Defense is manual. You cannot simply hold a "Press" button (X/A) and expect the AI to tackle for you effectively.
Let's be honest: visually, PES 2012 looks its age. Player faces (outside of Messi and Ronaldo) are plastic and waxy. The crowd is a static 2D cardboard cutout. However, the Reloaded version is the best way to experience the zenith of Jon Champion's commentary. His lines are delightfully repetitive but iconic.
"That is a wonderfully crafted goal... reminiscent of the Dutch school of football." proevolutionsoccer2012reloaded
The menu music, featuring the Moby-esque "Heart of the Gladiator," is burned into the brain of every 30-year-old football fan. The Reloaded crack preserves the full, uncompressed audio.
To understand the Reloaded phenomenon, we must travel back to 2011. Konami was in a fierce war with EA Sports. FIFA 12 had just introduced the "Impact Engine" and tactical defending, winning over critics with its realism. PES, however, took a different path. Defense is manual
PES 2012 was marketed as the year of "Active AI" and "Teammate Control." Konami promised that AI defenders would finally stop watching strikers run past them. The engine was a refinement of PES 2011, which had overhauled the passing system. However, the PC port of PES was historically a mixed bag.
Enter RELOADED.
Yes—but for specific audiences.