Konami have today announced PES 2012, again boasting exclusive use of the UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa League licences, and unveiled plans and focus for the next entry within the series.
To this end, the game continues Konami’s determination to work with fans of the series, and football in general, to create a truly realistic, immersive and utterly playable take on the modern game. Therefore development has focused on the instinctive way the game can be played and on teamwork in particular. The new game’s AI engine has undergone a major overhaul and provide an experience akin to being part of a real team, matching the very essence of top-level football.
Attacking play is a cornerstone of PES 2012, and the new game benefits from a more open approach that allows users to dictate the pace of movement, with all-new AI elements incorporated so team mates make runs and offer support in one-on-one situations. Players make useful dummy runs to draw defenders, and this offers users greater options to move the ball around when they are being closed down. Thus, the team works together a more cohesive unit, reacting to the movements of the player with the ball, and working to force the opposing team into mistakes.
Zonal marking and positional defending are also massively enhanced; ensuring players are forced to work harder to split the opposition defence. Meanwhile a new cursor switching system has been implemented using the right analogue stick to switch to any player on the field. This allows users to pick a team mate anywhere on the pitch, thereby allowing players to react to threats faster, and to shut down attacks more quickly. Hold up play is being tweaked to give even greater control. AI defenders are able to hold a much tighter defensive line, position themselves better and track opponents more efficiently. The off-the-ball switching also extends to key set pieces, such as goal kicks, corners, free kicks and throw-ins, and allows users to target a specific player and send them on runs or to drag defenders out of position, and allows for quick breaks and space to be exploited more easily.
In addition animation has been heavily tweaked as well as more detailed lighting techniques, a wider variety of player styles, improved dead-ball situations, expanded tactics and a new customisable pass feature.
“For me, the ultimate aim in the ongoing PES series is to match what people see when they go to a match or watch a big game on TV with what they experience on their console,” explains Shingo ‘Seabass’ Takatsuka, the Creative Producer of the Pro Evolution Soccer series. “As such, in consultation with football fans across the globe, we have been working non-stop to isolate and determine how to make our game marry in with how real football is played. This is key to PES 2012, and key to providing the ultimate football experience within a console title.”
He continues, “Team work is what separates the world’s greatest teams from their peers, and is the hub of everything within PES 2012. PES 2012 focuses on the core elements of top-level football: attacking play, freedom of movement, the creation of space, and working together as a unit both up field and in defence. These elements combine to create a game that flows and ebbs like a real match, with individual shows of brilliance changing a game, and more control over every aspect of play within a wide-ranging yet instinctive control system. PES 2012 will turn the heads of fans everywhere.”
Nintendo fans will be pleased to know that PES 2012 will release for Wii, with further platforms including PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PSP and PlayStation 2. It’s due out in Autumn 2011.
You can catch the announcement trailer below:
Konami unveil PES 2012, first Developer Diary released
