Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007
| Developer: Konami | Publisher: Konami |
| Release Date: February 6, 2007 | Also On: None |
GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL! The screaming broadcasters, the raucous and often violent crowd, the riots before, during and after the game. No, this is definitely not America. This is soccer season in Europe. Nationalistic pride and rivalry can sometimes lead to overzealous fans creating an environment that quite frankly puzzles many Americans. The sport catches fire across the entire globe and in every region, except largely in the United States, that trend is followed to video game form.
Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is Konami's take on the sport that everyone in the world loves, and Americans love to hate. Winning Eleven is a reviewers' favorite, consistently outranking EA's FIFA series of soccer games. Yet despite being the only simulation on the market and the clear favorite of dedicated soccer fans, Konami faces a two-sided challenge. First, they are competing with a marketing budget that they can never match of mega-publisher EA. Second, and probably most importantly, the game may be too difficult for more casual players.
Obviously we won't touch on the first in our review, but the second I will tackle directly straight away. Yes, Winning Eleven is a simulation. Yes, it can prove challenging. Yes, it requires you to think. And yes, the game plays out slower than FIFA. That does not mean that it is impossible for your average player. Konami has done a fantastic job this year in the PlayStation Portable version to ensure that it is enjoyable for a broader audience. For starters, the defensive AI feels a bit looser on the easier difficulties. Just as important though is the fact that the Master League is accessible, if you so choose.
Throughout the rest of this review I am going to touch on the advantages both FIFA 07 and Winning Eleven 2007 have over each other (indicated by a FIFA/Winning Eleven scores). Let's start with the game modes that you have to choose from. You have Match (Exhibition and Penalty Shootout), Master League, League, Cup, Training and Wireless Ad-Hoc multi-player. Sorry gents, no online multi-player (FIFA scores; 1-0). The game's Ad-Hoc allows for two players to play each other in the same vicinity.
The Master League is a never-ending season-by-season franchise mode where you manage a team through transfers, signing players, setting a lineup and most importantly, winning games. Even though FIFA 07 really kicked it up a notch with an experience system and ways to improve your squad, I like the number of options in Winning Eleven. It's not too overwhelming to the point where you don't want to play anymore, yet it gives you the option to change the game to how you want to play it (Winning Eleven scores; 1-1).
Even though there are a good number of teams, not all of them are licensed. Konami has made a noticeable improvement by adding the likes of Manchester United, but they are still behind the scope that we see in FIFA 07. You can choose some of the better teams in Europe like England, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal or lesser “S teams” like Slovakia, Slovenia and Scotland. You have a handful of African, American and Oceania teams, along with the England League, Spanish League and other intra-national leagues (FIFA scores; 2-1).
As far as graphics are concerned, Winning Eleven 2007 stands up well on the PlayStation Portable. The players on the field have a fairly decent amount of detail once you zoom in enough to tell. The problems with jaggies that you find in most PSP games is present in Winning Eleven as well, but at least the audience looks on par with the console version. There are even some 3D animations (arms flinging in the air) in the audience. The replays are a bit overdone, and it is a nuisance to skip through them all the time, but they are tastefully done. Another plus are the load times, which were a problem for most PSP games until recently (Winning Eleven scores; 2-2).
What kills Winning Eleven 2007 the most is the audio department. If you expect to be aurally enthralled with your soccer experience, look to something else. The PlayStation Portable version of Winning Eleven 2007 is almost entirely devoid of sound. The commentary is limited to a faint mumble after a goal and that's about it. There's no music during play and the crowd largely is not much of a factor. One of the things about American football is that the crowd gets you pumped up, especially in the video games. Europeans are into their football too, so I'm not sure why it isn't a bit more apparent (FIFA 07 scores; 3-2).
Finally, the controls. You're all wondering how the game feels. Well, I'm here to tell you that not much has changed from one soccer season to the next. You pass with X, shoot with square, long pass with circle, and through ball with triangle. On defense, you can tackle with X, slide tackle with circle, switch between players with the left trigger and hold down square to call a defender. The analog nub acts to control your selected player on the screen. It's basic stuff, yet the controls are tight and I found it easier to both defend and score goals in Winning Eleven. For that, Winning Eleven ties things up at 3-3.
If you thought that I was going to render a verdict based on scores from a fake game of competing soccer games, you were wrong. It definitely is not a tie. The term “to each his own” could perhaps not be more prevalent in a video game sense than in this case. Winning Eleven 2007 and FIFA 07 are two well equipped, fun soccer experiences. The games are deep in their career modes for handheld offerings, yet it is impossible to deny that it comes down entirely to personal preference. In a way, since EA tightened their AI up a bit in FIFA 07, the lines have blurred between the two, making things all the more difficult to choose. I still think that it is safe to stick with the years old advice: if you want a more arcade experience get FIFA and if you want a simulation, pick up Winning Eleven.
| Graphics: | 8 |
| Sound: | 5 |
| Gameplay: | 9 |
| Creativity: | 8 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 8.5 |
| Final: | 8 |
| Written by Kyle | Review Guide |
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