Pro Evolution Soccer 2012

   Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (abbreviated to PES 2012 and known officially as World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2012 in Asia) is a video game which is the eleventh edition in the Pro Evolution Soccer series developed and published by Konami with production assistance from the Blue Sky Team. Lionel Messi, who has been the cover star for the series since PES 2009, will be replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo, while Shinji Kagawa replaces Messi as the cover star for the Japanese version. The US and Latin American cover will feature Santos player Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.

   Like previous versions of the game, it will be exclusively licensed by UEFA to contain the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup competitions along with a license from CONMEBOL to feature the Copa Santander Libertadores. Referees' governing UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup matches will wear the official UEFA Champions League uniforms, which is a first for the series.

   On July 28, 2011, Konami confirmed that PES 2012 will be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows on October 14, 2011 in Europe and October 6, 2011 in Japan.At Gamescom 2011 it was announced that the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 versions will follow on October 28, 2011 and the Wii on November 4, 2011. The publisher has also confirmed that versions for Nintendo 3DS and iOS formats are also in development, with firm dates to follow.

   There are two demos, both of which were released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The first is based on a preview build of the game and was released on August 24, 2011 for PlayStation 3 and PC, though because of "issues on both sides" according to Jon Murphy, PES Team Leader, it was not released on the Xbox 360.The second demo was released 14th September on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Gameplay:

PES 2012's gameplay is primarily a refinement of PES 2011, with fewer big changes than the previous iteration but many smaller improvements and changes in areas such as artificial intelligence, speed, animation, and physics.

Among the new features is the Teammate Control system, where a secondary player may be controlled, either during play, or at a set piece or throw-in. This allows players to be placed precisely, make runs, and shake off markers before calling for the ball. Manual and assisted versions of the feature are available for varying degrees of difficulty and control.

Refereeing has been improved and includes a full implementation of the advantage rule, with the referee pulling back play for bookings after the ball goes out of play.The "catch-up bug", where defenders would catch dribbling attackers too easily, regardless of the attacker's pace, will be addressed.Gameplay is more fluid, with better response when controlling the ball, and goalkeepers have been improved with new animations and generally more reliable goalkeeping performances.

Artificial intelligence has been improved over previous PES games, for example AI players will play more thoughtfully when defending rather than simply applying pressure, and AI teammates will make more intelligent movement decisions.

Content:

Thanks to an exclusive deal with UEFA and CONMEBOL, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Copa Santander Libertadores are fully licensed. The tournaments are integrated into the new mode, Football Life, which features a Master League mode and a Become a Legend mode, and for the first time, a Club Boss mode. The Football Life mode also includes a Master League Online mode, however, fan favourite 2V2 Ranked Matches have been removed from the Xbox 360 version due to "internal decisions".Like previous versions, there is also a separate two leagues with 18 empty teams (PES League and D2 League), each of which can be edited fully. All the teams are entirely fictional.The UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup and the PES and D2 Leagues are features not included in the PSP version of the game.

Reviews:

   Once the dominant force in video game football, Pro Evolution Soccer has lost ground to arch-rival FIFA over the last few years due to its failure to innovate. Konami is looking to rectify that with Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, a game it promises will offer "the highest level of playability, challenge and realism."

   Pro Evolution Soccer 2012's improvements are focussed very much on gameplay, specifically how you and your team play together. Producer Shingo 'Seabass' Takatsuka's vision is clear: to make PES "match what people see when they go to a match or watch a big game on TV with what they experience on their console." Player AI has therefore been completely overhauled to simulate the vision and team-work of the professionals who play the beautiful game. Players will now make more intelligent runs rather than being drawn helplessly toward the ball, creating a much more free-flowing game of football.

   Active AI – for that is what Konami has dubbed the new system – really opens up the game to enable skilled players to recreate what they see in real life in the game. For example, it's not just about getting your wingers to make a run down the line, but rather getting your midfielders to draw the opposition away from the ball before releasing the winger. Having every player on the pitch working together is the key to Pro Evo 2012, from the defenders supporting midfield, who in turn cover the back four but also supply the strikers, and vice-versa.

   PES 2012 promises a much more physical game and strong players are much more likely to win the ball in one-on-one situations. The impact system is more sophisticated too and players will fall and tumble to the ground depending where on their body a tackle lands.

   Konami is remaining tight-lipped about the online mode but expect online Master League to return. We're also hoping any lag issues are ironed out, but again we won't know for sure until the game is release.

Published by: Konami
Developed by: Winning Eleven Productions
Genre: Sports
Release Date:
Europe: November 2011
PEGI: RP
Also Available On: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Also known as: PES 2012