I've been a player since Pro international soccer, and this doesn't count as much as the fact that I'm also a *real* football/soccer player and was lucky enough to play at semi-professional level. So I *think* I understand certain thing that others who never kicked a ball in their life can't appreciate.
Before I get started I just want to say that PES 2011 was the worst PES ever made with those slow passes on the ground going in between the legs of any/all players. I like PES 2012 but I think PES 2005 was the best ever made in terms of reality/simulation.
Here my points about 2012, hopefully an help to develop 2013:
1) If a player decides to keep the ball in defence passing the ball between LB->CB->CB->RB and all the way around, you can do it once, twice even three times but in real life you WILL eventually get more than one player chasing the players WITHOUT ball making them not a valuable option for the pass. This forces the defenders to pass the ball forward not to risk, or alternatively pass it back to the keeper that has to take a decision.
2) Have you seen Balotelli's 2nd goal against Germany? That was one in a blue moon pass OVER the defenders to a striker without triggering the off-side. This action 98% of the times results in:
a) the pass is too long/short/strong
b) the defender reads everything
c) offside
Every player in PES2012 is trying the too effective long bass CENTRALLY. I had somebody scoring 4 goals at me exactly in the same way. I understand one, and even two as an exception, never seen 3 very same type of goal in the same match. If you ask me the long pass to the wingers is unlikely to be intercepted if you manage to fool the side back and this it's because the CB has much more ground to cover to get to the ball. Where a CB has usually a so called natural skill called *positioning* that allow him/her to be in the right place at the right moment WITHOUT running too much.That's why a couch statistically change the strikers and not the defenders: because a defender runs less than 1/2 the distance of a striker! Do you get this?
3) The ball physics in Pes 2012 is absurd. As simple as that. Sometime the ball bounces on the players like they where walls. Try to kick a ball at a player, if faced directly the body will absorb most of the impact and the ball bounces back rather slowly unless you hit the head or you get a counter kick (rare thing in pes 2012).
4) What's wrong with goals from outside the box? It's almost impossible to score from far away. I'd say one out of 4/5 should go in if well kicked.
5) EVERY SINGLE BALL slightly deflected by the opponent when crossing ends up... guess where? Falling from the sky *right on top* of the keeper. Like it was manna falling from the sky. Yes it does happen in a real game, once or perhaps twice in 90 minutes and that's considered a CHANCE, I can tell you because I see on the pitch the face of the keeper receiving such a deflected ball. An expression of relieve, of luck, because this is what a deflection is: UNPREDICTABLE.
6) Players get tired yes, BUT if a companion passes you the ball ON YOUR FEET, you as a minimum manage to do a bad stop but don't just let the ball off... I'm talking about a pass to a player near the side line that receives a "decent ball" on the foot, no matter how tired you are. Why is the player not doing those 15 cm to get the ball? If you ask me it's more likely to receive a bad pass (2-3 meters away from you) than lose a ball 15 cm away - WHEN players get tired.
7) I'm really sad about this point. Sometime my opponent (online) for whatever reason leave the console/gamepad and I play against mr NOBODY. How it it possible that it's more difficult to play against uncontrolled player than against an opponent????? You tell me how this is possible. In real life if the opponents decide to sit on the pitch and let the other team do whatever they want the match ends up 12-0 and not 1-0 feeling lucky about it.
8) About 50% of the sliding tackles in the box result in a penalty. I'm not even trying any more. The very same tackle I do successfully in the midfield where my player is clearly in advantage on the ball if done in the box results is a fault again me. Penalty happen but trust me defenders, real life defenders are smart.
9) Get the strongest (physically) CF in the world (Cristiano ronaldo, Drogba, you name it), they will not be able to get away with the ball on their feet with 3 (three!) defenders chasing them. These CF are fantastic players in real life and they are good going into space and unmarking from a pressing defender (one), apart from messi I'm not aware of anybody that can go in between 3 defenders marking tightly and perhaps even score without passing the ball to anybody. What they will do instead, they take 3 defenders away with them, BUT they'll pass the ball to one of the two team mates that are mathematically unmarked. In PES this extreme attacking of a single player again many happens successfully pretty much in every match, in real life if it happens would be material for youtube.
10) I often have the feeling that the game as already decided what's going to happen. I can see it coming from a mile away, I lose the ball in midfield (fair enough) and miss 2 tackle that normally I would get (sometime I can't get the reason) I count 3 and it's a goal. It's already written isn't it? No skills involved. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining because I got the goal I'm just saying after so many matches played "I can see that coming" and my feeling is that PES decides that and not the player. It's like if in PES there were 20-30 different cases predefined,
that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. Not losing the game,the software power in it. In real life the ELSEIF list very long, in PES I have the feeling it's rather short.
Conclusion: I'm very likely older then most of the online players here (in terms of real age). I'm a real life midfielder btw and I'm still playing at amatorial level where I can see the new generation of players growing. These players learnt how to play from the videogames. Ok, they are not Xabi or messi or CR7 or Pirlo, but do I have to tell you what's happening when they try to pass the ball over the defenders, or go in between 5 opponents or sit on the pitch and see what's happening or try to keep the ball in defence for 90 minutes or...
Football is simple, trust me! and I think PES should reflect this. If instead you are not for football simulation why not adding missiles on the goal line, super mario look alike referee and street fight III stile challenges?
my 2 cents.
