Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 PSP

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 Product Details

Released on 28-Oct-2011

• The Beautiful Game

  

  The Beautiful Game: 2012 Football Games Dissected

  As soon as the first Premier League match gets under way, gamers know it's only a matter of weeks before they can start playing along at home. The virtual football season follows its real life counterpart so closely that excitement for them both overlaps into a frenzy of footy fanaticism. And things finally kick off this week, with a derby match that is now as familiar as anything involving teams with City and United in their name: FIFA vs Pro Evolution Soccer.

  

  FIFA, the Man Utd of football gaming, dominates the conversation, of course. EA Sports has poured extra gallons of slick TV style presentation into the 2012 edition, and gone the extra mile in improving gameplay both on and off the pitch.

  Three big changes have been made to the match gameplay, of which the Impact Engine is the most obvious. This is a physics model that governs every challenge, tackle and foul, making players move and interact far more realistically. Tactical Defending deepens this system, with the emphasis now on positioning your defensive line and pressuring the opposing team, boxing them in manually rather than sending the AI to get the job done. And Precision Dribbling offers benefits on the other side of the equation, allowing attackers to maintain close control while jogging, fending off tackles on the move.

  Throw in a much richer Career Mode, with media and management issues as important as tactical decisions, and the new EA Sports Football Club, which links your account and progress across all FIFA branded games, and you've got a seriously impressive distillation of the sport.

  

  What has Pro Evo brought to the pitch to combat this ruthlessly driven assault? Refinements and tweaks, mostly, although there's certainly something to be said for concentrating on getting the details right, rather than coming up with new features for the sake of it.

  Key for Pro Evo fans will be Teammate Control, which allows you to control a second player with the right stick, moving them into position for the perfect pass or interception. It sounds confusing, and it is tricky to master, but the benefits are enormous and there are varying levels of manual control available to ease you in. Goalkeepers and referees have been tickled with the AI feather, making them more reliable and realistic in their responses.

  Is that enough to topple FIFA from its throne? Probably not, but it definitely makes Pro Evo a much stronger game and should encourage a few die hard fans to try both of them.

  And what of the more cerebral player? The sort of player who knows what 'cerebral' means. For them, the long dark nights ahead are simply an invitation to lose themselves in the warm, comfortable bosom of Football Manager 2012.

  

  SEGA's award-winning, best-selling management sim somehow gets better every year, and this year is no exception. It's more flexible than ever this season, with off-pitch decisions getting some extremely interesting adjustments. Transfers and youth contracts are more detailed than ever before, and you can use loyalty bonuses to keep your best players happy. Equally, when negotiating that new contract, you'll have more control over where you compromise or when to stand firm. Team talks now offer five different tones, ranging from cool and level-headed, to raging tantrum.

  It all comes together to create an experience where you really feel like a football manager. Not just someone clicking on a game, but a personality within the game, making decisions based on live data. It is, in many ways, the most realistic footy game around.

  And if all that joypad and keyboard action has left you feeling a bit flabby and lethargic, why not just fire up Kinect Sports and boot a few penalties of your own? Football's coming home, and we couldn't be happier!

• Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 Review

  New season

  With another new season on the horizon and continued pressure from arch-rival FIFA in the battle for virtual football glory, PES 2012 (Xbox 360, PS3), steps up to the plate with a range of improvements over last year's edition, alongside a few of its seemingly ever-present quirks. While it may lack most official team licenses - although it does have the Champions League competition – and the commentary and crowd sounds are still as poor as ever, PES sparkles in several ways.

  Visually, in some departments at least, it's arguably the best-looking football game yet. The stadium environments are excellent, with a quality lighting system and use of shadows adding weight and dimension to the stands, the players and the pitch itself. Player likeness is equally impressive in places, although star names appear to have been given more attention to detail than less well known players.

