When I sit down with PES 2012, I do not feel motivated.

It is as if the series has taken the next step that was necessary to keep up with competition. It’s a series that once was anything superior, but just do not have the same appeal anymore.

But before you jump on me now, I must point out that Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 is a good game. A solid football simulator with lots of depth and good gameplay. My point is that the series has stagnated. Compared with last year’s edition is here very little that feels new and exciting, and I have a hard time finding motivation to continue playing.

The developer has said that after the major changes in the care system last year they would use this year to fine tune all aspects of the game. So instead of a title that brings nothing new to the table, it should find a great balance in the gameplay department.

It is a good intention, no doubt about it. Balance and dynamics are two important ingredients in football games and they both require lots of time and effort to get into position. The problem is that I do not see any evidence of the work in the game. So what have we got?

Over the years Pro Evo had the more credible ball physics and the superior care system. The game has the x-factor of the dynamic gameplay that determine matches. It has always been a fighter, a football game with great depth.

But there are also a lot of weaknesses that should be taken care of long ago. Particularly in the past few years where the competitor is only getting stronger. Small things, like the goalkeeper is an eternity to throw the ball that players sometimes end up a few yards from the ball because of poor transitions between animations to throw breaks the flow of the game, and the aging of the presentation of replays and highlights.

Individually, none of these things are decisive, but overall there are too many problems, there has not been addressed. While FIFA has taken care of these things, and made tremendous progress this year, PES has promised a more polished version of last year’s game. I can just not notice the pitch.

Am I too harsh? For negative? That’s because my expectations. The quality of the game is as high as last year. But it is precisely the problem. I assumed that we would get much more than that and the result is a disappointing lack of evolution in a football game that involves just that word in its name.

On the positive side, it’s still a brilliant and very responsive care system that leaves a perfect throw balls, sending crosses over the track or make precise needle passes through the middle.

The genre’s leading ball physics are still here, and it is just as satisfying as always to fire shots from distance and watch the ball shimmy past the goalkeeper. Dribble system has gotten some new animations, and feels very dynamic. Players use their bodies to shield the ball and they collide and react to situations in a credible and realistic way.

There is not much new to talk about in 2012, to such an extent that you almost might as well revisit our review of Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 . Back then there was at least a little more enthusiasm about the game.

It seems like Konami has slept too long and as long fan of the series is with sadness that I realize that it eventually looks like a former champion who has now become boxing pad. If the serial loyalty is less important to you than a fresh football experience, FIFA is probably the best bet this time. EA has the ball.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012: E3 2011 Trailer

Check out the new trailer for Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, the new footbakk game straight from Konami. It’s like playing real football!