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Winning Eleven 8

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: March 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I like most people I know struggled through the flaws in past FIFA series. I read reviews and kept hearing the name Winning Eleven and so I decided to go for it and bought Winning Eleven 7. The game was great but Winning Eleven 8 is even better.
-Improved gameplay
-Deeper Master League
-More Licensed Club Teams and Real Player Names

I own FIFA 2005 and Winning Eleven 8 is much better (except for the online gameplay).
The question is, should I buy Winning Eleven 8 or FIFA 2005?
The games are very different and one game might suit one person more than another but here are reasons to buy one or the other...

FIFA 2005
-Online Play: This feature is great. Playing the computer can become rather boring after a while but being able to play anyone anywhere in the world at you ability is amazing. I played online for a while but became sick of other players using certain tricks or flaws in the game to win like scoring off every kickoff.
-Career Mode: This mode is very deep with every officially licensed league. The benefits is you can switch leagues and teams throughout your career (unlike WE8) but the computer is so predictable and easy to play against that I didn't have the patience to complete the first season.
-Graphics: The graphics are amazing with players, jerseys, and stadiums appearing like it was television.

Winning Eleven 8
-Gameplay: The gameplay is amazing, it has improved from WE7 and the computer AI is much more difficult. A new 6 star difficulty is available to unlock and I don't see this game becoming too easy for anybody. The crowd's participation makes you sweat pushing for an equaliser or holding a one goal lead. Playing with two people is much better than FIFA 2005 with quicker game play and no cheap goals. You'll play for hours with a friend who is at the same skill as you.
-Graphics: Personally I think the graphics are almost as good as FIFA. The difference doesn't bother me except for the uniforms which are kind of plain on the unlicensed teams. The jerseys for unlicensed teams are the same colors but don't have logos or sponsors on them.
-Master League: It is even more advanced and has more features than WE7. Although their isn't license leagues and cups, it does replicate real soccer. Yes, Manchester United is in the game as for the top 100 or so European clubs including licensed Italian, Spanish, and Dutch leagues. Each league has a cup and there is a WEFA Championship (Champion's League) and WEFA Master's Cup (UEFA Cup). With all new Master League edit mode, you can change which teams are in what leagues and create a "Power League" which is very entertaining. All in all this feature is worth buying the game itself.

If you love European Football and know a little bit about the teams and their players, than Winning Eleven 8 is for you. If you like arcade style soccer, buy FIFA 2005. True soccer fans will love this game and the more people that buy it, the more licensed leagues will ensue in future versions of Winning Eleven, so buy it today!

One of the best soccer video games ever made !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: March 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I own both the FIFA Soccer 2005 and the new Winning Eleven 8 video games. I actually purchased W.E.8 after I had bought FIFA 2005 because I really liked FIFA 2005 but most of the reviews that I had read online praised the Winning Eleven 8 game as the better of the two games. I was very curious to see for myself what the differences were between the two.

Both FIFA Soccer 2005 and Winning Eleven 8 have great graphics and I see strong points to both games but in this review I will mostly focus on what I like about W.E.8 . First, the game control is very similar in both games but it seems like W.E.8 has a higher level of precision built into the controls. There is more depth and variety to the character animations and movements. There are so many subtle character movements that it looks almost like a television broadcast. This PS2 version of W.E.8 is visually one of the best sports games you will ever see on the PS2. Graphically speaking this game is to soccer video games what NFL2K5 is to the the American football video games. The computer A.I. is really amazing in W.E.8 . Overall this is one of the best sports games I have played and even if you are not a soccer fan or even if you are unfamiliar with the game of soccer I recommend this game. However, if online game play is your main goal (no pun intended) then FIFA 2005 is your only choice for now but plan on buying W.E.8 later on since it really is a must have game for all soccer and sports game fans. If you do not plan on playing soccer online then by all means pick up W.E. 8 first since it is probably the only soccer video game that you will need this year.

PROS: One of the best sports games I have ever played. It has super realistic graphics and player animations. The incredible depth of the game play makes it a highly addictive gaming experience. It has great player A.I.. The controls are easy to learn but take a long time and a great deal of skill to master. You have your choice of Spanish or English game commentary.

CONS: It has a limited number of officially licensed players, teams, uniforms, etc. compared to the EA Sports FIFA Soccer series of games. There is no online internet game play.

There are so many things that make this game great that it is impossible to write them all down in one review. I really suggest that you go out and rent or buy this game so that you can play it ASAP and then you will see why I believe this is hands down (again, no pun intended) one of the best soccer video games ever made!

The bottom line...Five Stars !

I Don't Know the First Thing About Football...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: July 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

To quote Mike Skinner of The Streets. It is true, at least the football the rest of the world knows outside of my arrogant little country. But I have more than a passing interest in the sport now, due to my writing of a cultural lingiustics paper on the sport, as well my taking in of a few Premier League games this past season, I think that i'm becoming (god help me) a soccer fan.

This game only cements my new found fondess for this game. I have played FIFA 2005, and this game blows that out of the water. FIFA looks better and has all those expensive licenses that EA likes to shell out cash for, but this is a much better product on the field. The controls are what really set this apart. This is probably the best control system I have played in a game outside of Tony Hawk Underground. You just pick it up and go. But as you hone your skills, you become much more skilled on the field. You can do crab walks, and you can learn to bend it like Beckham.

The Master League is fun, but I think that it is funny how everyone thinks that it is amazing that there are player progressions now. To be brutally honest, player progression has been part of every EA Sports game in the last 5 years, so this is nothing new. What is fun is how immersive the Master League is. It is so utterly and completely different than you typical American sporting game exprience, that it really puts you into the context of European Soccer.

Fans who are nitpicking about the lack of licenses can do a little research and customize every team to be their real life counterparts. The game has even set them up in alphabetical order for you, with Arsenal right where they should be, in front.

