PES 2012 Modes and Functions

PES 2012 Modes and Functions

2012 will see the return of some old favourites in PES – as well as the first outing for a selection of all-new elements. We take a look at 3 of the biggest:
Training Challenge
Those that played PES on the last generation will no doubt be familiar with the Training Challenge. For those that didn’t, imagine the current training setup – but add a selection of score and time-based challenges, ultimately giving you specific purposes to go out onto the training pitch.
To elaborate, when training in PES 2011 you would simply repeat a scenario until you decided that it was time to hit the showers – whereas Training Challenge sets you a target to complete whilst you’re out on the field. For example: when taking a penalty or free kick, you are presented with three glowing screens across the front of the goal displaying a relevant score. Sending the ball into each screen adds the points to your tally, whilst hitting the lines where two screens meet earns you a score multiplier and the higher your score – the better the ‘trophy’ you earn for that task (bronze silver or gold). There are a number of difficulty levels – starting with simplistic tasks then getting progressively harder.
As you’d expect, it’s relatively straightforward – perform the tasks outlined, and depending on your performance you can earn different rewards. On the surface, it’s nothing more than a side game that might take up a few minutes of your time (when you prise yourself away from the all new AI, or online game modes) – but on another level, it’s a nostalgic nod towards PESs gone by and for someone that has watched the evolution of the entire series, it’s good to see it make a comeback.

The only comments that can be guaranteed at this point, when it comes to mode accessibility, is that it will be available as a standalone module, accessible from the top menu. That said, it doesn’t mean that it won’t make an appearance in some from or other within Master League (as it has done in the past) or even BAL. This is yet to be revealed.
Challenges include, sprinting your way through a circuit of cones against the clock (with the careful use of skilful flicks key to achieving gold), intercepting or defending against attacking plays and, finally, using the new teammate controls to play a pass to a teammate within a set time limit. Though the tasks seem straightforward, if you start playing it – don’t be surprised if “a few minutes” turns into few hours (especially when trying the dribbling challenges!).
Penalties
The system used for Penalties in PES has been crying out for a change ever since modifications to make it more skilful, and therefore more difficult, were introduced. It may have worked on paper – however, in reality the process was overly complex and anything but intuitive. PES 2012 finally brings that much needed facelift.
The process is unmistakeably simple: Press square to select the height for your shot – a brief tap will send it low, whilst holding it for longer will send it higher (take care to not hold it for too long, as doing so will see you send it over). Once you have your height, choose to send it left or right – once again, the distance is determined by how long you hold it for. The premise is obvious – placing it centrally is easy but gives the keeper a greater potential to save, whilst putting it into an angle will usually have more goal-scoring success – but means that you’ll have less room for error before you put it wide or over.
There’s a reason this process sounds familiar – it’s basic penalty knowledge, and is exactly the type of system we should be using for penalties on PES 2012 and beyond. It’s simple – but it works.
For a finesse finish – simply holding R1 as you take your run up will see you chip the ball into the net, the same process on PES 2011 would have required a well-timed double-tap on whichever direction happened to be “away from goal” as you took the kick. The fact that ad-hoc penalties were taken from a side-on view, whilst shoot-outs were over-the-shoulder just added to the confusion – but once again it’s been simplified this year. The thought process behind the system was valid – taking penalties in-game, from the side allows players to continue instantly after a save, but on the other hand – as well as adding unnecessary complexity, it also made penalties less of a spectacle.
The return to tried and tested methods is a good move by Konami – it’s easy to applaud the efforts to try and make the experience better, but it’s more deserved when they realise that something isn’t and make the switch back.
Keeper reactions and responses in penalty scenarios seem to have improved too – with “in-offs” taking much more realistic bounces and deflections, though this still has to be tested thoroughly.
Manual Teammate Controls
Moving from the old – to the brand new. ‘Teammate Controls’ bring the functionality to, whilst controlling your own player, directly influence the behaviour of teammates in PES 2012.
The system is essentially split into two levels: Assisted and Manual. The difference between the two is determined by the level of AI Involvement: Assisted calls for help, whilst Manual requires that you control everything yourself.
To clarify, in both levels you highlight a second player (the player, not in possession, that you would like to go on an attacking run) by pointing the right stick in his direction then pressing down on R3. When using the Manual level, you would be able to control his movements, as well as your own – whilst the Assisted level would see him immediately start on a purposeful run, controlled by the AI.
The majority of people like to be in charge of the actions on the pitch – rather than passing the reigns over to the AI, but this might not be the case with teammate controls. Controlling two different runs, in two separate directions, at the same time will obviously be difficult – not to mention distracting, unless you can spend the time needed to practice playing with peripheral vision. There’s no doubt that the best gamers would be able to make this work for them – and the benefits for doing so are obvious, but the majority will most likely settle for the Assisted Controls – and the revamped AI do it justice.
The one criticism is that Assisted runs seem to have a set time limit – meaning that a player might charge for 5 seconds then stop and track back. This is obviously useful for keeping your team shape – but can mean that your player stops his run just as he’s about to create a perfect passing line, especially when breaking from deep. However, looking at it from another angle, the timing of the assisted runs will be as crucial as the timing of the actual passes – which would obviously avoid the scenarios of players charging forward at every given opportunity, even when it isn’t necessary.
Brand new controls, redesigned systems and reintroduced game modes – PES 2012 will be talked about for the AI, but as this shows that’s not all it has to offer.

Source : PESFan.com