A football enthusiast.
Before I get started I just want to say that PES 2011 was the worst PES ever made with those slow passes on the ground going in between the legs of any/all players. I like PES 2012 but I think PES 2005 was the best ever made in terms of reality/simulation.
Here my points about 2012, hopefully an help to develop 2013:
1) If a player decides to keep the ball in defence passing the ball between LB->CB->CB->RB and all the way around, you can do it once, twice even three times but in real life you WILL eventually get more than one player chasing the players WITHOUT ball making them not a valuable option for the pass. This forces the defenders to pass the ball forward not to risk, or alternatively pass it back to the keeper that has to take a decision.
2) Have you seen Balotelli's 2nd goal against Germany? That was one in a blue moon pass OVER the defenders to a striker without triggering the off-side. This action 98% of the times results in:
a) the pass is too long/short/strong
b) the defender reads everything
c) offside
Every player in PES2012 is trying the too effective long bass CENTRALLY. I had somebody scoring 4 goals at me exactly in the same way. I understand one, and even two as an exception, never seen 3 very same type of goal in the same match. If you ask me the long pass to the wingers is unlikely to be intercepted if you manage to fool the side back and this it's because the CB has much more ground to cover to get to the ball. Where a CB has usually a so called natural skill called *positioning* that allow him/her to be in the right place at the right moment WITHOUT running too much.That's why a couch statistically change the strikers and not the defenders: because a defender runs less than 1/2 the distance of a striker! Do you get this?
3) The ball physics in Pes 2012 is absurd. As simple as that. Sometime the ball bounces on the players like they where walls. Try to kick a ball at a player, if faced directly the body will absorb most of the impact and the ball bounces back rather slowly unless you hit the head or you get a counter kick (rare thing in pes 2012).
4) What's wrong with goals from outside the box? It's almost impossible to score from far away. I'd say one out of 4/5 should go in if well kicked.
5) EVERY SINGLE BALL slightly deflected by the opponent when crossing ends up... guess where? Falling from the sky *right on top* of the keeper. Like it was manna falling from the sky. Yes it does happen in a real game, once or perhaps twice in 90 minutes and that's considered a CHANCE, I can tell you because I see on the pitch the face of the keeper receiving such a deflected ball. An expression of relieve, of luck, because this is what a deflection is: UNPREDICTABLE.
6) Players get tired yes, BUT if a companion passes you the ball ON YOUR FEET, you as a minimum manage to do a bad stop but don't just let the ball off... I'm talking about a pass to a player near the side line that receives a "decent ball" on the foot, no matter how tired you are. Why is the player not doing those 15 cm to get the ball? If you ask me it's more likely to receive a bad pass (2-3 meters away from you) than lose a ball 15 cm away - WHEN players get tired.
7) I'm really sad about this point. Sometime my opponent (online) for whatever reason leave the console/gamepad and I play against mr NOBODY. How it it possible that it's more difficult to play against uncontrolled player than against an opponent????? You tell me how this is possible. In real life if the opponents decide to sit on the pitch and let the other team do whatever they want the match ends up 12-0 and not 1-0 feeling lucky about it.
8) About 50% of the sliding tackles in the box result in a penalty. I'm not even trying any more. The very same tackle I do successfully in the midfield where my player is clearly in advantage on the ball if done in the box results is a fault again me. Penalty happen but trust me defenders, real life defenders are smart.
9) Get the strongest (physically) CF in the world (Cristiano ronaldo, Drogba, you name it), they will not be able to get away with the ball on their feet with 3 (three!) defenders chasing them. These CF are fantastic players in real life and they are good going into space and unmarking from a pressing defender (one), apart from messi I'm not aware of anybody that can go in between 3 defenders marking tightly and perhaps even score without passing the ball to anybody. What they will do instead, they take 3 defenders away with them, BUT they'll pass the ball to one of the two team mates that are mathematically unmarked. In PES this extreme attacking of a single player again many happens successfully pretty much in every match, in real life if it happens would be material for youtube.
10) I often have the feeling that the game as already decided what's going to happen. I can see it coming from a mile away, I lose the ball in midfield (fair enough) and miss 2 tackle that normally I would get (sometime I can't get the reason) I count 3 and it's a goal. It's already written isn't it? No skills involved. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining because I got the goal I'm just saying after so many matches played "I can see that coming" and my feeling is that PES decides that and not the player. It's like if in PES there were 20-30 different cases predefined,
Code:
IF one of these is satisfied
THAN
goal
ELSEIF
out
ELSEIF
corner
ELSEIF
....
ELSEIF
....
FIthat leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. Not losing the game,the software power in it. In real life the ELSEIF list very long, in PES I have the feeling it's rather short.
Conclusion: I'm very likely older then most of the online players here (in terms of real age). I'm a real life midfielder btw and I'm still playing at amatorial level where I can see the new generation of players growing. These players learnt how to play from the videogames. Ok, they are not Xabi or messi or CR7 or Pirlo, but do I have to tell you what's happening when they try to pass the ball over the defenders, or go in between 5 opponents or sit on the pitch and see what's happening or try to keep the ball in defence for 90 minutes or...
Football is simple, trust me! and I think PES should reflect this. If instead you are not for football simulation why not adding missiles on the goal line, super mario look alike referee and street fight III stile challenges?
my 2 cents.
A football enthusiast.