Finally I have some time to do a review of this new version of PES 2012. This time I will be focusing only on the errors of this release.
Personally I think 2012 is the best in graphics and playing dynamics, however 2010 was much more organized and all of their features were perfectioned by the time of its release. Read further for the reasons:
MASTER LEAGUE
1) Menus – Menus are somewhat organized, however there are several flaws that need some work and some improvements to be made:
a) INFORMATION – This should be the 3rd menu from the left, to keep compliance with the MLO menu.
b) EDIT PLAYER NUMBER – This screen should include a “Switch Number” button, so numbers are not changed without really wanting it. By just seeing the numbers for a couple of seconds the game automatically switch their numbers if you stop for a moment. This is not the best approach.
c) STAFF HIRING – There are very few choices offered per option, for example: there is one cheap option, some middle priced ones and some top value. Why not more choices?
• Coaches options could go by experience, by country, by achievement, by offensive style, defensive style, possession, etc. His role in the game could be improved, like giving you a quarterly report (based on their training development) of which players could be good for what other position, this would impulse the “training players for other positions” option. Also suggestions about what type of player your team “needs” if he sees constant fatigue on players of the same position through a season.
• Athletic Trainer – Also their role could be improved, like suggesting you training for each player based on their latest ratings, or letting you know which player from your YOUTH TEAM could improve fast, or could become a good piece on your team in the near future.
• Scouts – Simply FIFA 12 game came with an idea hard to surpass, the schools concept. KONAMI could strive to look for players depending upon different abilities set by ourselves, like: We want a Striker, Physicallity B, Fortitude A, Speed C, etc. The scout would, after some time, give us some options depending on what type of Scout has been hired.
d) TRANSFER WINDOW – When players are placed on transfer / loan, instead of displaying the useless acknowledge message, a simple checkbox on the right side of the player’s name should display as ticked / unticked.
e) ADVANCED SEARCH – Some flaws here:
• Height – The selection here is impractical, selecting by groups of 10 centimeters is not well. The options should move up the minimum height only. For example, I want a tall Defensive Midfielder, or Central Back, anything over 180 meters is good. Usually no one has preferences on whether the results are players between 180 – 190 cmts, or 190 – 200 cmts. This criteria option is more of a problem than a help so I rarely use it.
• Age – Giving groups by 5 it’s the same thing as in height. In this case though, the minimum and maximum should be configured so all the matching results are displayed in one single list, and not split as in now.
f) SQUAD LIST - This list so far is only good for assists and goals, meaning most of my defense and midfielders achievements will not count? This list could be improved by placing an average rating acquired game by game. Or a rating of good/total of passes for each player, or meters ran in ball possession. For the Goalies could be: Number of goals received / Number of saves, Penalties blocked / Penalties saved, etc. All this for ML AND MLO.
g) TRAINING – A total lost of direction in this change, was hard to figure it out how to use this feature, I am not sure I understood it yet, which seems to be all “RANDOM”, instead of “PROGRESSIVE”. Why would I invest in a Athletic Trainer if I am going to be loosing stats randomly? I think PES 2010 had it almost nailed down right, it could be set individually depending on each player’s needs and depending upon our expectation of the player.
h) COMMUNICATION – At the beginning I thought this feature was cool, but after 5 games I had enough of it. I believe it is a cool feature but needs serious polishing:
• Players should want to talk to you after they have not been picked to play after a reasonable amount of games, depending on the player’s rating compared with other players that play in their position. For example: A lower rated player will not want to talk to you at the first game he was not picked. But a high rated player might want to talk to you if he was in good shape and he was not picked. PES 2010 formula was very good at it.
