PES 2011 Review

At university I used to work in the retail store Game ( as I may have mentioned before.) As a result of this I was deeply suspicious about the value of purchasing any PC games from high-street retail. Although I might be supportive of local stores over internet shopping, PC games are universally cheaper, sometimes by 25% of the actual price, than retail. I think that's what made my purchase of PES 2011 for a tenner somewhat surprising.



Having previously reviewed PES 2009 as one of the best examples of the balance between realism and 'arcadeness' (I never did find a suitable noun...) I was happy to take PES 2011 as I found it.

This was just as well.

My first game was a bore draw between Spain and Serbia. There were some goals in the next few games as I took my beloved Wolves through the first few fixtures of the Master League. Unfortunately, they were all against me. This didn't bode well. However, if being a teachergamer has taught me anything, it has taught me some sense of perseverance. This side of things, two weeks later, I am happily into the mindset of the game and winning games freely.

The game itself is much slower-paced. PES games have been characterised by team-play, but it was still possible to pass cleanly by simply pushing towards the opponents goal and hitting short pass at the precise time. Those times are no more. It took my a fair time to get used to defenders passing the ball out of play (Vidic!) or passes trickling to my strikers. Perhaps this is a result of me having never attempted to master the manual pass button in the previous PES incarnations. As a result, once you get your head used to the need to face in precisely the direction you wish to pass, you find through passes are deadlier than ever.

This makes the game sit firmly on the side of realism. This is also reflected in the other functions of the game. The Master League has, at last, implemented a rudimentary value system where you deal in your chosen currency. It hasn't quite realised that international players cost a little more than £500,000, but I'm sure the designers are saving that till later. What they have developed accurately is a calendar that reflects the footballing season with weeks numbers having been replaced by months, and transfer windows lying over existing football fixtures. The characteristic rhythms of the season (the hopeful summer fixtures, the difficult Xmas list, and the dour march grind) are now reflected. Well done developers!

Another addition is the ability to edit your stadiums. Pleasingly, Molineux stadium has been included in the smoke patch (albeit with one filled in corner.) In the fantasy world of PES football though, only 17,000 people ever fill it, even when playing the big four. This has so far resulted in some desperately empty looking games. However, I hope that winning some trophies (or a patch) might change this.

The Become a Legend mode is much better thanks to giving your player some decent starting talent. Despite being England's best player in PES 2009, my player in that game developed at a hideous crawl. Playing 5 minute matches meant that I rarely scored, and 10 minute matches took something near 10 hours to finish a season. Your statistics also adjust depending on where you changed positions on the pitch, so my brother can no longer use his expertise with Roberto Carlos as a striker (with the best speed and shooting on PES 1990something.)

Despite these improvements, the rating system of players is hideously broken. This is what the game seems to do:

5.5 = rubbish to average game. I haven't seen a score less than this.
6.0 = An average game. For a goal-keeper, this means having saved 12 shots.
6.5 = Good game in which the player may have scored. Top score for a goal-keeper
7.0 = A great game, often consisting of a goal and/or assist. Reasonably rare for a defender or defensive midfielder.
7.5 = An outstanding game where a striker or a midfielder has scored several goals, or at least the winning one. Every few games or so a player will attain this score.
8.0 = The games '10 out of 10.' Scores several goals or dominates the game.

As this rating system seems to involve a scale of five with a 'perfect' rating, it seems to make sense for a mod (or a perceptive developer) to change the rating system to something that makes more sense. Still, in the words of a David Mitchellesque student, I sure that the reasons behind the choice will all become clear in time...

The game's change in speed and control does have the added benefit of making you feel like you have truly meant to score the goals you do. A few nights ago (as I rarely play more than one match an evening) I needed to score to equalise against the mighty Fulham. In the last two minutes, the ball broke to my defender who passed strong towards Guitereez (the only decent striker) who played a one-two (essential in this game) with Minanda, the classic aged playmaker of the Master League fame. Minanda had to run away from his maker (and the goal) in his attempt to receive the pass. I saw that my striker was about the pass beyond the high-line of Fulham. Audaciously, without looking, I saw Minanda loft a perfect pass that was controlled first with a keen turn away from the onrushing defender by my Spanish journeyman. As the goal-keeper and three defenders rushed to crunch Guitereez (sic) he ease the ball onto his right foot before stroking it into the right corner.

In PES 2009, this would have been completed by pushing the d-pad in the horizontal direction of the goal. In PES 2011, I had to weigh the pass, and push in the diagonal direction at a precise moment.

It is small changes like this that make this a distinctive game. It is a worthy edition to the PES series, and plays differently too. Frustrating as hell initially, and in ever need of the outstanding Smoke Patch, it rewards the perseverance of any teachergamer willing to give it some time.