So I"m a little confused about PES 2012. Not that Konami has abandoned that arcade feel, far from it, it"s that having hit upon a viable alternative or companion piece to FIFA, they haven"t really been sure where to go with it. PES 2012 is different, sure, but it"s not always better.

It clings steadfastly to a dreamer"s version of attacking football, and for that, at least, we should be thankful. It"s zippier than last year, but it"s also more lightweight, less substantial. Time was you could rely on PES to have a whacking, hefty physics model where the ball would be loaded with lead and tackles were accompanied by a gorgeous "wumph". Bizarrely, distressingly, that sense of weight has gone. The ball floats listlessly through the air, and the physics are strangely inconsistent. The ball just behaves weirdly at times, wobbling off at an unlikely trajectory or magically picking up speed and whooshing across the turf like a greased pinball.

There"s the usual gripes as well, dribbling is robotic if precise, animation blending remains dated and unnatural, there are still only a handful of licensed clubs, the music is dreadful and menu presentation is tatty.

And yet... at its heart it"s still unquestionably frantic, enjoyable and rewarding PES. A more cynical friend of mine said to me that PES has "a lot of love in the bank", and is trading off that year after year. It"s hard to argue, but that love is there for a reason, it"s deep within PES"s DNA and always has been. The disappointing thing is that since the PlayStation 2, Konami haven"t used that foundation to move the series on.

But still here I am, gleefully slaloming through defences with the ball magically stuck to my feet, taking speculative thirty yard shots with my left back and seeing it soar into the top corner, watching as my goalie parries an easy shot with such unlikely ferocity that it ricochets off a centre-half"s backside and bobbles into the net, smirking like a child as the other team celebrate by piling on top of each other and vibrating in a most disconcerting manner. I know it"s the wrong thing to do, I"m committed to FIFA, I am; it"s prettier, more sophisticated and wears all the right clothes, but it"s the little quirks that PES has that keep a guy interested for a cheeky fling.

There"s genuine improvement here and there too. AI in particular has had a much needed boost, players will now react intelligently to ball positioning, moving into space to receive a through ball, or flying down the wing on the overlap. And, joy of all joys, Konami have finally added the option to set a teammate off on a run. In fact, as if to make up for lost time, they’ve gone all out with the idea. You can now hold down the right stick to manually manoeuvre a teammate, while the left stick remains in control of the ball-carrier. It’s a little fiddly, particularly at first, and requires a little rewiring in the brain but once mastered can be a very handy tool. Although the irony, of course, is that the AI improvements mean that the manual player run isn’t as essential as it would have been in previous games, but it’s good to finally have it at your disposal.

Master League, the main singleplayer draw for PES, hasn’t changed a great deal in structure but Konami have added a slightly peculiar RPG-type shell. You can choose the appearance of your manager, and in between matches you will have briefings with your coach who gives you advice on how to deal with your next opponents, and will pass on objectives from the chairman such as completing a match without picking up a yellow card. You will also have to deal with player worries, and they’ll come into your office to demand more pitch time, or thank you for showing faith in them. These are all played out in ropily animated cutscenes, but do add a charming flavour to your career. However, on occasion, some of these little quirks are just plain broken. My Japanese starlet Shimizu, for instance, came into my office requesting the number 10 shirt as it was special to him. As he was my best player at the time, I couldn’t see why not, so changed his number straight away. Which then put young Shimizu in a huff, unhappy with his squad number. Mind you, he was a teenager, so maybe it was just hormones or something.

There’s a similar structure in the Be A Legend mode where you take control of a single player. But in general that just means swapping your nice suit for a pair of shorts and the manager’s office for the player’s tunnel.

Online multiplayer, however, is where PES 2012 is at its best. Konami have really gone to town on the modes available for network play. It’s not as well structured or all-encompassing as FIFA, but there are online competitions to enter that start at certain times in the day and an Online Master League where you can build a custom team from scratch, earning money by winning matches. There’s even Facebook integration with the MyPES app, which you can use to arrange matches and track your stats. PES has always been a game that has bred a voracious community, so it’s nice to see it being embraced. Matchmaking is easy, matches are generally smooth and I tell you what, PES players don’t quit in a strop half as much as FIFA players do.
So PES 2012 is a bit of a mixed bag then. The improvements in AI and excellent online modes are a solid basis to continue re-building PES to its former glory, but the weird physics and newfound lack of weight are a concern. It still feels like PES just isn’t 100% sure where it should be going. There’s a lot of good here, and the right focus could see it being great once again.