  Tactical Depth

  On the pitch the game has made some significant strides too. Your team-mates are much smarter this year when it comes to positioning, especially up front where strikers are better at making darting runs through the opposition's defence. But if you want to take greater control of proceedings, you can direct a team-mate's run yourself with the right stick. This is also the case when it comes to free kicks and throw-ins, meaning you can actually position a second player exactly where you want them to be rather than just delivering a hopeful ball into the box, as has been the case in previous PES games.

  Compared to FIFA the general flow of games, from passing to shooting, is zippier and more arcade-like, resulting in faster-paced, end-to-end action and unpredictable results. Displaying what feels like an aversion to actually catching the ball, goalkeepers can be a bit of a liability. Opting to parry or punch the ball in almost every situation, they're not very realistically presented, although their inability to effectively pluck the ball out of the air leads to plenty of exciting, frantic goal mouth scrambles.

  Online Improvements

  The game now supports online play for up to eight players simultaneously, while the online matchmaking system has been improved to ensure you're more likely to be pitched against a rival whose manner resembles your own, meaning those with poor reputations will be pitted against one another, leading to a smoother, improved multiplayer experience. Additionally, players disconnecting to thwart a defeat will also be blocked from certain competitions.

  An impressive range of game modes mean there's something on offer for all types of football fan, from those just interested in playing to those who want to take a more hands-on approach to team matters and off the field affairs. In Become a Legend, you receive agent support and complete coaching missions in a bid to become a legendary player, while the returning Master League mode sees you take control of a team, buying, selling, training and playing your way to world-beating stature. A new addition to the series is Club Boss mode, where you try your hand at running a club as an owner, guiding it financially.

  Top of the table

  PES 2012 might not be as accurate a football simulation as FIFA 12, but if you're looking for a more entertaining game of attacking football - and don't mind the odd moment of goalkeeper-inspired craziness – then you should look no further this year's title.

  With a wealth of improvements both on and off the pitch, PES 2012 represents a strong showing for the long-running, much-loved football franchise.

  GAME's verdict

  Good:
  + Fast-paced, exciting gameplay
  + Something for every type of player.
  + Looks great.

  Bad:
  - Lack of official licenses.
  - Commentary isn't great.
  - Goalkeepers are unreliable.

   

  Review by: Tom 'Playmaker' Ivan
  Version Tested: X360
  Review Published: 05.10.11

  Published: 04/10/2011

• Facebook app myPES launches for PES 2012

  Facebook app myPES launches for PES 2012

  Konami has announced the launch of the new myPES Facebook application to accompany its new football game PES 2012.

  The full version of the revolutionary free application allows Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC owners to easily share results from multiplayer matches and create their own tailor-made leagues via their Facebook walls.

  It syncs automatically with the popular social network website and automatically update league tables as and when matches are played.

  Those who download the free app can also unlock a number of in-game bonuses, receiving double game points and special rewards when they fulfil specific criteria.

  PES 2012 is now available in stores for high-definition formats and is billed as one of the biggest evolutions in the series to date, with new features such as the ability to control two players at once.

  New versions of the game will be released on Wii and PSP soon, while Konami is also working on PES 2012 3D for Nintendo 3DS.

  Published: 17/10/2011

• Pro Evolution Soccer series receives 5million Facebook Likes

  
  Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer has achieved a social media milestone after racking up an impressive five million "Likes" on Facebook.

  To celebrate the occasion, PES cover athlete and official spokesperson Cristiano Ronaldo has recorded a special message to the game's five million online fans.

  Gamers who go to the page and view the video will even be able to enter a special competition to win one of five football shirts signed by the Portugal and Real Madrid superstar.

  Ronaldo became the official face of the PES series for its most recent instalment, the popular PES 2012, which was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii and PSP last year.

  The game introduced a number of innovative new features to the classic formula, including improved AI and off-the-ball player control, as well as a wide variety of modes and options.

  It has since also been released in an enhanced handheld edition on Nintendo 3DS.

  Published: 31/01/2012

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