Most portable games strive to deliver an alternative to the console or PC gaming experience.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D does not share that goal, and aims instead to replicate the full experience on Nintendo's brand new handheld. That includes the visual style. At the very least, it looks like a PlayStation 2 game, and with the 3D slider at full blast, it might even look better than that. Most of the camera angles, however, are kind of disastrous; they never allow you a good look at all of the action on the pitch, and though that might be true of actually playing soccer, it doesn't feel right for a video game. My personal preference is Wide, but it's also the angle that utilizes the 3DS's namesake the least. And while we're on the subject, the 3D looks good. The level of depth is impressive, but if you use most of the other camera angles, it comes very close to serving as a distraction. The menu screens could be less cluttered, but there's no disputing that
PES 2011 3D is technically sound.
Jon Champion and Jim Beglin's commentary isn't nearly as varied as it is in the console version; that makes the red flag go up, because it wasn't at all varied there. They tend to speak far less, also. I suppose it's just as well. I don't particularly care to hear commentators hamming it up while two teams do their little back-and-forth. But I suspect that some do, and those are the ones who will be most disappointed with the commentary track. The rest of the game sounds fine, too, but in all fairness, it's got to be pretty difficult to mess up the sound of a crowd.
