Jimmy G-Force
Resident PES Fanman
PES 2011 v's PES 6 + PES 2010
After playing four 15 minutes games last night against my son on PES 6 for the Xbox 360 (he is 14 years old, and knows his football and his way around PES )I thought I'd give a little feedback on how I feel it stacks up in relation to PES 2010 and the PES 2011 beta that I played. It's been a long time since I have put any real time into one of the old gen PES games, and there was alot of things I noticed, good and bad.
Firstly, there is no first touch of any real substance, that suprised me, I assumed it was always there, just on a lesser scale, but it certainly isnt. Konami, in hindsight, introduced it to PES 2009, and then massively emphasised it with PES 2010. In fact, that was the first thing I noticed with the PES 2010 demo, it stood out a mile. The start of the move to a more indepth simulated approach. Every player in PES 6 pretty much has the same first touch, regardless of whether they are a defender or midfielder. The only real difference is the top players take it better on the drop, but thats just due to a seperate animation, and not really statistical technique, its just a slight illusion thats created. The cumbersome nature of a defender isnt replicated like it is in PES 2010 or PES 2011. It does seem more obvious in PES 2010 because of the poor slow rigid animation, but it is equally apparent in PES 2011, it's just that the animations are so much more fluid, but the end result is the same.
When people talk about next gen animations being not up to the old gen, I can fully appreciate this now. The animations were better in PES 6 than they were in PES 2009 and PES 2010, alot more fluid, and alot more varied. Obviously the graphics were not a patch on next gen, but the animations surpassed them. What I can say though is that, even with such an early beta code, it's very clear that PES 2011 will be a big step above the old gen animations, and combined with the stunning graphics, will be easily the most gorgeous looking PES to date.
Onto the passing side of the game. PES 6 is certainly much easier to pick up and play than PES 2010 and PES 2011, it all felt very easy. It wasnt assisted Fifa easy, but I didnt feel it was far off. The passing was alot more accurate, alot more assisted, and I cant remember actually making a pass that didnt go exactly where I intended it to. Is this a good thing ? Yes if you want a more arcade style, flowing game, but it wasnt really for me. I prefer a more realistic, simulated approach. PES 2010 was alot deeper, overall alot harder, it required alot more time and patience to learn how it worked. This could prove very frustrating, especially as Rom mentioned if you have become accustomed to Fifa's semi-auto system, or PES 6 easy arcadish approach. I can see how alot of people were put off by PES 2010, but after playing PES 6, I can clearly see just how much more simulated they looked to take the series.
PES 2011 is a completely different ball-game again in the passing department, lending alot to Fifa's semi-auto system, but most importantly making the player statistics evident. No longer can you just aim in specific area of the pitch and assume the ball will meet it's intended target. You need to be more specific with your aim, hence the reason the analogue stick, for the first time in PES history, is a must. The ability to be able to play a pass short, or even misplace a short 8 yard pass directional wise because you have took your mind off the game is there. A higher degree of concentration is required at all times in PES 2011, such is the margin of potential error. For every perfectly directed and weighted through-ball, there is a larger scope of human and AI error. It's not just AI error that you would get in PES 2010, you actually feel it's either your fault or the respective players fault due to his statistical passing attributes, or lack of. On the flip side of that coin, any great vision you exert is incredibly satisfying as you feel it's down soley to your skill and knowledge of the player your controlling. This has never been the case in any prior PES.
The one feature that instantly stood out in PES 6, which beats PES 2010 and from what I've seen in PES 2011, is the way the ball bobbles on the pitch. Also the height in which a hard press of the X can generate. This looks more realistic in PES 6 than it does in PES 2010 and PES 2011 so far. I really liked the way the ball moved in PES 6, and I hope come the final release that PES 2011 can a little closer to this. The weight of the pass in PES 6 was nice, but not very varied, it was either slow or fast, with not that much in between. PES 2010 has a much more varied approach in this regard, but is soley player statistic based. PES 2011 has this statistic influence dumbed down a little more, but alot of this is down the the semi-auto system it now uses, which puts more control in the users hands. I still noticed in PES 2011, that players with a higher passing speed stat could still ping it harder on full power, than a player with a lower passing speed stat with the same power applied. So it isnt as prominent in PES 2011 as PES 2010, but like I say, it's because now you have a higher level of control.
Manual passing on PES 2010 was pretty much broke. Apart from a straight pass down the line, you couldnt find an alternate direction with any real level of consistency. PES 6 was suprisingly alot more accurate than PES 2010, but it still was far from perfect. PES 2011 on the other hand, was by far the best yet with regards control. We still need more directions, there is no doubt about that, but now in PES 2011 it's a very lethal weapon to add to your arsenal, and much more consistent. High passes in PES 6 were good, as were lobbed through-balls, but again, very assisted. PES 2010 was alot more simulated, and reflected the consistency of its real-life counterpart, but with that comes a level of frustration. Especially if you prefer the PES 6 approach, or the Fifa and PES 2011 semi-auto system. Like Rom mentioned, it's a different way of simulating. In PES 2010 its all about the player stats first and foremost, which is realistic. But it is also realistic in a different way with the new system because of the level of freedom, and ability to place the ball where you want, subject to your skill and the players attributes. There is no question, the more 'fun' is in the latter, no matter how hardcore you are.
