The introduction of the FIFA 2011 last year which has one of the best gameplays ever seen in the franchise before might have given the increasing popularity of PES a blow. However the game is back with its 2012 version where several necessary improvements have been made. A very significant improvement has been made in the AI of the game. The improvements in the AI are visible in the way the computer plays the game. The computer plays in a better way and they take the right positions at the right times. This makes it difficult to make runs and provide successful passes. However this may also lead to some better gameplay as the users will have to make some new moves all the time.

The AI has not however caused any hindrance to the practical approach of the actual sport. Rather the players play more realistically and make the game even more enjoyable.

Zonal defence has been added to the game. The defenders in the previous games have sometimes been tough to control. However the PES 2011 has the defenders maintaining their positions and making the defending experience a better one. There are also improvements in the passing of the players and some of the players may even take the necessary positions at the right time for you to give a proper pass.

A very interesting feature of the PES 2012 is the off-the-ball controls. On one hand it may help you in providing better passes to your required players but on the other hand it is also very difficult to learn it properly and make use of it. Teammate assisted and teammate manual are two of the off-the-bal feature available. The teammate assisted option helps a person to select the necessary player and direct the player to receive the pass more efficiently and also make the required runs for this purpose. On the other hand when you select a teammate manual option it lets you have total control over the necessary off-the-ball player and you can position him accordingly. It is actually quite difficult for the user to get used to the gameplay at first. This requires some practice over a period of time.

There is also an enhanced amount of speed in the game which makes the game quite exciting. This extra speed certainly makes the game even more thrilling but one may also call it little less realistic.

PES 2011 is quite interesting and makes the matches very exciting. But it is probably not as good as FIFA.