PES 2012: control two players at once

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 21 July, 2011

Find space, make runs, then pass.

You can control two players at the same time in PES 2012.

The new Teammate Control system, just revealed by Konami, allows players to move runners as they move the player in possession of the ball.

To do this, you need to press the right analogue stick in the direction of the player you want to control.

Assisted mode then lets you activate a second player by pressing R3. But play in Manual mode and you have the freedom to completely control the second player before calling for a pass.

The player reverts to AI control when you release R3.

“The addition of Teammate Control is something we have been working on for a while now, and we are delighted that it will make its debut in PES 2012,” said European PES team leader Jon Murphy.

“We have been building to create a control system that truly lets the player do whatever they like on field, and the ability to manually control a second player while simultaneously running with the ball opens all kinds of attacking options.

"Coupled with the Active AI advancements that ensure supporting players make shuttle run and find space, and I think we have made a huge step towards producing the most advanced football title to date.”

Other changes include a reworked penalty system, enhanced shooting and quicker player reactions.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 10 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • wizlon #1 10 months ago

    It's also Kinect compatible so it can detect when you're patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time too.

  • roz123 #2 10 months ago

    That could be good in a situation where you have 2 players on the break, otherwise it does sound like a bit of a mindfuck.

  • rob_of_the_robots #3 10 months ago

    I can see it working for set pieces, but less so in the middle of play.

  • Kmfrob #4 10 months ago

    So is this just for dead balls or can you use it on open play too?

    In open play it could work in a similar way to the Be a Pro mode on Fifa where you call for the pass and the AI passes to you... But the problem with that is more often than not the AI is so stupid in sorting out its balance and pass type that the chance gets wasted as the ball trickles through to the opposing team...

    I remember PES on the Wii (I think it was PES...) had a thing where you could use the remote to pull a player into position while holding on to the ball...it was a nice idea and certainly opened the game up... It was just a shame I had to play with a Wiimote.

    But yeah interesting stuff!

  • higgins78 #5 10 months ago

    Controlling 2 players "at once" is all fair enough but it better offer far more than that if it wants to close the gap with where Fifa has taken such an advantage. Strange thinking back in the day via PS1 and PS2 I was a PES man, playing Fifa felt unrealistic and dated. Fifa 11 for me rivals now what ISS2 offered back on the PS1, no bigger compliment I can pay it. Fifa 12 coupled with Skyward Sword are vying for my most anticipated upcoming game this year...

  • Ali360 #6 10 months ago

    theres gonna be alot of broken controllers with this release. and tv's too.

    they should just try to fix the gameplay then add this shit

  • Mkwone #7 10 months ago

    Didn't fifa have something like this in one of its games (04?) I found it cool, but a bit difficult but my eyes aren't like a Chameleons

  • Anthony_UK #8 10 months ago

    Yeah FIFA tried this years ago, nice idea but in reality you need the co-ordination of 15 ninja's for it to be of any use.

  • Fawad450 #9 10 months ago

    All these yearly fifa, cod n pes sequels , sick n tired of them, wont buy them again, instead spend money on gears 3 , skyrim , rage, dark souls etc.

  • Acrid #10 10 months ago

    @Mkwone

    I was just thinking I remember this in Fifa 2004 on GameCube.
    Well done Konami, you've managed to close the gap on EA, now you're only 8 years behind.

  • jablonski #11 10 months ago

    I'd love this to work.

    Sick to death on FIFA of looking to put someone through and they are running right fucking next to me at the corner flag.
    I do the shoulder button thing to get them to make a run but 9 times out of 10 they take that to mean "come and run next to me like we're handcuffed together".

  • HandOfBeadle #12 10 months ago

    Ali360 - I wouldn't normally feed the troll, but, you have been paying attention up to now, right? You have seen that PES have actually been fixing the gameplay for a couple of years now? And that this year's actually looks seriously good?

    Anyway.

    I hate these particular videos because the AI difficulty is clearly set to Plankton to show off that players can run, but it doesn't show how these runs work in the context of an actual game where the formation isn't a 2-5-2-1 and the defenders actually track runs. So it makes it look gamebreaking, easy to spam, and FIFA-ish in its complete disregard for player individuality. It's not at all a proper representation of how these run triggers will work.

    jablonski - FIFA run triggers just run forward in a straight line. If the player is just running next to you like you're handcuffed together, then you're just running forward in a straight line too. That's the problem with FIFA - everyone, whether AI or the user, just runs up and down the pitch in straight lines, spamming the L1 run trigger.
    Edited by HandOfBeadle at 21/07/11 @ 10:44

  • Jonny5Alive7 #13 10 months ago

    Its FIFA 2004 all over again, just 8 years late.