The goalkeepers in PES 6 are outstanding, no question. But I do personally feel they have to be, as it is so easy to get from one end of the pitch to the other. The AI, even on Top Player, is light years away from PES 2010 and PES 2011. I believe if the keepers were not as good as they are in PES 6, you would end up with rugby scores as opposed to realistic football scores. When I hear people cry out for the PES 6 keepers in next gen, I dont agree. They are too good alot of time, and thats not as realistic as seeing the odd fumble, parry etc etc. PES 2010 had good keepers, but they were let down by silly parries sometimes. There is a fine line here, we still need the 'Robert Green' element in place, it adds to the drama, and keeps the game real. I dont think it's possible to see any of these type of sporadic mistakes in PES 6, the keepers seem to hold onto pretty much everything. Any shot in real life that has a decent level of power, from around the 20 yard mark, is invariably going to produce a parry, you very rarely see a keeper hold onto a shot like that. This needs to be replicated. From what I have seen so far in PES 2011, the keepers looked solid, they were great shot-stoppers, and when they parried, it generally wasnt spilled in front of them. The only issue I had was the really easy things, such as not picking up the ball when it was at their feet. But this was obviously minor bugs that by all reports have been addressed.
PES 2010 on Top Player had a very stubborn and tight defensive AI, all over the pitch. This resulted in alot of midfield battles if the players were not looking to spam the footballing gods of the game. Defences were very hard to break down, and really, it was a very hardcore approach. PES 2011 is different, as it required alot more skill in defending. You need excellent timing, as there is alot less AI assistance in this regard. It must be said though, I only sampled PES 2011 on Regular AI, so this will differ. Either way, alot more skill will be needed compared to PES 2010 and PES 6, due to the fact there is a much higher level of angles and the inclusion of the jockey/retreat system. You can also add into the equation that you can no longer just sprint towards a player and take the ball off his foot. We now have the physical battles that will be stat related, and the ability to merely side-step an oncoming challenge.
The referee's in PES 6 seem to be pretty much spot on for me, red cards when required, but not too card happy with the lesser challenges. PES 2010 they were basically blind or paid off. PES 2011 they are alot better, but they do still need tweaking, not enough red cards for professional fouls. But again, that has been addressed and was already mentioned prior to us receiving the beta demo.
PES 6 online is flawless, just like offline. It's crazy how Konami have fallen off track in the next gen era in this regard. Fingers crossed that PES 2011 will be stable. In my experience with the beta, the majority of games were fine, no issues. You did get slowdown now and again, but thankfully it wasnt the dreaded button lag from PES 2010. For me thats a cheating way of covering lag. The game moves smooth enough, but the button lag can be extremely frustrating. If I'm going to have any sort of lag, then I'd prefer a bit of slowdown instead, at least that doesnt massively effect your gameplay. The plus side of the online Beta demo was that for the first time ever, I could play people from the States with no real issues.
I think the shooting in PES 6 basically falls inline with the game itself, arcadey but stat relevant. I'm not sure if any of you have ever noticed the way Konami tweak their shooting from year to year with regards how much power you need to apply to get the same result. But in PES 6, it was like PES 2011 power application wise. Konami alternate from year to year to keep us on our toes. For example PES 5 required more power, PES 6 less of a depress. PES 2008 more power, PES 2009 less again. PES 2010 more power, then finally PES 2011 less again. If you have become acustom to the power level required in PES 2010, then you will find that you will be blasting the ball miles over the bar when you first play it, you just need to adjust.
Individuality in PES 6 is so much less the PES 2010 and PES 2011. Especially things like player response, agility, other foot usage. Konami have come on leaps and bounds in this area, especially with the addition of the Player Cards. Players move and turn very easily in PES 6, some people may like this, but after experiencing a much more realistic approach in PES 2010 and PES 2011, I dont. There is so much more emphasis now on the individual players, their respective make-ups, and traits. Next Gen PES is light years ahead of old gen PES, in every single conceivable individual area.
I'll conclude by saying I actually enjoyed PES 6, I didnt really think I would, it's very easy to just pick up and play. It was just great fun, and I think I'll keep playing it till the PES 2011 demo lands. It's far from a simulation of football in comparison to PES 2010 and PES 2011, but it's still good fun for a kickabout.
I captured some highlights last night on my Iphone from a couple of the PES 6 games myself and my son played. My son scored the first goal with Rooney on a red in our first game. I then played as Athletico Madrid to his Roma. The last clip shows a quite brilliant double save, and I love the keeper animation for the second save. I hope you like the music, I figured it was relevant to the waiting game we are currently all enduring.
YouTube - PES 6 Revisited
Turns out he didn't need a midfield (fifa?) and really because of the button lag i couldn't respond quick enough to block his passes even though i was fully aware what was happening. That was a bad game.