IGN: Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Review

After the promising strides made by last year's reboot, PES 2011 feels very much a realisation of that potential. With its emphasis on fun still apparent, the added realism provided by control, animation and AI enhancements improve and broaden the package's appeal no end. Factor in the added tactical flexibility and the addition of the online Master League, and it's easy to see why PES' return to form will be widely celebrated. Some may prefer FIFA's more studied approach to football realism, but when it comes to pick-up-and-play fun and intensity, PES 2011 gets IGN's vote this year.

Presentation - 8.5
Graphics - 8.5
Sound - 7.0
Gameplay - 9.0
Lasting Appeal - 9.5
Overall -

[TrevorPhillips]

So let me get this straight.

IGN UK gave FIFA 2011 an 9.5 and IGN USA gave it a 8.5

But IGN USA gave PES 9.0 hmmm

I guess its not a bad idea to get both :)

[nix]

"Some may prefer FIFA's more studied approach to football realism, but when it comes to pick-up-and-play fun and intensity, PES 2011 gets my vote this year."

i thought FIFA 11 was more like 'pick up and play'. PES 11 is really great if you master how to play/pass the ball... it's all in the gameplay baby!

[Baka-akaB]

indeed it feels to me they reversed the name . You dont just pick and play pes11 imo , while i feel you do with fifa 11 .

Both are great anyway this year

[darkcharizard]

2011

[topdawg122]

I honestly don't see how people think PES is more realistic. The reviewer is right about the realism in Fifa and the arcadeyness is in PES. If someone can tell me how PES is more realistic please tell, me I don't get that at all.
Although they are both great games with their own style, I'm favoring the more realistic approach of FIFA these last couple of years.

[Baka-akaB]

Just like i've yet to see a rational explanation about how fifa is more realistic to you , besides you just saying so . Asides from your feeling about each aspect of passing , running etc , wich we obviously can only disagree about .

No science is proving either wrong or right so far . So i'm sticking with my gut that fifa is easier to pick up , too much for my taste . While pes feels challenging while correcting finally most of what was wrong and brining some needed new blood into it .

In my case it's even still a big win for EA . I couldnt stand much fifa's gameplay , till this year , when they made it smooth enough for my tastes . Consequences they've won at least one moreclient while i still enjoy and prefer pes 11 .

PS :

it's also konami's fault too , as usual the final game is better than the demo . Konami need to stop sending buggy out of date builds as demo of their football games

[topdawg122]

I put a pretty big explanation to account for it's realism this year on another review page. Anyway I've played both and it is clear to me. The physicality between players is easily clear and much more noticeable in FIFA, while I've been easily able to rush past players in PES when it is clear that there should be some sort of contact between players. The passing is very straight, linear, and almost instant in PES as well, while in FIFA it feels as if theres more weight to the ball. It also depends on the timing, position of the player, and momentum in FIFA. In PES I can pass a ball 30 yds. while my player is standing still and the velocity at which it arrives is much faster than it should be. Angled passes are much easier in PES as well, it doesn't show realism. I can go on and on, but just these few examples are very clear to me and should be to anyone else who has played both. I'm very curious as to who here plays football in real life as well. If they really understand ball trajectory, the physical motions of receiving a pass, ball curve, topspin... etc.
Both are great games though of course, can't stress that enough

[Baka-akaB]

no ive actually seen it , but its just your impressions , not science or facts .

We just disagree on those like i've said .
Contrary to you i've notice quite a lot of physical contact between players , in the sense that you dont just rush past them in most cases . It's something both has improved , this year

The passing is not linear, and almost instant like you said in PES with the ball actually heavy and harder to roll on the floor . Actually some even complained the ball was too heavy in the demo .

It also depends on the timing, position of the player, and momentum in pes.

I'll stop there , but yeah i'm a bit copypasting your post .. not even intended as an attack on offense .. just that everything you said are actually what i've felt with pes so far .

[topdawg122]

So you've "seen" it, not played it?
But obviously we disagree on gameplay, which is still baffling to me to be honest. I've played football for almost 2 decades and I know what the game should feel like. I'll stick with my feeling as you did with yours.

[Baka-akaB]

sigh actually played it , for a few days before release (both games) ... and you know repeating that you've played football every post doesnt make you special , at least not to plenty people who do or did , myself included . Hell i've actually coached a small team , if we are gonna play the resume game .

And it was hardly for various reasons , such an x-factor .

So yeah let's just leave it at that .

[topdawg122]

I wanted to see who actually plays the sport, which no one responded to, to get their take on it. I don't see what's wrong with that, but i doubt I'll get an actual response so yes we'll leave it at that.

[barom]

For me, the realism in PES comes from the fact that everything very often feels random. When playing FIFA, once you get inside that 16 meter (that little box in front of the goal), it's pretty much impossible for you to miss the goal when shooting. Additionally, it's also extremely difficult to score outside the 16 meter in FIFA. To me that is not realistic, shooting from 17 meters all of a sudden feels so much different than shooting from 16 meters. FIFA is filled with such stuff and its just not realistic at all to me, it feels very much structured.

Additionally, the PES gives you more control over the character if you know all the button combinations. You can pass the ball exactly how you want it. While FIFA feels very much like you're being assisted regardless of how well you know the game.

Also, I actually agree with whoever said that FIFA has this delay where you have to press the button a few seconds before the player actually does the action.

Anyway, that's just what I feel when playing the two games.

[jromao]

Finally we see some truth from IGN about PES, review as it should be, clear and honest. PES 2011 is a great game, with funtastic gameplay and realistic ball physics, not as FIFA ball floating and turning to match pre-determined scored goals.

