Let’s start with some basic PES 101: PES is a very technical game when compared to the competition. The game gives you incredible control over just about every aspect of the game. You have several options and techniques for everything from dribbling, to passing, to shooting. Very little is automated in this game, and you will need to learn every technique available to you if you want to be the best you can be. The training mode the game thrusts you into when you create a new data does an excellent – if not, difficult way to teach you each of these techniques. For a new player, all of this may be overwhelming and frustrating as you hopelessly try to complete exercises that require a level of skill and precision generally above the norm at entry level. Often, you will complete these exercises by pure luck alone and walk away learning very little. Still, they do provide grounds for those that truly wish to perfect their technique, giving adequate and appropriate exercises to push each technique to its limits. Be warned, novices, if you choose to skip these training exercises out of frustration, you may find yourself having trouble in an exhibition even on the easiest of difficulties. It took me a great deal of time before I trained myself not to smash the square button when going for a goal, only to send the ball hurtling into the stands.

PES gives you full control over the ball right down to dribbling!

While the technical aspect is frustrating, it is at the same time one of the game’s greatest strengths, lending to a very skill intensive environment that many players enjoy. One thing that players do complain about how ever is the lack of licenses that the game carries. FIFA certainly carries the larger selection of licenses, but thankfully Konami was able to obtain licensing from the Copa Satander Libertadores and the UEFA Champions League this year giving fans of the series even more teams to play.

One thing that I did find while reviewing the game is that it did not have the same level of polish that you find in other sports games out there on the market. Player graphics are still a little blocky and don’t take full advantage of the graphical power that the current gen consoles can deliver. However, I must say that the “uniqueness” of the players was very well defined. In general, players did look different from one another and had a very good resemblance to their real life counter parts. The character creation mode when creating a new profile is also extremely robust, allowing you to customize many different aspects of your own personal player. In fact, I dare say that the customization options exceed what I’ve seen in many other titles outside of the sports genre which laud the power of their character creation modes. The fact I was able to lose myself for a good 45 minutes tweaking my character’s appearance made me very happy. The game is not without its bugs though. While playing I discovered a bug that muted all sounds within the game, which nearly scared me because I thought it was my TV or PS3 at first! Simply exiting the game and restarting it fixed the bug, but shows that Q&A either didn’t do a good job in locating these blemishes, or simply weren’t given enough time to do their job.

PES 2012 does bring in a few new features with this iteration of the series which helps show Konami hasn’t run out of room for improving the base game. Going hand in hand with the level of control you have over the game, you can now position a second player to execute game plans unlike any other single player experience in a sports game. It also isn’t that difficult to do while controlling your active player and was integrated in a brilliant, fluid way. Both the offense and defense AI are top notch as well, leading to a game experience that delivers every time, and creates a unique experience, even between the same teams with each and every game you play. My only complaint was the goalie AI needed a little touching up as I found scoring goals much easier than it should be and my goalie also missed far more shots than I would have liked.

Someone isn’t looking too happy after a game.

All in all, the game does do what it sets out to do remarkably well. No man can be faulted for disliking the style of gameplay or loving it, and PES’s approach to Soccer certainly has its admirable qualities which set it distinctly apart from the competition. If you are a fan of the technical side of soccer, and enjoy having as much control over the game state at any point in time as you can muster, PES may just be a better fit for you than FIFA. If you are already a fan of PES, you will find that Konami has further improved the experience this time around and this game is a worthy successor to the PES line. I must also note that normally, I would have given this game an 8.5, but had to take off half a point for the bug I discovered. Thankfully, in this day and age with internet connectivity, such things can be fixed with a patch; which if fixed, you can consider my score an 8.5.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Konami have announced that Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2012 App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is now available on the App Store.

The PES 2012 App offers an extensive choice of licensed teams, both national and club, and is also the only game to exclusively feature the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League competitions. It also features fully licensed representations of Spain’s Liga BBVA, France Ligue 1, and many others. Thus, players can opt to play full seasons, compete in cup competitions, or play friends online via wi-fi or Bluetooth connections. Matches are further enhanced with full commentaries, and the game also includes mini-games where players can opt for a Quick Play match or practice shooting skills via the brand new Free Kick Challenge.

The Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 App is available for free from the App Store for iPad, iPhone or iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

Lionel Messi, who had been the cover star for Pro Evo Soccer games for some time now, will not be gracing PES12’s cover. It will be Real Madrid star midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo who will feature on the boxart of the game on all versions. The image on the boxart, Konami says, represents “total control both on and off the ball,”, some new feature’s in this year’s game.

Konami explains: “PES 2012 gives the user more control than any other football title, with all-new AI elements and off-the-ball control creating a game where the user can move players into dangerous areas during set pieces, or control second player to create space or make runs using the new Teammate Control system.

“Similarly, at the heart of PES 2012 is the Active AI system where players will drop into space, draw defenders out of position, and make diagonal runs as in real matches.

“This creates a game that flows and moves just like a top-level game, and also create the defence-splitting passes and glorious attacks that has elevated Cristiano Ronaldo to the top of his game.”

Ronaldo himself is very pleased to know that he will be the boxstar of PES 12. He says: “I am flattered that Konami has chosen me to be the face of PES 2012, and by their reasoning behind the cover image.

“PES 2012 to me is the perfect recreation of football, and truly highlights the way teams work together to create attacks, make space and break down defences.

“I think anyone that plays it will get a better understanding of the mechanics of football and how players work together. It is never about one player, it is about the team – and PES 2012 demonstrates that better than any other game.”

Game releases next month. Have a look at the Xbox 360 cover art of the game below (click on the image to see it in full size):

In our recent interview with EA Sports, Aaron McHardy, gameplay director of FIFA 12, said that the development team was not concerned about the new features announced for their competitor, Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, saying that FIFA 12 does the same things (if not to the same extent) and more.

“I don’t think they’ve concerned us,” he said. “I think we have forms of those things but not to the same extent or the same way that Konami have done them. But we really wanted you to be expressive and be creative on the pitch and do what you like to do with the ball. And we wanted to build features that would allow that expression, and that level of control. That’s kind of where we’re taking it.”

“I know that [Konami are] taking it in a different direction, and being more specific about things like player runs and all that,” he continued. “But I think what we’re doing is better for our game, so we’re not concerned about the features they’re doing, but I’m sure they’ll fit perfectly with their game. “

In the same interview, McHardy also said that the FIFA development team feels it’s good to have Konami around, since both competing games push each other to become better.

Our UK correspondent George Reith recently had the opportunity to conduct a telephonic interview with EA Sports. We were able to ask them several questions about FIFA 12. Gameplay director Aaron McHardy said, when asked what they felt about Konami’s competing series Pro Evolution Soccer, that “it’s good to have the Konami guys around” and that they both push each other to make better football games.

“I think it’s a good think to have big competitors like ourselves and Konami in the same space,” he said. “We’re always pushing each other, and we’ve always got one eye on what they do. They’ve been making fantastic games for years.”

“And, you know, we’re watching what they do and they like to watch what we do,” he continued. “I guess the two big games in the same market really push each other to really not relax and keep pushing the boundaries of what can be done in a football game.

“So it’s good to have the Konami guys around. And I’m sure, like I said, they’re watching us and we’re watching them and we’re pretty conscious of each other.”

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for the massive full interview. Till then, we’ll keep you hitting with more updates.