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Not a soccer fan, but I'm hooked.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: February 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

No official licensed teams or players and no online. Hmm, sounds like a gutter ball from the start, but alas, when it comes to fun factor and just the joy of a quality video game, I couldn't put it down. Up front and to the point, I'm not a soccer fan and probably never will be, but I'm amazed how a video soccer game sucked me in like a tractor beam. As most fans know, Konami gave up on basketball and it seems they put all their time and energy into their only sports title for 2005, Soccer. Yeah, the name "Winning Eleven" is a stupid name for any game, but don't let the dullness of the name steer you away. The game plays brillianty, I don't know the rules or even the strategy for playing soccer, but I had a blast playing it. The graphics are stunning and this uses some of the XBOX muscle! My buddies came downstairs one night at my home and poked their head around the corner and asked why I was watching Soccer on TV, it really looks that good. The replays look like they were drained from sport center on ESPN, I've never seen so many seamless motion captured moves by the players in my life, players getting tripped up, gettin laid out, incredible kicks, dives, jumps, head butts, all amazing and stunningly realistic from start to finish. The staidums look amazing too, although the crowds still look like cardboard cutouts from the old Playstation days. If there was a bit of a downer, the game does not support widescreen TV's to the fullest, I want my 720dpi mode, but doesn't offer it. Darn. But on regular and HD TV's, most will be 100% satisfied with the offerings. As a single player game, you'll rejoice with the tons of mode offerings, but if you want to get the most out of it, find a friend and get hooked on one of the best multiplayer games ever. My friends were hooked from start to finish and will definitely be back for more.

The game does not have acutal licensed teams, uniforms or players, which means no famous names. But does anyone in this world really know the full roster for Brazil or Kenya? But don't think the game is unrealstic, every statistic and rating for the actual boys are all in tact here, just rub off the names and their actual uniforms. I think there is a customizable uniform option, so be sure to get some red while and blue for the good guys.

Flaws in the game? No online is a bummer, not sure why Konami would not offer that, but oh well, multiplayer still rocks and it's the best 2-player game I've seen come along in a long time now. The sound is just ok, the commentary is a bit repetitive and the music is atrocious, but the grunts and sfx on the field are great and the crowd roars like there is no tomorrow. Everything else is spot on, and this game puts E.A.s' FIFA series to the test. Thanks Konami.

Best of the Winning Eleven series to date

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: February 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have played all of the North American W.E. games since WE 6 and I have to say that I am impressed with the consistent improvements that Konami has done with this series. Below is my review based off the PS2 version:

The Winning Eleven games have all had one thing in common: tremendous and realistic gameplay. Not only does WE 8 continue this tradition, but the game also adds on welcomed new features that compensate for the lack of online play and club licenses that is synonymous with the FIFA series:

- On the pitch referee
When fouls are committed, you'll witness a referee run up to the play to either warn the player or toss out a yellow card. What makes this neat is that you have the option to select which referee will be the decision maker for your game. One ref that is not made available is Pierluigi Collina, who is heralded as being the best ref in the sport. That's a bit of a bummer but doesn't really do much to affect the game

- Free kicks now involve two kickers
Yep, that's right. By using the select button (on the PS2), you have the option of using two kickers from the spot. This now only adds to realism, but strategy as well since you have more than one person at getting around the wall during free kicks.

- Advanced moves
In previous versions of W.E. you had to be real adept in using the buttons to get around your opponent. Although you still need to be pretty skillful in maneuvering your man, you can use the R2 button to perform stutter steps and more fakes to get around the defender. Playing against the computer on the highest difficulty will show you how hard covering the AI has really gotten.

- Improved AI
As great as WE 6 was, the AI wasn't overly difficult. WE7 was better at working on this but now, WE 8 has really added to this department. You'll find that if you play the same two teams 3 times, you'd be pressed to win all 3 games in a row. The defense of the AI has hard to get around unless you really are adept in passing well. As I said earlier, offensive AI is hard in its own right in that the addition of trick moves makes it hard to cover your opponents one on one, especially if the opposing player is a star such as Ronaldo, Zidane, Henry, etc. You'll also never score the same goal twice (unless it's a penalty kick). The AI is just too good in this game.

