Pro Evolution Soccer 2011

[dave heats]

Copy arrived today (thanks Royal Mail & Amazon).

Only played a couple of games so far, after blitzing the demo, but so far so good. Tearing / freezing problem seems very much cured, jogging nightmare bug on the flanks is no longer present and an epic intro of orchestral proportions.

So far, and this was obvious from the buggy demo, its the best PES so far, feels so much more oganic, free flowing and not 'on rails' like previous versions. Shooting seems a real mixed bag so far, and I'm in desperate need of a full command list to truly get to grips with the controls again, but it feels fantastic.

One niggle so far is the commentary. Jim Beglin replaces Lawro, which I'm fine with (big fan of Beglin's punditry), but overall the commentary is utter ****e, and scarily minimal too, leaving much of the match in eery silence. Absolutely miles away from Fifa's slick presentation & authenticity.

Apart from that, cant wait to get stuck into this over the next few days. Have installed onto my HDD too, so hoping it will have a noticeable effect on the already tiny loading times.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (PS3) at amazon
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (360) at amazon

[Del Boy]

Thank me after just one game of this, the realisation that they have given me the pes I have craved since pes5.

I feel so at home with this it's wonderful.

Back to the beautiful game again.

[dave heats]

First game? I was my beloved Japan and my equally beloved Sweden, smashing them senseless.

Had some magical moments with deflections that feel delightfully random and organic, which is something the previous versions never accomplished, never quite feeling anything but on rails.

Cant wait to start champions league tonight.

[Scythe]

Got my copy sat at home for this evening, looking forward to it.

[hudson]

Loving the ML.

Played some online matches. They ran well, tight games, however things did look clumsy at times. A mixture of the game and people (myself included getting used to it again - It's not healthy juggling two footy games).

Have to go and do some overtime in work now, so I won't get to play it again until the early hours.

Enjoying the single player campaigns lots.

Going to try out the ML Online next!

[Scythe]

Played some matches last night on regular, it really is a whole new game, so much more fluid than previous years this gen.
It is a little rough around the edges for sure and the teams (Liverpool) are so out of date its untrue but the feeling when you've put a nice goal together is sweet.

[hudson]

Seems the team rosters will be fully updated next Tuesday in the first of an on-going series of DLC packages.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH today announced the content of its first DLC for PES 2011, which will be available on 12th October.

Available free to PlayStation(R)3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD users, the download will bring the player roster files completely up to date, while clubs that qualified for the UEFA Champions League Group Round, will be added to the game?s dedicated mode. A number of team kits have also been updated in line with their current use, and four more licensed boots have been incorporated.

The DLC also includes three new wallpapers featuring cover star Lionel Messi in the ?Extra Content? folder, and KONAMI will be releasing further updates during the coming year.

[hudson]

Played a few games of Online Master League. Very impressed so far. You get a great sense of team growth. You start with the usual suspects in your side (Minanda, Castolo, Espimas etc). You also have £500,000, which can buy you more default ML-like player if you like, but of course, it's better to save up.

When you start out with your default team (choose any of the teams in the game to as your avatar i.e mine is Juventus) you will be matched up against same level team, so no need to worry about playing against Messi when you start out.

You make money from playing games. Playing games cost a small-ish fee. You get gate money and win money.

There's an evolving player market on there. Which I think changes the more people buy them certain players.

First player I looked for was Keisuke Honda, only to find him slightly out of my price range at around 2 million Messi and C.Ronaldo are currently valued at just under 10 mil.

So far, my online matches have been great, so promising online performance at the moment.

Really happy that I have some good footy games now. FIFA11 for the excellent clubs mode and PES for ML.

[dazza_cole]

Are there any indications whether the 360 or PS3 version is the one to go for?

[vanpeebles]

What's the offline master league like? Me and Prinny have played it for over a decade on local coop.

[hudson]

Don't think there's much in it graphically, but the Option File access on PS3 might be the one to go for. Although I 'm sure Microsoft allowed for USB data transferring this year some time?

On the subject of the Option File that WENB are doing/done. It's out, but there's been a little boo-boo as the BLES code of PES they had before release (I imagine a promo copy), is different to the actual UK release one, so they're having to sort it out for that version now. Apparently it's coming soon.

Basically, if your PES2011 BLES code (on PS3 box spine) is 01021, then the new Option File will work for you now. The rest of us with 01020 (official UK release) will have to wait for their update.

[hudson]

What's the offline master league like? Me and Prinny have played it for over a decade on local coop.

Haven't tried it yet.

[Kongster]

It's a whole new ball game alright, and I'm pleased say that Konami have shifted the goalposts. Online has been okay so far but still early days yet.

[MetalJoe]

Loved the demo of this and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the full thing.

Btw.. can you do the online Master League in co-op mode (i.e. a couple of users on the same machine)? That would be aces.

[Adam]

Played some online games today, there's some horrible slowdown occuring. Not lag, but graphics slowdown and it was awfull during a game in the rain and not much better in Normal conditions.

Finding that half the time you can't power up your passes before you get to the ball, probably because the computer doesn't think your player is going to get it and instead lets the oposing player charge their kicks from a mile away but you can't when you're a meter away from the ball. This is horrible when it happens in defence, you really need the first touch to be right but you cannot do it half the time, especially off of deflections.