As a soccer game, this gets five stars. Hands down the winner. If your going to buy a soccer game, get this over FIFA. As a sports game, this is a great game on the field and has a good franchise, but EA's Madden Football series is the king of the hill. I know i'm going to be called an arrogant American, but hey, Konami is just getting the idea to have the players progress and retire, come on, that should have been a gimme a long time ago.

The greatest football game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: November 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Yes you heard me, the greatest 'football' game, to give it it's proper name. Many Americans, fail to point out, or maybe just don't know that football was invented a long time before American football. Therefore it doesn't deserve to be called 'soccer' by anyone, maybe I can think of a new name for American Football and make everyone call it that instead. I know you have your own sports but if you look outside you will see that football is by far the most popular sport in the world.

Anyway enough ranting, this game is great, in Europe it is actually titled Pro Evolution 'Soccer', but is exactly the same game. We now have Pro Evo 5, which is once again even better than the previous games. Let me explain why it is much better than the awful FIFA, it plays realistically, no you can't run the length of the pitch with your keeper and score. You have to pass and move, the opposition is intelligent, particularly on 6 star difficulty. The Master League mode is almost life consuming, it is really that great.

The only drawback of this game is that Konami continually fail to get proper licensing rights. Yes, they have the Dutch, Italian and Spanish leagues, but it is not enough, they need full licensing of the English Premier League and more. It is a shame they cant do this, because i'm sure no one would buy the joke that is FIFA, if they got the level of licensing that had. Please dont buy sports games from EA, they just rehash the same c**p every year with a new number on the end, buy real quality games like this. The best football sim on the market.

5 stars don't make justice

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I didn't put a rating number because 5 stars are not enough and no matter what number you give for rating, it's not enough. This game is so awesome that it blows FIFA 2005 away, no offense intended. I have all the FIFA games and they are great but since Konami came out in the USA with Winning Eleven 7 and now 8, it's quietly and little by little taking the Football-Soccer video games crown, if it hasn't taken it, already. This game is so comprehensive, immersive and realistic that you feel you are either at the Santiago Bernabeu watching Real Madrid in person or watching it on TV. The narration and commentaries in the different languages is an excellent feature. Also, that they teach you the whole game of Football-Soccer from scratch, as if you were someone new to the sport that doesn't know anything, is very nice. Enough of me rambling on and on. Do yourself a favor and either buy or rent this game!!!
P.S.: The bottom line is that this game is so out of this world that it cannot be measured and/or evaluated numerically and/or quantitativelly.

The best football game ever!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First I have to say I love this game!!! The graphics are amazing and so true to life! Even when the teams first walk into the stadium you see flares shooting off and flags waving. So much better than the Fifa series. Those players like me who have become accostomed to the Fifa series controls must take the extra time to go to the trainig mode or you will most likely lose your first 8 games. Im not sure if other players notice this but to me it seems like every ref. is different. Some will give you an imediate Red card or others will just give you a warning. The perfect game for a serious football fan.

THE BEST GAME OF ALL TIME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Okay,let's get one thing straight:Not only is this game superior to FIFA 2005,it's superior to ANY other game as well!Konami has gradually tweaked a few things in this series,and now it's virtually flawless.Everything that was once good is now great.Unlike FIFA,(which changes wildly every year)WE is refined to perfection.
This game truly has it all:Great graphics,mind-numbingly superb gameplay,good commentary and sound,fun multi-player,tons of modes,high replay value-I'll stop there.It's truly a perfectionist's game.Everything is RIGHT.It also includes Konami's brilliant auto-save feature,in which the game saves itself after ANYTHING changes.
If you're new to the series,you might not love it at first because it's easy to pick up,yet difficult to master.But it's always incredibly realistic.(And rewarding.)What separates WE from FIFA you ask?Soul.Passion.It's that simple.This game is so realistic,it's like you're there!When you make a crisp pass,you'll (literally) feel the recipient get the ball and attack.When you commit a sloppy giveaway,you'll feel the heartache of that as well.Perform a cruching tackle,and you'll find yourself SCREAMING to the tv:"That wasn't a damn foul!"My personal favorite is when you're trailing late and level the score.I've owned this game since February and I still get goosebumps when the crowd goes crazy.(And I mean crazy!)
The master league is phenomenal!I never get tired of running my favorite club team.Acquiring players is tremendous fun too.I really don't know what I love more:The action on the field or the action off the field.
Does the game have any vices you ask?Well,for starters,I was disappointed to see them get rid off the great techno music that played during the highlights.(Although it can be heard during in-game menus,it's quite muted.)And it's no secret that many don't like the (sometimes) lack of licensing of the teams and players.For example,Arsenal is known as North London and they don't have their oxygen sponsor on the front of their jerseys.(It's just plain red.)However,they do have Arsenal's real player names.Basically,they've made great strides in this area and it doesn't make the game one bit less enjoyable.
In conclusion,this game is just wonderful.The tremendous feedback received through the controller is what sets it apart.I'm telling you,this game is alive!The only thing that will top it is...WE9!But that isn't out yet,so in the meantime,enjoy this gem.Konami,keep up the unbelievable work!

Best game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the best soccer game ever; you cannot imagine how real and how exiting until you play it. If you love soccer, you will love this game. It gives you updated information about the teams and the players. I strongly recommend this game.

My kids love this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

My boys, 6 & 8, love this game. I read many reviews of the various soccer games and this one kept coming out on top. We couldn't be happier.

Excellent!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Just in case you didn't get it yet - Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is the best football game ever created! I can't wait for the release of ProEvolution Soccer 5. It's been out in England for months now and it's killing me. Buy this game, if you do nothing else with your life it will all have been worth it.

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