Pro Evolution Soccer is the only real competition to Fifa and mainly focuses on realism and European Leagues more than international teams. While Pro Evolution Soccer is now updated every year it's barely catching up to Fifa in terms of gameplay. Following the release of Fifa releasing on the iOS platform it wasn't long before Konami followed suit. Now with the releas of Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 for the iOS platform Konami wants to surpass EA in every possible way.
For most people they see this years' of PES 2011 as an upgrade to last years' PES 2010 for the iOS with added features but for those naysayers our there every sports game out there is actually the same with just some updated rosters and maybe a few tweaks to gameplay. PES 2011 is said to improve on a few things as well as add multiplayer support. One of the things PES 2011 improves on is the AI as well as some graphical improvements and whether effects.
There are several game modes to enjoy. Quickplay will thrown you into the action with any random team picked by the computer. Exhibition allows you to have more control of the match by allowing you to select your team and your opposing team. UEFA Club competition is all about European leagues from different countries. This is more tournament based than anything and you will go through matches until you are crowned champion of the league. League Cup is any team that is available and also includes teams from North America and Latin America. Here you can choose any team and compete against other teams around the world and become the #1 team in the world.
PES 2011 plays just like Fifa where you have your virtual joystick and your A and B buttons to pass and shoot the ball. The joystick is a bit too far into the screen and can sometimes block your view when trying to pass the ball to your partner or steal the ball from your opponent. However you are not stuck with just this option setting. Players have the option to choose from 3 different control settings although this is by far the best option as tilting your control back and forth can get annoying.
AI may have been improved but that doesn't mean that scoring is very difficult. In this game you have to use strategy to make it past the opposing teams defense and requires team work if players are to score a goal. If times perfectly then players will perform summer Sault kicks to hitting the ball with their head the opposite direction and score a goal. Angling the ball right will also guarantee that you score and the goalie will throw himself at the ball in order to stop it however it is much more sweeter when the goalie doesn't catch the ball and you score. However this isn't limited to just users, the AI will also have the same opportunities as you do and one single mistake can cost you the game.
While the controllers are manageable the players aren't. Most of the time you will find yourself struggling to follow your opponent and steal the ball. This is because the computer will automatically switch your player to the one closest to the ball and doing so will throw your players off balance as you will still be trying to control a player who you haven't been able to control for a few seconds. You can set the sensitivity in the options menu to how often the player will change but doing so won't make things better. This is also a plague that affects Fifa and should be taken care of but with the limitations of the iOS that seems like an almost impossible task.
Multiplayer, the newest addition to PES 2011 can be played via a friend using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Technology. Using Wi-Fi doesn't mean you can play around the world with just anyone. Your opponent actually has to be connected to the same Wi-Fi connection. This is a nice addition although I think we are all waiting for the day when we can challenge people around the world to a soccer match via Wi-Fi on our iOS devices.
A lot of things separate PES from Fifa. Fifa is trying to aim for a more authentic playing experience by adding commentary while PES focuses more on Gameplay than anything else. After playing Fifa 2011 and listening to the commentary, playing PES feels kind of empty as if something was missing. The stadium cheering crowd is also something that needs to be worked on. From time to time when there is no action going on you can actually head the crowd in the background chanting the same thing over and over again. What they are saying is beyond me although it does sound like some sort of ritual is happening in the stadium.
The user interface has also changed from PES and seems more user friendly t than just having all icons in one page. Comparing PES 10 to 11 it seems that Konami actually went the extra mile to come up with a better GUI. Graphically the game looks great and looks like an early PS2 version of a soccer game. The character models move fluently and kick the ball just like real soccer players would. One feature that is overlooked is the collision. When bumping into an opponent your player will move back and lose control of the ball and from then on it's a goose chase to see who gets the ball first.
Closing Comments:
PES 2011 adds some new features and retains the classic style of a soccer game. The addition of Wi-Fi multiplayer is great other than just bluetooth because sometimes bluetooth connection can be a hassle. PES 2011 offers many hours of gameplay and the in game trophy support will adds more replay value as people who want to 100% can always go back try to earn those trophies. Down to its core PES 2011 is what it is. A true soccer game trying to make its mark against other titles like Fifa and Real Soccer from Gameloft. At $6.99 at the app store the PES is a decent buy but I would wait for a sale
or a price drop.
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 6/10
Performance: 8/10
LifeSpan: 8/10
Total Score: 78/100
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