Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (360/PS3) Review

[MMChrisS]

The Pro Evolution Soccer series has always lived and died by its gameplay. You don't expect stunningly polished presentation when you pop in PES, but you do expect fun and authentic on-pitch action. The problem was that for the past few years, even the gameplay has faltered, leading to a string of subpar offerings from this once mighty franchise.

Last year was a step in the right direction, as PES 2011's gameplay started to offer football fans glimmers of hope. This year,PES 2012 has eradicated its predecessors’ flaws, and took gameplay to a whole new level. This is by far the best PES game for the current generation of consoles.

Read More - Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (360) Review

[ty5oke]

Very good review Kelvin. Agreed with all the flaws mentioned but the gameplay is so top notch that this is my go-to footy game.

[RoyceDa59]

I agree good review the more I play the game the more I fall in love with it. However I do think the game has some pretty good animations it is just the transitions between some of the animations is where it falls short. Overall, this game is really great and I can't stop playing it.

[papernut]

Great review. Out of the box this game is a solid 8. With option files added to it along with custom stadiums and chants, the game jumps up big time IMO.

[EvanRG]

I'm buyist, but I feel this is the best soccer game to ever be released. There, I said it.

The reason the AI is attacking a lot is because people try to play PES like Fifa (aggressive, going for the tackle to quickly instead of holding up play).

PES also has a contain button on defense (had it last year also before Fifa) and if you use it, you can very easily hold up play. Watch a CPU vs CPU game to show this.

Video game reviews are subjective and I agree with a lot of what you said, but I respectfully disagree about Fifa gaining a higher score.


Especially considering the gripes you made about Fifa.

Quote:

Another flaw that becomes more apparent the longer you play the game is that the CPU doesn't have too many styles of playing. First of all, fouls are a rarity. The opposition doesn't dive in enough. When they do, they’re too successful. Second, I’ve yet to see them adjusting their tactics in relation to the score. While they do press higher when going for a goal in the dying minutes, the differences in urgency is nowhere near as pronounced as they should be. In short, sometimes you can feel like you’re playing a “one-size-fits-all” CPU. These issues, while they won’t make the game unplayable by any stretch of the imagination, do impact the spontaneity of gameplay. After a bit of playing, sometimes you can feel as though you can foresee every run that’s about to trigger, or that games are starting to feel one note.

I appreciate how balanced you were, but I feel like the reviews you wrote give two completely different scores than what you actually rated and talked about.

Gameplay wins outright every time and going by what you wrote -- PES should've won.

(I feel like a lawyer resting his case.)

[Profit89]

It is truly a great game.

[Bahnzo]

I can't agree with any review that rates PES lower than FIFA this year.

[Jgainsey]

As usual, I'll be buying PES for PC.

The consistently solid gameplay, along with the great modding community usually make my video game soccer choice pretty easy.

Personally, I wouldn't have given FIFA a higher score than PES this year, but the content of the review is fair. I don't get all that worked up over the review scores in and of themselves, but it is still a shame that the better game "lost".

[kerosene31]

Quote: Originally Posted by EvanRG

The reason the AI is attacking a lot is because people try to play PES like Fifa (aggressive, going for the tackle to quickly instead of holding up play).

This is 100% true. I was trying to defend in PES similar to the way I did in Fifa 11 (I played more Fifa last year). I was terrible. I adjusted and am a lot better.

I agree that PES has more flaws this year, but still I prefer it. It doesn't have the polish, but it just has it where it counts.

[KG]

Everyone always feels like there is scripting in sports games but it exists in real life. That old cliche "you're at your most vulnerable after you score" is tried and proved. One club is trying hard to score, the other club is trying hard to defend packing it in and absorbing constant flurry after flurry. When your club is the latter how nervous are you? You get that same feeling in PES but because it's a video game people EXPECT the players to take into account the game situation and adjust on their own. It doesn't happen that way. Those like bars you see on the far right hand corner is the CPU changing mentality. When they do that, you need to do that. You feed right into the "game is scripted mentality" if you don't adjust.

Keepers are a mixed bag much like they are in real life. Most top league keepers are capable of producing the spectacular, few are able to do it consistently and even the best (Van der Saar, Casillas, etc...) have been put to shame on match-day. Yes, I'd like to see them catch more direct shots but I've seen double and triple saves as well as them coming off their line on-their-own to clear or deal with troublesome balls.

I agree with a lot of the review though and overall there is just something about PES that draws me despite it's flaws.