- Improved graphics
This is easily the best looking WE game in the series. Although FIFA has been renowned for their graphics, I really think WE is not that far behind anymore. You can easily make out players such as Beckham, Schevchenko, Figo, etc. Heck, you can even witness Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United along with his huge earrings. Animations are numerous in this game as well. Players complaining, goal keepers trying to motivate teammates, players pushing each other after a hard foul was committed all add to the fun factor in this game. You'll even see dirt stains on players' jerseys after a few minutes have passed in the game.

- Deeper Master's League
Although I have yet to try this part of the game, I have been told that this is the bread and butter of the game. Basically this is the part of the game where you take a team over the course of several seasons and try to build a dynastry (similar to franchise mode on other games like Madden). You can keep track of your players during the course of a season with player ratings fluctuating. Old players will retire at season's end and young players, with added playing time, will improve right before your very eyes. Previous W.E. Master League's have kept me busy so I'm expecting this year's iteration to do the same to me once I get to it.

Here are the few cons I found (PS2)
- Commentary/Sound
Not horrible, but not great. However, once youre knee deep in games (which will happen once you play the hardest level), you won't be concentraing on the sound as much.

- A bit of slowdown
If you have several players in the box, there's occasional slowdown but not bad enough to take away from the gameplay.

- No online play. Probably the most "glaring" deficit of this game according to some. True, online play adds fun to games, but I always felt that playing a sports game with more than one person is best when you play your friends directly instead of over a broadband connection.

Overall, this is probably one of the best sports games I have ever played (Madden 2003, NBA 2K series, and SSX I think are on this level). Even if you're not a soccer fan you'll enjoy how much of a challenge this game will provide for you. If you are a soccer fan like myself, you'll be blown away by the realism this game serves up. And if you're a Winning Eleven fan, you'll be flat out impressed with the new features this game adds over previous editions.

Truly a game that deserves a gold medal.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: February 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am not much of a soccer fan but the fact remaings that anything that has to do with sports games I must play. Football games are my passion but I had to try this game that everybody claims to be great. Let me tell you that the game was great and more, it has the best gameplay I have seen in any sports game period. You never cheal cheated by the cpu and when you score a goal you feel like you really did score in real life. Goals dont come easy like other games out there, you must work for them and be on point with your passes and kicks. I have scored a total of 5 goals in 5 games which is not great but I am getting better and the strategy of the game. By the way I am 27 years old but for some reason I could not write on the adult section of the reviews. This game will hold me over till MVP 2005 and Espn baseball come out next month but I will still play this game due to the fact that it rewards you for playing smart and punishes you when you play dumb. The only negative i have with the game and I am stretching here is that there is no o-line support and the players do run a bit funny but thats minor. If you love sports period go out and get this game because it will satisfy all the true sim fans out there.

Best gameplay sim out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As an avid football fan I was always disappointed with the repetitive garbage that I was forced to swallow from EASports and their Fifa franchise. Then...winning eleven 8 came out for xbox. I promptly discarded my previous fifa titles into the nearest trash receptacle and do not regret it (although I had a moment of weakness and bought fifa06 last week...that was a mistake). Anyway, on to the review.

Strengths:
-This is about as good a gameplay sim as you can expect to get out of any sports franchise. The controls are extremely responsive, and the depth of the tactical control and the myriad of types of goals that can be scored leave WE8 head and shoulders above EA.

-You have the ability to alter a player's exact position on the field (no locked in positions like fifa), their defensive or offensive mentality, the direction they will attack or make runs to, who they will man-mark, or rather what zone they are responsible for defending all down the very last inch of the pitch. The great variety and permutations this allows you to experience adds a great amount of depth and staying power.