• The conversation options do not make sense. Example: I say I want to keep them fresh and sometimes they don’t like it, sometimes they do. I have no clue on what to expect out of that conversation in that week. Whereas conversations should clarify the situation between managers and players. More answers to select should exist and our players’ reaction to them should be clear.
i) FORWARD TIME – This is a tremendous waste of time in my opinion. Why do I care if Ordaz is in top shape on Mondays if his form is going to change by Friday? Seriously thinking, playing any video game is a waste of time, but with this “day by day” event showing we waste even more. Totally useless.
j) PRE GAME / RECAP ASSESMENT – The first few times I went through this part I though it was awesome, but again, after 5 times it is tiresome. The assessment does not give any clear suggestions, except for a Man Marking vague suggestion. Instead, after each game, the Chairman and fan’s satisfaction table should be shown, with the new rating (good or bad) depending on the last game’s results. Your hired Coach could come up with a clear suggestion also, as showing the opponents weak players and/or a suggested formation. This suggestion setting should be set by us, at will. If this table is shown after each game, then the recap is useless.
k) GAME MISSIONS – This feature should not interfere with which player you pick or which formation, or if we did not get a yellow or red. Rather than this, could be like: If you win: The team gets a bonus. If we don’t get scored: this bonus, or if we win by 2 goals, or by 3, etc.
l) GAME PLAN – Almost a perfect improvement. However there are some flaws:
• The Sweeper (SW) is designed to stay behind all the defense, yet I have a Sweeper going on the attacks. Being a Sweeper should override any attacking configuration I have on that player (ie. CB Overlap, Offensive Stat, etc). But players like Servet Cetin for example, I put him as Sweeper, I DON’T select him to CB Overlap, yet he is in the middle of the field or in the attack, almost every time. This is not good.
• Only 3 sets of strategies to select from? I need way more room!.
• As improvement suggestions, would be, to be able to define what area of the field I want each player to roam. Even though I have leveled the “Position Switch” bar to 0, I find my left winger occasionally on the right side of the field.
f) GAMEPLAY – The AI has lots of improvements, I would have to say that I have enjoyed Coach Mode games due to their AI corrections. The acceleration and slow down realism gives time for creativity on the offense. However the AI scripting still has some errors to be corrected. For example:
• When the opposed Goal is being approached from the sides, and the striking side is 1 on 1 against the goalie, instead of attempting to score it passes the ball to a striker that is more frontally positioned towards the goal but he is way farther from the goal than the passer, and even surrounded by defenders, clearly in a worse situation and with less possibility to score.
• When there is a divided ball and two players run to have possession of it facing one another, one of the players clearly backs off, instead of having both players struggle for the ball and have the script decide by the players’ skill factors like “Ball Control”, “Dribble speed”, “Dribble accuracy” or by their physical factors like “Weight”, “Balance”, “Responsiveness” or simply by their “Attack” vs “Defense” rates. Interesting also would be to have an injured player for an amount of games or weeks as a result of that challenge, on rare occasions off course.
• In several occasions, players kick a 30 or 40 meter shot where the ball moves too fast giving the sensation that the game went fast forward. The Maximum speed of the ball should be reduced to a more realistic one.
• I believe that as part of the “realism” of the sport, referees are designed by KONAMI to make mistakes. This is not such a great idea, I think “Perfection” in the refereeing should be pursued over the “Realism” in this case. Nobody likes to see injustice in real soccer games, why would they like it on the PES ones.
• Sometimes with no reason, players while defending clear the ball when there is no pressure, by this they give the ball possession to the other team. While in reality, a short or safe long pass is performed or even a counter attack.
• On free kicks while on your own side of the field, players still make long shot kicks with no reason, also giving away the ball possession. In these cases, the script should allow players to make short and safe passes.
• When Goalkeeper is punting the ball from the floor when restarting a game, he never makes a short pass, this should depend in part on the Offensive / Defensive Stance of the Strategy.
MLO
1) Menus – The main menus inside Master League are well organized. However there are some things that could be improved.
a) TOURNAMENT MENUS – Inside the Tournaments the menus are reduced for obvious reasons. However there are some menus that should be included.
b) SQUAD LIST – Knowing how many games left per player we have is essential for anyone, so we can know what player to select on any given situation. This way we would be able to keep the majority of our squad available, instead of ending up with 1 or more players with no further minutes to play in the most important stances of the tournament. As said previously,, there should be more stats of your contracted players, stats for goalkeepers, defense, midfield and forwards and their average ratings per game.
c) QUALIFYING PHASE – There seems to be a glitch on the Qualifying phase of the tournaments. Several times I have played 4 games, lets say for example loosing the first two and winning the last two. However in the tournament only one Win is accounted for and I get eliminated. If my best results were accounted for, I should have classified to the knockout phase of the tournament.