[nix]

i agree... the gameplay is brilliant and everything is under your control.

[rekof]

I LOVE WE/PES !!! So happy they improved it... sometimes I played PES ,.. till my fingers could not take it anymore,.. had damn blisters from PES games,.. so fun,.. really responsive,.. like split second precision of controls,.. and really can tweak anything,.. And to master it ,.. and get better,.. wil take you hundreds of hours,.. and you feel it,.and every goal you score is FUCK YEAH !! in your face !!

LOVE PES !!

[iistuii]

Of PES can anyone who has played the proper game tell me if it's better than the demo ?

[Gohadouken]

yes it's better . Dunno if you are going to like it , but it's a recurrent crap from konami to give us outdated demos .

Even between the demo of pes 11 and its japanese counterpart WE11 , the controls were already a bit better .

[ELite_Ghost]

u prob just dont like the feel of it, the full game is the same, but you`ll start loving it after a couple games and not touch fifa for another year!

[PopEmUp]

like I'll let fifa11 slip this year and grab pes2011, I play the demo and I feel it smoother than fifa, as fifa11 is not as fluid or natural feel as fifa10 so, I think its better to let fifa 11 slide this time

[Cheeky Gamer]

You should read the Edge review of PES 2011 to get a more realistic view of the game. IGN have been PES fanboys for a very, very long time.

You can disagree all you want darlings. It's essentially a fact.

[Baka-akaB]

or you can just skip both reviews and find a worthwhile middle ground .

ign is too generous , but edge is full of crap as well .

[PopEmUp]

just go to ebgames and try the game for 7 days, if you don't like it swap it back for fifa11 simple

[Hakimy]

so IGN gave PES 2011 a better score than Fifa 2011.I will wait for gamespot score to make sure but either way,my bros and friends will be happy to hear this since they all prefer PES over Fifa ;)

[goalweiser]

It's called Metacritic folks. Learn to use it instead of one website's opinion.

That said, I played, coached, and was a referee. I currently watch more than 10 hours of football a week. Doesn't really make a difference unless you actually understand the sport and the strategy behind it.

Pro Evo's demo game play < Fifa's demo game play

That said, PES is an inferior game just simply based on features and options in the game. Game play is COMPLETELY subjective.

Neither game does a great job of having players check back to the ball but FIFA has remedied this a bit in FIFA 2011 whereas players stand still or run a straight path down the pitch for a pass on PES.

FIFA has players pointing where they want the pass while PES gives players the ability to put balls into space finally.

In all honesty, the computer AI in PES plays a lot like FIFA's this year. It seems hell bent on creating give and go opportunities through the middle.

Pick the game play you like and play. But let this be said:

1) FIFA has over 50 tournaments from around the world
2) FIFA lets you customize your crowd sounds down to specific situations
3) FIFA has more modes and features
4) FIFA lets you play the goalkeeper full time
5) FIFA allows you to be a player-coach
6) FIFA has more teams and stadiums

If you're talking about value, PES doesn't stand a chance. Those are the facts. Usually living in the States means one good option file with a lot of missing stuff. So FIFA is obviously easiest and more valuable to us here. If there's an option file out there besides ones I helped make in the US, please let me know.

The argument over "FIFA" being a pick up and play game is insipid. You control one player on the pitch while the AI does the rest until you know how to play. If you actually sat down and learned how to utilize the strategies in FIFA, you'd realize the games are not much different and that more experienced FIFA players will beat the mess out of anybody picking up the controller for the first time.

Just because PES is "harder to master" doesn't mean it's a better game. I think the free kick system is absolutely rubbish. The linking feints is bit too arcadey.

Neither game is perfect but both games are good representations of football. That said...FIFA offers more bang for your buck.

[turok]

Fifa 11 wins lol. That and as far as the premier league concerns... Its still pretty sad that only manutd and tottenham gets licensed and it still is missing some leagues. only having bayern munchen and werder bremen from the bundesliga is an insult to me.

I play PES at a friends place but never impressed. Ill pick it up moment it gets licenses and gameplay is better than fifa (both unlikely).

also wierd on fifa 11. my older bro says it plays similar to older vesions of winning eleven lol.

[AKA]

1) PES has a lots tournaments from around the EU, its even anoying traying to get at pesfan website they have to many tournaments
2) PES lets you customize your crowd sounds down to specific situations, everything in general.
3) PES has all modes and features that fifa has exep 11vs11
4) PES lets you play the Master L full time wich is amazing .
5) PES allows you to be a player-coach , and its much better in pes.
6) FIFA has more teams and stadiums, yeah true but pes has COPA libertadores and Paraguay and more national teams plus the big clubs and Champion L.

and in PES the community gives free pachs to update all kits and everything in general so you can have all teams and their original kits by just downloading the pach. and they update all the time with new transfers for free.

[turok]

when bundesliga and premier league gets fully licensed till then PES isnt worth picking up. btw for the record which version of pes u talkin about? pc? cuz the last one u said dont sound like console version.

[pantatkaula]

If you havent played a PES marathon (in my case more than 24 hours straight) with good opponents by your side, you will never know what does PES really give you in terms of football joy.

[AKA]

fifa11 get boring and made me mad just like pes10 is a ok game but they bout get me mad because of the poor gameplay that gets boring .

pes11 fell amazing and im allways playing with a smile in my face and if i lose is because of my mistake and i dont get mad because i got a good time because the gameplay is fun and great.

[raztad]

This thread is full of win: Fifa vs PES fanboys :D