-Couple the great tactical control with great gameplay and the formula is simple for a great game. Add to that increased gameplay depth with the various ways you can score goals (I consistently score with shots from outside the box, cross to header, cross to volley or side kick, breakaway slotted, breakaway hard shot, breakaway keeper lob and corner kicks...all on the highest difficulty level) Also, unlike fifa, you can beat players one v. one and your A.I teammates actually possess a brain.

Weakness:
The only weakness this game has is really in its presentation. WE8 only has licenses for the Spanish, Italian, and Dutch leagues...So I have to play with Liverpool FC (that's 5, get it right, 5 European cups) in all tomato red plain shirts which kind of makes the experience feel a bit hollow. Also, since they don't have licenses, you have to rename all the stadiums and all the teams in the game as well as some of the players for 'other' teams, such as Boca Juniors (It may seem a painful task, but you can get lists on the internet that help). Lastly, the menus, music and other GUI elements are quite poor (the pokemon music drives me crazy).

Don't put too much weight into my tirade at the end there about the GUI as it only slightly distracts you from the overall beautiful experience of the beautiful game that can only be brought to you by Konami and their Winning Eleven Masterpiece.

No frills... addictive gameplay

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: February 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is definitely a no frills soccer game. The menus are crap. The music sounds like it was ripped from some 80's action flick. The graphics are pretty good but it looks like we've hit the wall with this generation of consoles, so you feel like your looking at every other soccer game around. The manner in which you save games and highlights is clumsy. And I'm sure there's more stuff but I've only owned it for about 24hrs.

What stood out is the game play and physics. There must be hundreds of player animations, all extremely realistic, that tie together seemlessly. Players stumble, trip up, dive, roll over and over like Klinsman back in the day, get pushed aside, throw up their arms in dismay when they miss an easy chance (and sometimes cover their faces and drop to their knees), dispute throw-ins and fouls with the ref, reel from a powerful shot, and so on. It's all these manerisms that you take for granted when you watch live soccer on the TV, but appreciate so much in this game because it's obvious that the designers cared about making it as realistic as possible. It's all in the details. The game play itself is smooth and intuitive. If you've played FIFA for donkey's years because it's the only soccer game of note in North America, then you can dive into this one very quickly. Once you get up to speed you will find that games flow nicely and are very challenging. The opposition AI makes for a tough game at higher difficulty levels and goals won't come easily. Stadiums are varied, more so than in FIFA. The way the grass has been cut, the quality of the pitch, the type of netting used in the goal, the closeness of the crowd to the pitch, all vary as they should. I love the way the ball behaves in wet weather, stopping up short and kicking up sprays of water every time it hits the turf. The way the netting responds to the ball hitting it at different angles and speeds is a thing of beauty. I look for all of these small details in a soccer game, and I was pleasantly surprised here.

Overall it's a bare bones package with high quality game play and incredible attention to detail. As far as licenses go you get the Spanish and Italian leagues and maybe a couple more, but the others are all fictional with some real names thrown in. Giggs plays for Man Red apparently. There seem to be plenty of other features like training, cup competitions, editing capabilities, etc. that I don't really care about. I just want an entertaining and realistic soccer experience and this game delivers.

The best soccer sim out there.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was a Fifa guy for years, and finally made the switch to Winning Eleven this year. I can't overstate how incredibly deep, detailed and engrossing WE is. Fifa isn't a bad game, but it feels very arcady compared to WE; the latter has a wealth of options that should accomodate even the most hardcore soccer/football fans. Want to see a diagram of what parts of the field your reserve midfielder used the most? Check. The statistical wealth is crazy, and the gameplay is even better. This game manages to be challenging without turning off newbies, and that is quite a feat. There are more moves in this game than in many fighting games!

Overall, even if you are a casual fan of soccer, WE will entertain and win you over; if you're a fanatic, then this game will delight you.

Best soccer game ever!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Say EA, what??? EA sports with their fifa does not come nearly this game. First of all, the graphics are great and you can play the game in third person view (you have to unlock this feature). So far , this is the best soccer game I've ever played. I own the FIFA 06 also but it is nothing like this game. If you are a soccer fan, you should pick this one up. Thumbs up!!!

