PES 2012 - Game Modes

We've heard snippets about the revamped game modes in PES 2012 - now we bring you an in-depth look at some of the Football Life game modes - including the brand new "Club Boss" as well as the single player stalwart that is Master League.

To clear things up, for those that read the preview – we didn’t have all the information available to us back then, but we can confirm that "Football Life" is the collective name for the single player modes that we are used to (Master League and Become A Legend) as well as the new mode, Club Boss (which can be purchased from the Extra Content section for 100 PES points).

We didn’t have the time to run through all of them – and as we were pushed for time unfortunately Become A Legend won't feature, but we did try out the other two modes. We’ve tried to cover all of the items that have changed from last year, but if there’s anything else you’d like to know, feel free to drop a line in the Q&A thread https://forums.pesfan.com/showthread.php?241982-PES-2012-Q-A.

Club Boss

As you’d expect, being the newest addition, “Club Boss” was the mode that we were most excited about getting our hands on – so it seems like the best place to start. It differs from anything that we’ve seen before – as it demands that you effectively take the reigns as a club chairman, controlling the club in a fiscal capacity. You want the club to succeed – and for that to happen you need to dominate the world of football in all areas: intelligent transfers, global brand imaging and actions on the field.

It’ll be interesting to see how this modes is received as it effectively branches away from the core value of PES – playing a good game of football. You can try to influence what happens on the pitch from the comfort of your boardroom – but only by urging the manager (that you hire, from a list of people similar in design to the staff options in Master League) to choose certain players or use specific tactics... But, in the spirit of “the special one” your club manager may decide that he doesn’t want to do what he’s told. You don’t have any influence once your team heads for the pitch – you have to take your watch from your comfy leather seat in the stands (or choose to see an ‘events’ ticker, similar to those seen in managerial games). You have to hope that those within your club are all on the same page as each other, perhaps more importantly – the same page as you.

The first task is to set out your financial structure for the year: choose the funds available for both transfers and marketing purposes. You need to plan carefully – it’s all effectively taken from your personal account, then ploughed straight into the club. The amount you have at your disposal, as you’d expect, determines the quality of players your manager will try to sign – and the size of your fan club/gate receipts respectively. The key thing to remember is that all money left in the pot at the end of the season is scratched off – so you need to get your budgets right. Choose the right targets, spend the right amount – and try to use every penny.

Should it take your fancy, you can step into the Abramovich role by overruling and even cancelling the manager’s potential signings, and then replace them with your own – furthermore, if the target is someone that you’d really like to see at your club, you can sweeten the deal by investing a little bit more from your personal piggy bank.

I mentioned managerial games previously, and can’t help but come back to that. This feels like a trimmed-down management sim mixed with all that we know about Master League and for those that like both, I’m sure it’ll be a good distraction from the other modes on offer – but it has its work cut out if it’s going to distract you from that AI.

There are some charming personal touches within Club Boss, as well as the other modes within football life that, though simplistic, allow the player to engage with the plot to a greater extent than we’ve seen before. Konami have a desire to build emotion into their games – to create a storyline as well as deliver the action: sports entertainment if you will. The fact that you can choose to edit the look, name and nationality of the chairman gives you the chance to put your own personal stamp on the mode – perhaps even create yourself or a sporting icon, much like you can in BAL. The same applies to Master League too. Which leads nicely on...

Master League

The most noticeable change in Master League this year is that you now have a visible capacity. As you can with the chairman in Club Boss, you have the ability to customise your manager – which can either be drawn from the preset that you will have previously created as your “player data” avatar, or can be built from scratch. This is then used to present you in the game as a manager that interacts with the team – rather than the relying on those familiar sequential player reports and stat updates from your backroom staff staff. Don’t get me wrong I love master league – and don’t doubt that those nuggets of information have successfully served a purpose over the years, but it left you feeling a little distanced as a manager.

Instead, regular video sequences are used as a device for you to show off your marquee signings to the world press, run through pre-match team talks and formation suggestions with your coaches – and even listen to the praises and complaints that members in your team may have following your recent decisions. They may turn out to be a little tedious, and I can see a lot of scope for repetition – but I can’t help but be drawn to the fact that they encapsulate that aura of classic PES – story rich, and undoubtedly cheesy (complete with the odd spelling mistake) but they give the mode something new.

The aforementioned pre-game talks seem to be more useful too – you’d be forgiven for not noticing that they were included last year too, as they were very brief, generic chunks of text that gave no real indication of the tactics that you’d be benefit from employing. This year however, your coach looks at your opponents’ formation, identifies any key threats and advises of the best course of action for you to take. Also, players provide you with positive feedback as well as negative – you’ll no doubt be familiar with your stars complaining after being left on the bench, but now you’ll also get your youngsters showing their appreciation for including them in your plans. It tugged on my heartstring to see an ecstatic Gutierrez (the master league default) thanking me for getting to play the full 90 when the best he’d hoped for was starting on the bench.

Elsewhere there are some nice touches that have built on what we had last year. The backgrounds on PES 2011 showed a selection of your players forming a line-up across the screen, whereas this year you’ll see your team running through training drills – doing push ups, and sprints. Not major, but it adds a nice cosmetic touch. Also, that “bedding in period” when you start master league returns – but it’s not as restrictive as before, so there’s no forcing you to bid for players that you don’t want. It’d be nice if you could turn it off altogether – especially after you’ve started one ML on 2012 and are starting out on another, but the fact that this year gives you hints of how to work the mode, rather than orders, means that new-starters can utilise it whilst veterans can work past it.

Obviously, the new AI will add to the longevity of master league – the fact that you will regularly face the prospect of being turned over will no doubt keep you hooked for at least an extra few seasons. I’m no world beater, though I can hold my own in the PES world – but I’ve found it a struggle to beat the AI on top player, it is possible but it’s difficult. Add to that the unlockable “superstar” setting and even the best PES players should find it competitive – even with the current Spanish international team.

Keeping the game competitive and interesting, months after release is something that every developer craves for, and Konami are no different. Perhaps this is the reason they have opted to insert short-term goals into Master League, aptly named “missions”, that are given regularly throughout the season. They aim to provide you with something to keep you occupied in the immediate future whilst you still continue to fight your way to the top of the league table. If you complete your mission successfully you will earn a small financial bonus, whereas failure will end up in a penalty. For example: for a lowly Division 2 team – the prospect of a match being televised worldwide could do wonders for your reputation, therefore getting through the game without earning a booking would get you a nice reward, whilst playing aggressively could have negative effects (fines). A potentially great addition, particularly in the early years – when finances are tight: do you play solely for the win – or adjust your lineup slightly in order to compensate for the demands set by your missions?
It’ll be interesting to see how all of these new extras work together, but perhaps the biggest factor is that – despite the changes, it still feels like the good ol’ Master League that we’ve grown up with.