. The new gameplay takes some getting used to, especially the new camera angle. There is no tele angle which showed most of the playing field panning side to side following the controlling player/ball. It is now been replaced with "wide" angle with options to follow the ball or the players. When you're deep inside the opponent's half trying to provide crosses, the angle is skewed much like the "broadcast" angle that you really can't see your players waiting inside the box with a quick glance, so you really have to rely on radar. However, with practice and some getting used to, it quickly became a non-issue. The gameplay is much more realistic and fluid with no "ball sticking" that plagued previous PES series. Passing now requires well timed direction and control with power gauge indicator. But most importantly, thru-passes work in PES unlike FIFA. I can pin point and execute thru passes between defenders and experience the gratification of forwards receiving them leading to a potential goal. There are definite differences on players' mobility and skills when you're controlling a top player as opposed to other players. Messi can out run and execute some deadly feints to get past a defender, Drogba can bully couple of defenders with his size and strength, and other players' real life skills are accurately portrayed in PES 2011. Online play is more accessible now with instant game matching within Exhibition menu as opposed to drilling down inside Online menu. I did not experience any noticeable lags even with subpar network connections. The new game plan (tactics/strategy) with drag-and-drop interface is so easy and intuitive that I find myself tinkering with different settings - something that I haven't done often in previous PES. Feint settings where you can combo series of feint moves with the right stick is also a welcome addition and fun to watch. Sadly, this game isn't perfect. There are some glitches or short-comings: - I lost control of my players when I accidentally pressed series of buttons on my controller. CPU took over and was controlling both teams as if the game is running in demo mode. I regained full control after a dead ball. Fortunately, I've only experienced this once. - There are some graphic "tearing" when players are near or inside the goal. They go through the goal net with some eerie effects. - Penalty kick system should be completely gutted and reworked. I really liked FIFA's "metered" or "gauged" controlled penalty kick system. Minor issues aside, I'm enjoying PES 2011 more than FIFA 2011 and I think it's unfortunate that PES 2011 don't get the credit or fair reviews that it deserves from the game review community. You could find a number of high reviews for FIFA but only a handful of lukewarm reviews on PES. Not that I rely on these so called professional game reviewers' verdicts dictate my purchasing decisions but still, I think it's a shame. Pros: 1. Realistic gameplay and physics without sacrificing fun factor in soccer simulation game 2. Ease of menu navigation and game plan (tactics) settings 3. Reliable, quick and fun online gameplay 4. Does not require online access code you have to enter like FIFA Cons: 1. The new gameplay and camera angles take some time getting used to 2. Some graphic glitches but this could be ironed out on future updates 3. Bad, inconsistent penalty shootout system Overall, PES 2011 is a step in right direction and despite some minor issues, it's still a fun game that you should definitely experience. Great game, but still have some flaws I just got the game yesterday and only played one game under Professional difficulty with RM vs Milan. I won 4-2. I felt the control is much different from the previous versions, which need some time to get used to. The only complain that I have is the camera angle, which, sometimes, is hard to identify the right direction to pass and shoot, especially under the new passing system. Also, the strategy setting is a little to complicated to me. End of the day, we are just trying to play some soccer, not trying to play the Football Manager game. Other than that, the game looks great to me. PS. I have been a PES and WE fan for over 10 years. No matter how good people say FIFA is, I aint to touch it. PES is for hardcore soccer  For More Soccer Games Click Here!

1,000+ new motion.

Choice of defensive tactics.