This is all I got so far. When I start playing BAL mode I will post with more.
Personally I think 2012 is the best in graphics and playing dynamics, however 2010 was much more organized and all of their features were perfectioned by the time of its release. Read further for the reasons:
MASTER LEAGUE
1) Menus – Menus are somewhat organized, however there are several flaws that need some work and some improvements to be made:
a) INFORMATION – This should be the 3rd menu from the left, to keep compliance with the MLO menu.
b) EDIT PLAYER NUMBER – This screen should include a “Switch Number” button, so numbers are not changed without really wanting it. By just seeing the numbers for a couple of seconds the game automatically switch their numbers if you stop for a moment. This is not the best approach.
c) STAFF HIRING – There are very few choices offered per option, for example: there is one cheap option, some middle priced ones and some top value. Why not more choices?
• Coaches options could go by experience, by country, by achievement, by offensive style, defensive style, possession, etc. His role in the game could be improved, like giving you a quarterly report (based on their training development) of which players could be good for what other position, this would impulse the “training players for other positions” option. Also suggestions about what type of player your team “needs” if he sees constant fatigue on players of the same position through a season.
• Athletic Trainer – Also their role could be improved, like suggesting you training for each player based on their latest ratings, or letting you know which player from your YOUTH TEAM could improve fast, or could become a good piece on your team in the near future.
• Scouts – Simply FIFA 12 game came with an idea hard to surpass, the schools concept. KONAMI could strive to look for players depending upon different abilities set by ourselves, like: We want a Striker, Physicallity B, Fortitude A, Speed C, etc. The scout would, after some time, give us some options depending on what type of Scout has been hired.
d) TRANSFER WINDOW – When players are placed on transfer / loan, instead of displaying the useless acknowledge message, a simple checkbox on the right side of the player’s name should display as ticked / unticked.
e) ADVANCED SEARCH – Some flaws here:
• Height – The selection here is impractical, selecting by groups of 10 centimeters is not well. The options should move up the minimum height only. For example, I want a tall Defensive Midfielder, or Central Back, anything over 180 meters is good. Usually no one has preferences on whether the results are players between 180 – 190 cmts, or 190 – 200 cmts. This criteria option is more of a problem than a help so I rarely use it.
• Age – Giving groups by 5 it’s the same thing as in height. In this case though, the minimum and maximum should be configured so all the matching results are displayed in one single list, and not split as in now.
f) SQUAD LIST - This list so far is only good for assists and goals, meaning most of my defense and midfielders achievements will not count? This list could be improved by placing an average rating acquired game by game. Or a rating of good/total of passes for each player, or meters ran in ball possession. For the Goalies could be: Number of goals received / Number of saves, Penalties blocked / Penalties saved, etc. All this for ML AND MLO.
g) TRAINING – A total lost of direction in this change, was hard to figure it out how to use this feature, I am not sure I understood it yet, which seems to be all “RANDOM”, instead of “PROGRESSIVE”. Why would I invest in a Athletic Trainer if I am going to be loosing stats randomly? I think PES 2010 had it almost nailed down right, it could be set individually depending on each player’s needs and depending upon our expectation of the player.
h) COMMUNICATION – At the beginning I thought this feature was cool, but after 5 games I had enough of it. I believe it is a cool feature but needs serious polishing:
• Players should want to talk to you after they have not been picked to play after a reasonable amount of games, depending on the player’s rating compared with other players that play in their position. For example: A lower rated player will not want to talk to you at the first game he was not picked. But a high rated player might want to talk to you if he was in good shape and he was not picked. PES 2010 formula was very good at it.
• The conversation options do not make sense. Example: I say I want to keep them fresh and sometimes they don’t like it, sometimes they do. I have no clue on what to expect out of that conversation in that week. Whereas conversations should clarify the situation between managers and players. More answers to select should exist and our players’ reaction to them should be clear.
i) FORWARD TIME – This is a tremendous waste of time in my opinion. Why do I care if Ordaz is in top shape on Mondays if his form is going to change by Friday? Seriously thinking, playing any video game is a waste of time, but with this “day by day” event showing we waste even more. Totally useless.
