Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (PS2) Review
Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 03.15.2007
Sus suaves movimientos y animaciones le dan vida a este juego bonito!
Holy crap, this game is amazing! I hate to give away my overall feeling at the very beginning of a review, but Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is easily the hands down best soccer game I’ve ever played (and I played quite a few in my day). Like many others, I only follow the sport when one of my native nationality teams makes the world cup finals, but as I played through this title it didn’t matter at all.
You don’t need to follow professional soccer or know all the rules or even know how to SPELL soccer to enjoy this game. However, all you die hard futbol hooligans out there shouldn’t turn a blind eye to Winning Eleven either. This game has all the names, stats, customization, strategies, and realism a die hard soccer fan could possibly want. I know it sounds like I’m far to excited here, but the reality is I haven’t played a sports game this good since the original FIFA International all the way back in 1994. Yes, this game is that incredible.
The big bold advertisement on the back of the game’s box is that you can play in English or in Spanish. For added amusement, the major features written on the back are also written in English and Spanish. Before I even opened the game case I had a blast reading off English sentences describing the game, followed by the same sentence in Spanish in true telemundo TV announcer fashion.
But the advertised features for Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 are just the tip of the iceberg. To think that all this time I thought that EA was the king of the soccer video game genre. Konami has blown all of EA’s titles out of the water with this package, and in addition to listing a few minor flaws; I will now go into detail why.
Graphics
How good the graphics are in Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 honestly depends on what sort of a TV you are playing on. I played the game on both an HD and normal definition TV, and found that the game actually looked much better on the normal screen. In both cases, the animation on the players is the highlight, and I have never seen such fluid in game movement on the PS2 before. However, when using an HD TV, in game wide camera graphics suffer from extreme pixilation that looks like something out of an Atari 2600. If your HD TV has a normal mode on it, use it.
Starting up any match in the game, players are treated to a beautiful scenario of a shadowy arena filled with fireworks, smoke, and fog. It looks like something out of Gangs of New York or Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh sure, the crowd looks absolutely awful, but you’ll probably only notice this when you first turn the game on. During gameplay, the crowd rarely shows up on screen anyway so at least the flaw is covered.
Up close shots of the players and replays look beautiful regardless of what type of TV you use. Up close facial features and expression changes look realistic as well, and for moment I almost felt I was playing the Xbox 360 version of the game. Replays can also be saved and reviewed from multiple camera angles, with a slight gritty edge on the camera that mimics that of a real sports cast. If nothing else, Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is a joy to watch if not play.
Gameplay
I simply can’t stress the versatility of Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 enough. The game is just great for long time soccer fans or even fans who never played on a PS2 before. The default control setting is just so easy to use I was scoring goals on amateur setting within 5 minutes of my first play through. Yet at the same time, there are elements to the control that give the game a realistic feel.
Soccer is all about timing, and so are Winning Eleven’s control schemes. To shoot the ball toward the goal, you have to tap the square button. And I do mean TAP. Push the button down completely and your shot will fly far over the goalie’s head and into the crowd behind him. The game has its own sensitivity for passes, shots, and defensive maneuvers that do take some time to recognize but not long to master. In the heat of the moment, after beating your defenders and dashing towards an open goal, remembering to be light and accurate with your control becomes vital, much like in a real soccer game. Get over zealous, and you’ll botch the whole game. This is just a brilliant system that brings a real strategic football feel right into console gaming.
At the same time, there are several special moves and button combinations to try as you become more advanced with the game. I can really only compare this to Tekken…you can either get right into the game with just the basics, or break out flashy combos to best your opponents, but either way the game manages to be challenging and fun. Switching between players can get confusing at certain times, and you may need to test out your team formations a few times to find out how to get your mates to actually respond the way you want, but these flaws barely detract from the gameplay at all.
And no, there is no “Zidane Headbutt” button combination, for those of you wondering.
Sound
While the game advertises that you can play with either English or Spanish commentary, in actuality there are several more commentary languages included in the game. The commentary is fine albeit a little generic, as the commentators are quick to switch to pronouns during times of heavy action on the field. You’ll also hear many of the same phrases repeated from match to match pretty much right away, but this is all quite forgivable. Almost every player’s name is spoken for passing purposes, and given the number of available languages not much extra commentary is needed anyway.
There isn’t much music in the game but the little that appears in menus and video does certainly fit the sports cast and tournament nature of the game. The actual gameplay sounds are even better, as you can hear almost exactly how hard each kick to the ball is. Crowds are constantly chanting, singing, and roaring in some form and it all sounds perfectly authentic. Konami simply could not have done any better with the sound on a PS2 game.
Lasting Appeal
There is just so much to do in Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, you’ll most likely playing the game for a long time. However, diversity comes into play here once again as casual fans can also have just as much fun in random exhibition as hardcore players do in leagues. There a several tournaments and leagues to choose from, but the two main leagues are basic league and master league. The basic league is just as it sounds: play through a soccer league season using your favorite team. In master league mode, however, players can customize and micromanage their own team by transferring and trading players, training and conditioning, and working on team formations. As players’ stats rise and fall with work and age, the game gives players a real rewarding experience of RPG style accomplishment.
You can also transfer players and other data to the Sony PSP version of Winning Eleven. Taking your league on the go is certainly another intriguing little feature. The game also gives players plenty of challenge to work towards as each exhibition and league win pays off in “WEN”, the in game currency used for unlockables, team salaries, and trading. There is certainly plenty to unlock in the game, though this appeals more to die hard league players than anything else.
Lastly, the game features network play, which in itself has its own ranking system. Even cooler than this is the group feature, which allows players to form up their own full soccer team and track their stats as a whole. Groups even get access to their own personal in game message boards.
Fun Factor
Absolutely anyone can get into Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. The push sensitivity control system alone makes the game strategic and fun for even the most casual players and it only gets better from there. I wound up adding more time to my match clock simply because I wanted to stay on the field that much longer with this title. From the great gameplay to the bells and whistles around it, Konami got this game down perfectly.
The 411
If you have any interest in soccer or sports games at all, do not pass Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 up. The game is fun for everyone in the household from ignorant bystanders to die hard football club lovers. I usually take the claim of “#1 selling game of its kind in the world” with a grain of salt, but in this case its easy to see how Winning Eleven earned its spot. Play this game.
Graphics
8.9
Pushes the PS2 to the limit. Beware of HDTV.
Gameplay
9.8
A minute to learn, a lifetime to enjoy.
Sound
9.2
Perfect except for some slightly generic commentary.
Lasting Appeal
9.5
Total packages of modes, online play, and unlockables.
