PES 2012: Pro Evolution Soccer

I don't know where to start with this. I must admit this is the most challenging PES to date. You really do have to create openings, use a lot of movement as creating space is key on this. Passing is brilliant, shooting has to be timed etc. The game play and graphics are top quality, commentating is very much improved.

Training is a nice addition to the game. There are various time trials to take on which will help anyone to improve. All areas are available such as dribbling, passing, shooting, defending drills etc. Really good. But the defending drills are pointless as I'll explain below.

But on the downside, I actually don't know how many PES reviews I've mentioned GOALKEEPERS!!! This year they are absolutely, and I mean absolutely SHOCKING!!! Why don't Konami fix something that actually needs fixing? Every single shot the computer has goes in yet it takes you about 3 or 4 attempts. Really frustrating. Simple shots are parried out and shots that trickle to the corner, the keeper just falls instead of diving. Shots that are going miles wide , the keeper palms it away. Come on, what the hell??!! Reminds of PES 6 where every shot went in.

Another problem is when shots are saved or if the ball is loose, the computer will always get there first regardless if they are a million of miles away. Defenders just don't react to loose balls. The attacker always gets to crosses first. Clearances are always picked up by the computer first or the second ball. I could go on.

Defending I have to say is just pointless. It is impossible to get the ball off the opponent. They don't react to getting turned etc, once the player has gone, that is it, you're buggered.. No matter how much pressure you put on the player, they seem to get through. No matter how hard you try to time a tackle, the computer just walks through it and leads to a goal.

Speed of the players is very strange. I'm not sure if the stats of speed are more realistic. For example, I've noticed that when you play the computer, they pull away and you just cannot catch the player. I ran clear with Pato and Mertesacker caught up. Ok, that would really happen.

Licenses don't really bother me because I can always get an update file. One thing I've noticed is that Brazil are not licensed, the players are but not the team. The home kit is green and the away kit is white. Transfers are not up to date but Konami have already released a patch to update these.

I don't want to go any further because it might spoil it for others. The game is playable. You enjoy it up to certain points but the certain points spoil it big time.

I'd still recommend the game to buy, at least try it out first. You might like it you might not. Each to their own.

Thank you to Play for getting the game to me a day earlier.

I've played both demo 1 & 2 on the PS3 and it's looking very promising. I am a "PES man" and although i try FIFA every year I always trade end up trading it in and playing PES all season.
After all PES is MOTD to FIFA's 'Super Dooper Sunday' . . . . one for grown ups and one for the rest. . . one does simulation and the other gimmicks. The popularity of FIFA still leaves me baffled and only assume it's down to 'licences'
IF PES online is as good as PES offline then a sleep deprived season awaits us all. . . . again!

I've stopped playing the PES series after the mediocre PES 2008 and moved on to the then lauded FIFA 09, which I would say was a breath of fresh air. Being a fan of PES series and especially PES 6 - which some may call the greatest football game ever made - I was hesitant to move to the FIFA series. After playing FIFA 09, 10 and 11, the series took a nosedive, got repetitive and innovation stopped. Every single match I played in FIFA felt exactly the same, goals were all similar, the glitches were unbearable, the AI was horrendous, there's no great offline modes and the list goes on...

But after hearing of the mild success of PES 11, I decided to get PES 12 and I can honestly tell you this is the best football game out right now. I am not just saying it because I bought the game or hate FIFA, I am honestly telling you after exploring all it has to offer plus playing the matches to get a feel of the game, it's hands down the best football game out this year.

The graphics look great, especially in cutscenes and celebrations and the motion blur makes it even more realistic. At times you feel like you're watching an actual football match on television, I'm dead serious. The ball physics, stadiums, nets, player animations and likeness trumps FIFA.

The core gameplay has seen a few changes from before. You can now control another player while dribbling the ball to get him into tight spots for some beautiful goals. The AI runs are also great, they spot opportunites and execute very well. The movements aren't as fluid as I'd like it to be but it's as close to natural as anything I've seen in video games. The team at Konami really understand the game of football and you can see it in the way the players react, touch the ball, make clever runs or even show emotion during dead balls. Even the little details like managers pacing on the sidelines when they're down a goal, subs joining in on the celebrations,security guards in the background talking to each other and players fighting with each other when there's a bad tackle - it's so real you can't do anything else but just play a match all over again just to experience those little moments.

The level of customization is also an area PES excels in. Yes, there aren't any licenses but there are patches and mods from the PES community available for you to download to your USB and upload to your PS3 save data - it's really simple. You get all the official logos, stadiums, names, kits - every possible thing you can think of. There's even patches for alternative commentary from Andy Townsend and Clive Tyldesley and it sounds like your regular weekend fixture matches on television.

Master League is of course the most important feature of PES and it's even better than before. I can't go into too much detail but I can tell you that I'm managing a run down Japanese club with non other than Brazilian and Inter Milan defender Maicon. He's in cutscenes wearing suits, talking to club executives and on the pitch during practice talking to players - will you see things like this in any other football game? Never!!!

So in conclusion, I recommend this game strongly. It's the best football game out now. Don't trust the reviews from IGN that willingly gives FIFA 12 a 9.5 but when you go to the forums all you hear is disgruntled fans who wasted their money on a broken game. Oh, and PES has Champion's League and with the patches you can download, plus all the kits and official team, you will essentially have two games, a PES game and a Champion's League game.

If the Demo is anything to go by PES is back baby. First time since PES been on PS3 that demo has been quality. Hope above all hope the full version will be great as last few game play been awful. October 14th come on.

Ok, just arrived today and wow!

They have improved everything, the gameplay is unbelievable, graphics are amazing.

The new additions to how the master league works is also crazily good and fun.

I have to say no wonder Fifa got there game out there first because this blows it out the water.

Dont waste your money buying Fifa 12, this is the best football game i have played in years and its vast improved from Pro Evo 2011.

Dont let the demo frighten you as the demo is nothing like how good this game is now.

i recommend this game 100%