Sunday 27 March 2011

Nintendo 3DS: PES 2011 3D Review

The Pro Evolution Soccer  (PES) franchise has often been accused of living in the shadow of fully-licensed football games such as the ever-popular FIFA video games series, nevertheless, the inclusion of PES 2011 3D in the list of Nintendo 3DS launch titles has proven to be a stroke of genius and really allows this fantastic game to shine.


PES 2011 3D has a lot to offer both new and old fans of the series. As well as full football commentary during every game, PES 2011 3D features an impressive list of  6 different stadiums, 10 leagues, 60 national clubs, 170 league clubs.

The game also features three different gamplay modes, including an Exhibition single-player match mode, a Champions League Mode and a Masters League Mode, however, in a change from other games in the series, PES 2011 3D does not feature any Training Modes.

The 3D graphics adds greater depth and realism to the game. It is now easier to become immersed in the action via the new Player's Camera view, which centres the camera directly behind the main player.

Mini Gamers could not believe how lifelike the new 3D AI players seemed to be. They looked much more like their real-life counterparts and moved easily and realistically along the pitch. Parts of the game really felt like we were taking part in a real football match!



The D-pad controls are fairly easy to understand and mostly involve using the directional circle pad to move, and pressing the 'A' button to pass the ball between players and to execute sliding tackles.

Nevertheless, this is where we encountered our first problem - the sliding tackle function did not always work first time and we often found ourselves fouling the other players (and being presented with a 'yellow card' by the referee) when we tried to use it.

Sliding tackles aside however, this really is a very enjoyable game. One of the features that Mini Gamers found most impressive was the camera replays after every goal. They really do show the game from every possible angle and reminded us very much of an actual televised football match.


The PES 2011 3D game is a fantastic addition to the series and the new 3D depth makes the matches really interesting. If you like football games, you will definitely want to give this title a try. Overall rating: 9/10.

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