Konami’s lifted the lid on the latest entry in its venerable Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, confirming the footie follow-up will be hitting multiple consoles this autumn.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will be based on “the instinctive way the game can be played and on teamwork,” with the AI engine having undergone a “major” overhaul.
Konami cites attacking play as a “cornerstone” of the action, noting a more open approach will allow gamers to “dictate the pace of movement.”
Team mates will make runs and offer you a shoulder to lean on in one-on-one situations, with players also making dummy runs to draw defenders.
Elsewhere, Zonal marking and positional defending have been “massively enhanced,” encouraging players to put in that extra effort to create goal scoring opportunities.
A new cursor system is also in place, allowing gamers to use the right analogue stick to switch up players. The feature can also be utilized in events such as corners and throw-ins.
This allows users to pick a team mate anywhere on the pitch," says Konami, "thereby allowing players to react to threats faster, and to shut down attacks more quickly."
Also receiving some poking and prodding is hold up play, with physicality also enhanced, making collisions more accurate. Further additions include improved animations, detailed lighting, more player styles and a fresh customisable pass feature.
PES overlord Shingo “Seabass” Takatsuka commented: "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.”
"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."
Pro Evolution Soccer will be released for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PC, Xbox 360 and Wii.