Had a game last night and I've just had another go - has potential to be really good and it's worth considering that recent reviews/previews have been of a later code than the demo we're playing...no point making definite judgements until the demo that'll be released in mid-September.
From the off, I thought it was a bit too fast - I've switched the speed down to -1 on all the Pro Evo's that've had the option though, so I'm happy with that.
Passing feels a little bit hoofy - probably partly to do with the audio and partly to do with the physics. It feels as though you've kicking it really hard into the floor sometimes, so it travels slower that you anticipate. Also feels a bit to on-rails - perhaps I'm not getting the settings right but on the options I've switched the meter to 0 for minimal assistance? Barely had a chance at a shot yet.
Keepers seem poor at dealing with straight-on/long shots but seem quite realistic when dealing with shots from tighter angles - sometimes they deal with it for a corner, others it catches them out and they palm it across goal, whereas on other occasions they seem to get good height and distance on punches/pushes back into play. My first goal was a free kick popped low at waist height through a gap in the wall - the keeper had to get down really low and he just palmed it in...having read initial suggestions that the keepers were poor on this demo (not the more recent version played by the priveleged few), I was disappointed...but giving it another watch it's realistic enough to assume that the keeper didn't see it because of the wall and his mistake was triggered by this.
Struggling with the tackling - it seems as though they've ditched what (animations aside) seemed a good system for 2011. Struggling with the timing of pressure challenges and the overall effectiveness of the slide challenge (perhaps this is good, as attackers seem to ride challenges better with a knock-on and a stride). Glad that stumbling seems to have gone.
Overall AI seems far improved - I feel like I've got numbers back helping (and that's with Napoli playing their 3-1-3-1-2 system!) and plenty of options when I move forward. Finding the on-the-fly off-the-ball control a little distracting but I'll get used to that and it is, in essence, an addition for the advanced players - players make runs without, it's just an extra.
The graphics seem a bit nicer - more 'furry' when the previous game was a bit 'jaggedy'. I hope that makes sense to at least one person besides me! I still think their sub-par but they've rounded the edges off a bit.
2011 was a big improvement and provides a fantastic foundation for this years game. Most of the issues outlined above are linked to getting used to a new game rather than problems in their own right - it's improved and I'm encouraged. Looking forward to trying the September demo, for sure.