j) PRE GAME / RECAP ASSESMENT – The first few times I went through this part I though it was awesome, but again, after 5 times it is tiresome. The assessment does not give any clear suggestions, except for a Man Marking vague suggestion. Instead, after each game, the Chairman and fan’s satisfaction table should be shown, with the new rating (good or bad) depending on the last game’s results. Your hired Coach could come up with a clear suggestion also, as showing the opponents weak players and/or a suggested formation. This suggestion setting should be set by us, at will. If this table is shown after each game, then the recap is useless.
k) GAME MISSIONS – This feature should not interfere with which player you pick or which formation, or if we did not get a yellow or red. Rather than this, could be like: If you win: The team gets a bonus. If we don’t get scored: this bonus, or if we win by 2 goals, or by 3, etc.
l) GAME PLAN – Almost a perfect improvement. However there are some flaws:
• The Sweeper (SW) is designed to stay behind all the defense, yet I have a Sweeper going on the attacks. Being a Sweeper should override any attacking configuration I have on that player (ie. CB Overlap, Offensive Stat, etc). But players like Servet Cetin for example, I put him as Sweeper, I DON’T select him to CB Overlap, yet he is in the middle of the field or in the attack, almost every time. This is not good.
• Only 3 sets of strategies to select from? I need way more room!.
• As improvement suggestions, would be, to be able to define what area of the field I want each player to roam. Even though I have leveled the “Position Switch” bar to 0, I find my left winger occasionally on the right side of the field.
f) GAMEPLAY – The AI has lots of improvements, I would have to say that I have enjoyed Coach Mode games due to their AI corrections. The acceleration and slow down realism gives time for creativity on the offense. However the AI scripting still has some errors to be corrected. For example:
• When the opposed Goal is being approached from the sides, and the striking side is 1 on 1 against the goalie, instead of attempting to score it passes the ball to a striker that is more frontally positioned towards the goal but he is way farther from the goal than the passer, and even surrounded by defenders, clearly in a worse situation and with less possibility to score.
• When there is a divided ball and two players run to have possession of it facing one another, one of the players clearly backs off, instead of having both players struggle for the ball and have the script decide by the players’ skill factors like “Ball Control”, “Dribble speed”, “Dribble accuracy” or by their physical factors like “Weight”, “Balance”, “Responsiveness” or simply by their “Attack” vs “Defense” rates. Interesting also would be to have an injured player for an amount of games or weeks as a result of that challenge, on rare occasions off course.
• In several occasions, players kick a 30 or 40 meter shot where the ball moves too fast giving the sensation that the game went fast forward. The Maximum speed of the ball should be reduced to a more realistic one.
• I believe that as part of the “realism” of the sport, referees are designed by KONAMI to make mistakes. This is not such a great idea, I think “Perfection” in the refereeing should be pursued over the “Realism” in this case. Nobody likes to see injustice in real soccer games, why would they like it on the PES ones.
• Sometimes with no reason, players while defending clear the ball when there is no pressure, by this they give the ball possession to the other team. While in reality, a short or safe long pass is performed or even a counter attack.
• On free kicks while on your own side of the field, players still make long shot kicks with no reason, also giving away the ball possession. In these cases, the script should allow players to make short and safe passes.
• When Goalkeeper is punting the ball from the floor when restarting a game, he never makes a short pass, this should depend in part on the Offensive / Defensive Stance of the Strategy.
MLO
1) Menus – The main menus inside Master League are well organized. However there are some things that could be improved.
a) TOURNAMENT MENUS – Inside the Tournaments the menus are reduced for obvious reasons. However there are some menus that should be included.
b) SQUAD LIST – Knowing how many games left per player we have is essential for anyone, so we can know what player to select on any given situation. This way we would be able to keep the majority of our squad available, instead of ending up with 1 or more players with no further minutes to play in the most important stances of the tournament. As said previously,, there should be more stats of your contracted players, stats for goalkeepers, defense, midfield and forwards and their average ratings per game.
c) QUALIFYING PHASE – There seems to be a glitch on the Qualifying phase of the tournaments. Several times I have played 4 games, lets say for example loosing the first two and winning the last two. However in the tournament only one Win is accounted for and I get eliminated. If my best results were accounted for, I should have classified to the knockout phase of the tournament.
This is all I got so far. When I start playing BAL mode I will post with more.