  • rock27gr #14 10 months ago

    This was possible on the Wii since you can control the ball player with the Analogue stick and the second player with the Remote pointer.

    But using two analogue sticks and button compo to do the same; sound impossible to be honest.

  • riz23 #15 10 months ago

    Yup, it was in FIFA 2004 that: "A new gameplay feature dubbed "off the ball" was introduced, which is the ability to simultaneously control two players, in order, for example, to move a second player into the box in anticipation of a pass."

    It wasn't much cop back then.

  • HandOfBeadle #16 10 months ago

    Acrid - FIFA added passing error last year (though not really). So that's surely only 14 years behind PES?

    Edited by HandOfBeadle at 21/07/11 @ 10:51

  • mvrander #17 10 months ago

    Have you at Eurogamer got a bit of a mind blank with PES videos? That's two articles in a row you've put an old video clip on the article instead of the correct one.

  • Steroyd #18 10 months ago

    This was a welcome feature in Fifa 04 instead of completely relying on the Ai to make the run, too bad EA was being EA during that time, and had it as the gimmick of the year instead of building on it as a core feature.

  • HandOfBeadle #19 10 months ago

    Having AI that makes that run in the first place is infinitely more important IMO. Apparently that is generally the case, and this feature is unlikely to be used much because (a) the assisted option is too lifeless and unintelligent to beat defences alone, and (b) the manual option is so hard to use that you won't be able to use it to trigger each and every run your team makes, so it is purely a supplemental option that won't really intrude on the experience - the new player AI and the player individuality will still be very much at the core of how the game moves.

  • jimmyhill11 #20 10 months ago

    Fifa tried this back circa fifa 2004 / 05.

    It was utterly unplayable

  • Markitron #21 10 months ago

    Dont understand the hate for an optional gameplay feature. Sounds like a worthy addition to me, Id imagine most of us will experiment and use it sparingly, whereas the pro's will master it.

  • mvrander #22 10 months ago

    When Fifa tried something similar was that based on a d-pad? 16 directional movement or sticks or what? I didn't play fifa at all in those days.

  • thesonglessbird #23 10 months ago

    The first example is pretty much for triggering runs manually, so should be pretty simple to do after a bit of practise. The second one looks a bit tough, but with a bit (read: a lot) of practise it's probably do-able. I can see it working well if the player with the ball is just holding up play.

    Really looking forward to PES this year. According to all the reports I've read so far, it's at least on par with FIFA for gameplay. Not for animations, but I've personally never really cared. I'll probably be buying both as usual.

  • Oldest_Ancient #24 10 months ago

    Reworked Penalties. So glad they've gone for that.

    I liked the idea of trying to make it more skill based but the way it was done was just terrible.

  • BM #25 10 months ago

    @mvrander

    'Off the ball' in Fifa as I remember it worked by hitting a button which would allow you to select one of three secondary players (each had a face button above their head). When selecting that player, their movement was controlled by the second analogue controller, with you still being in control of the man on the ball with the first analogue and buttons.

    As many have said in theory it worked great but in practice it was very difficult. I found that getting one of my 'runner' into a good position often meant I'd taken my eye off the player on the ball, who was then in a no position to pass or had lost the ball. You could pull off some top moves, but it was very rarely and you had to be uber quick.

  • mvrander #26 10 months ago

    Thanks BM. Does all look a bit bewildering, I'm reserving judgement until I can get my hands on a demo.

  • BM #27 10 months ago

    Having just watched the video, the difference appears to be that PES is only using this in dead ball situations. Fifa used this in open play, which therefore meant you have to select a 2nd player and put him in a position of space before you lost the ball with your first player. Having it just on dead ball situations makes much more sense, and will mean that you're not worrying about your ball owning player losing position.

    I think it's a good addition to be honest

  • dickothe1st #28 10 months ago

    @faward. The majority of which are sequels themselves. Although I understand you. The yearly updates however simply provide me with less games to care about which certainly helps my wallet.