Best Soccer Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the best soccer game out. Way better than Fifa. The only thing bad,which i could care less about is that the jerseys are wrong and the team names arent right(Barclays Premier) Who Cares tho. Thats why they got the edit mode. Everyone who likes this game should be looking forward to Winning Eleven 9,which comes out in Febuary. Will be 10 times as better. (Online!)

Better Than FIFA

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am from England where ever loves FIFA but now there is a new footy game on the market and everyone is turning. In the UK its called Pro Evolution Soccer 4 and i have had ever single one of them sice Pro Evo 1. They all better than FIFA because it has better game play and is much fast than FIFA which is slow and boring not like the beautiful game of football but the only thing FIFA has over Pro Evo is that it has better graphics and has the real names, which is made up for in gameplay. This is a great game playing against your mates because the pace of the game is gets much faster. This is much better than FIFA and the more people that buy it the more real kits and names there will be on the game SO BUY IT.

Best Soccer Sim (Bad US Distribution Though)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: February 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is the same as the European "Pro Evolution Soccer 4" and if you have heard the buzz surrounding that game then you should know that this is really the only soccer game worth buying and probably in the top three sports simulations of all time.

The problem has been that Vivendi are too slow in releasing Winning Eleven 9, i.e - Pro Evolution Soccer 4, which has been out for months now in Europe. Vivendi really need to pick up the pace there.

The game has been in development since the Nintendo 64 and is easily the best soccer engine out there. All of the players have full character skins that resemble the players in reality (real moving hair!), except some of the names are not the same because of license issues (don't worry you can edit everything in this game).

Apart from the outstanding game engine (replay mode is almost like real soccer on television) the character animations are intricate and extremely realistic. The players respond to fouls by falling in a multiple number of ways, other players throw their hands up in disgust at missing a goal or crash to their knees in exhaustion. Belt in a goal and watch them do a pile up as the crowd goes wild. Some players even have special moves.

Unlike most of the other soccer games this is a simulation rather than an arcade kick-about so if you are not prepared to spend a few days learning the controls and how to operate the environments, including formations and in-game strategies - you might just want to forget about this one, however this is the domain where the master players live and share memory card saved data with one another. In short soccer freaks the world over either have it, want it or plague the family of someone who has it.

The AI is really what makes Pro Evolution Soccer 4 stand out. It is also like really controlling little men on the pitch... what am I saying... they ARE really little men on the pitch (yes the game IS that good). There are 50 national teams and 60 fake teams. You need to go on the internet to find out who Konami imagined these fake teams to really be so you can edit in the right players names and team names (remember Konami does not have a license for everything so be prepared to do a bit of fiddling, however a huge percentage of the teams and players are already licensed).

There are multiple modes/games to choose from (up to 8 controllers/players can be used with this game) friendly matches, team play, match modes, cup modes, leagues, training simulations, edit modes and a Master League mode, each with several options for the type of game you want to play... there is no shortage of cups to win in this game. When you win about 3 cups you then have enough credits to start team transfers (meaning you can update EVERYTHING in this game to resemble actual football teams) and you can also create your own ALL STARS team.

The bottom line is that the manual for this thing is huge and it is everything you could ever want soccer to be. If there is one soccer game to own for the PS2, then this is it by a long shot. It is a great investment considering how many of your friends will play it to death with you over the many weekends to come.

If you play sport and don't own this game, then what are you waiting for? Just get this game, learn it, read the manual and be the best you can at it. This is the universal PS2 game that everyone who loves soccer plays and a really good dream team effort from Konami.

As a note the PAL version hacked for the PS2 with modchips was available for NTSC players long ago. So basically illegal copies where doing the rounds in America months and months before the official version was released. Given that Vivendi had such terrible problems with the release of HL2 it seems that there is a pattern emerging here. I feel sorry for the Konami programmers who will not see their just rewards because of bad distribution.

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