Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007
Score: 92% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Sports (Soccer)
Graphics & Sound: WOW and WOW. I think this covers it. I just summed up Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, so there is no need to continue; that was easy. Oh why not go on from here, and let me tell you why - this is one of the best, all around sports games I have ever played. And, I am not even a soccer fan. This game is great to just sit back and look at. The crowds may not be much to see, but you only have to look at them during the cut scenes. Character models many need to see some updating and a few more polys, but in no way are they distracting from the look of the game. The way the field looks during actual play is very realistic. The animations show great attention to detail. Overall, it was very appealing to look at. Not being the futball aficionado I should be, the commentary helped me out numerous times. Offsides and the penalties were quickly pointed out to me and I understood the game better because of the commentary. I did sometimes feel like I was at a horse race with the quick, one-name callouts as passing happened back and forth. The crowd noise and other sound components only added to the immersion. Save the "Euro Techno" at the opening screen, there was not much to listen to besides the announcers.
Gameplay: Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 has a very intricate and possibly intimidating play set up feature. There are also many management features that present as an entirely different way to look at and play the game itself. This too is very intimidating for a non-futballer like me. Fortunately it has a pure gameplay mechanic that is easy to control and extremely responsive when you actually step out on the field. The only thing you need to know when you start playing the game is, pass the ball to the open guy. Kick the ball where the goalie isn't and keep their balls out of the back of your net. Simple. There are as many cups and tourneys as there are players playing. You have match play, which is just a one off game with you VS your friends or the computer. Choose a team to take through the Master League. Make trades and control salaries as you play acting manager. Will your team decisions be the factor of whether you make it to the top? When it came to the just sitting down and playing, I saw little actual difference between Cup and League play. The obvious differences are the size of the pool you play against and number of teams. With that being said, they didn't offer a great variation to me. This may indeed be my ignorance of soccer league play showing up, but as a game player, it offered no tangible difference.
Difficulty: In Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 , someone who has a good understanding of plays, formations, and players can have an easy time of matching up against the lower settings of the game's difficulty. Even if all you understand is how to pass the ball back and forth to the open man, and then shoot the ball into the giant net at the end, you can still have a challenging and rewarding game experience. You don't have to be Pele in order to enjoy this game, I mean look at me. I will say that you definitely will benefit from having a better than basic understanding of the game in the higher difficulty setting, but what you really have all in all here is a fun game that you can enjoy as a novice or a pro. There are plenty of fancy footwork combos to up the difficulty and learning curve. I will stick to the basics for now.
Game Mechanics: One of my biggest annoyances with Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, was the U.I. and selection cursors. I had to get used to the cursor and for some reason, it was always a little unclear what I had selected in the HUD. The Icon system was a little much to grasp without being a die-hard player. That aside, I could praise this game for hours on the ease of controllability and the precision it allowed novice and pro alike. When I made a pass to an area, the A.I. ran to the ball like they should. As players grew tired, it showed in their responsiveness. Again what impresses me most is that nothing I did on the field came as a surprise. If I passed toward the sideline, then the ball went out. I passed to the middle for my forward and he was there. Excellent execution, precise control - talk about coming with your "A" game. Time for me to return to where Football means large men and an oblong ball. I think American football video games have something to learn about pursuit angles from the current generation of soccer games. There is a difference on interaction between soccer and full contact sports and that does make it hard to capture all of the nuances, but it can still teach us something to strive for. I considered this one of the greatest sports games I have ever played, not because of the outstanding graphics or other attributes. I claimed that because I enjoyed picking the controller up and playing it for the way the game plays. It works like I feel it should, and more importantly, the way it should look. The controls are dead on and there are many levels of skilled play. Precise mechanics and fun gameplay win over all of the right sponsors or team names any day. Cheers!
-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications AKA Bryon Lloyd
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