Before starting, I’d like to welcome the series of Winning Eleven to North America. Previously a Japan only soccer game, the rest of the world finally gets to see what the buzz is all about. Let me just say, this game should stay in the US for years to come.
Presentation:
The opening video is the only way I could think of to start this game off. It truly described the atmosphere in the air while playing this game. I like the way the menu’s are set-up, and they are very easy to navigate. The only thing I dont like is when you start the game in tournament mode, the pre-game menu. You cant quit and go back to the tournament screen, if you quit in the pregame, you go staright back to the main-menu, losing all un-saved progress.
Graphics:
The graphics, to coin a phrase from Homer Simpson, are “groin-grabbling transcendent.” Transcendent(adj.) – Surpassing others; preeminent or supreme. Those words could not describe the graphics for this game any better. They are simply amazing. It makes you feel as if you were actually watching a soccer game, complete with emotions and all. The after-goal emotions flow with ease. Whether, they are just doing a basic “run around and point at the crowd as if it was them that scored” or the defenses “dammit, how could we let that happen AGAIN.” No matter what the motion, it all flows brilliantly and without a hitch.
Sound:
Man, I love scoring…goals that is, in this Soccer game…Anyways, I love scoring goals because of the music they play during the replay. Its so catchy, I still have it in my head. The menu music is also quite the attention grabber. It sounds sort of like a hardcore band trying to play techno, which I dont really get. Anyways, the commentary is probobly the best Ive heard in a sports game yet. The only part that bugs me, is that in the beginning of each game, the only advice Trevor(color-commentator)has for me is to “watch out for counter-attacks” which I’m really sick of hearing becuase, I believe I’ve been the victim of one counter-attack, ever.
Gameplay:
As I said in the Graphics section, every little thing in this game flows without a hitch, definitly not the same for the gameplay. The controls are really easy to pickup, and not hard to forget. In fact, theyre so simple, you only really need 4 buttons. Left Analog for movement, X for pass, Square for shoot, and R1 for turbo. Same goes for defense, just use those same controls, except replace Square with Circle. I wont detail them, you can figure that out on your own. The camera views make it simple to see everything you need to see and the little box on the bottom of the screen shows where your teammates and opponents are in case you need a nice long pass to escape any trouble your in.
Replay:
It’s a sports game, name a sports game in which the reply isnt high? Ok, maybe Golf Games, but theyre a different story. Really though, Unlocking all the secret teams will keep you busy for a while, and it will be alot more fun for you if you had a freind to play with. So you can keep tabs on who owes who what.
Final Word:
A brilliantly designed soccer game that even gamers who are not(I) fans of the sport will enjoy playing.