After years of
immense success with this series around the world, Konami has finally
released it in the United States so we can see what all of the fuss is
about. There have been six games in the Winning Eleven series, thus the
title Winning Eleven 6. In PAL countries, there have been two games of
the series released under the title of Pro Evolution Soccer 1 and 2. No
matter what you call it, this series is the finest simulation of soccer
that you can buy, and Winning Eleven 6 is the cream of the crop. If you
are a fan of soccer, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy because
you really cant get a much better sports game than this.
The full title
of the American version of the game is World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6
International, but that title is ridiculously long so Ill just call it
Winning Eleven 6 or WE6. It features 54 national squads as well as 40
club teams, so it should be easy to find your favorite teams. In a
strange omission, though, the American club teams, otherwise known as
Major League Soccer, are not included. Also, the major English league
teams (like Manchester United) are mysteriously absent as well. Most of
the international teams have the proper players in place, but not all of
them. The US, England, and France, for example, have all of the proper
players, but teams like Korea and Brazil are comprised of seemingly
random names. This is rather annoying, but it is something that is easy
to fix.
Winning
Eleven 6 features a rather extensive Edit mode where you can customize
the game the way you want it. You can change player names and numbers to
reflect their real world counterparts. It is a time consuming process,
but it is worth it to some of us. You can also use the create-a-player
mode to build a star player however you want him to be. You can also
edit team flags and uniforms because if you are going to invest a lot of
time in the Master League mode, you want to at least look respectable
while youre doing it.
There are
several gameplay modes in Winning Eleven 6 that provide quite a bit of
replay value. You can play a quick match, play in a tournament similar
to the World Cup (but not called the World Cup for licensing reasons),
you can play a season with an International team, and you can compete in
the Master League Mode. In addition to these, there is a great training
mode that has a great feature known as the UMBRO Pro Training Center.
This is a mini game of sorts that presents different challenges that you
can compete in to sharpen your skills. There are a handful of teams you
can unlock by winning in tournament mode, and the rewards are usually
worth the trouble.
The Master
League mode is the crown jewel of Winning Eleven 6, and its where
youll be spending most of your time. This is a lot like the franchise
modes found in other sports games, but it is kicked up about twenty
notches. You start out as a team in the lowest division and try to work
your way up to the top ranks. You can sign new players and build a
championship caliber team however you see fit. The way you "pay" for new
players and things of that nature is a points system. When you win, you
collect some points (minus the points you have to pay out to your team
for the game) and you can then go and sign new players. It all seems a
bit overwhelming at first, but it mostly becomes a matter of filling
holes in your lineup and fixing problems all while staying within your
limited amount of points. This whole process is incredibly addictive and
is very satisfying. Taking your custom club team from a cellar dweller
to an upper league champion takes a long time, so youll be playing the
Master League mode for quite a while.
The games
themselves are truly a sight to behold in Winning Eleven 6. The controls
take a bit of getting used to, but once you learn how to perform some of
the more advanced moves or initiate the set plays, the controls become
second nature. I have heard that the game can be quite difficult, but I
havent had much of a problem so far. Perhaps it is the fact that I
played a lot of soccer in my younger days and I watch a lot of soccer on
TV (I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to watch every US World
Cup game last year), so I know what it takes to score a goal and I can
apply that to the game. Soccer is a thinking mans game as much as it is
a physical sport, so you have to plan your attacks out carefully in
order to score. Running up the middle will result in the ball being
taken away from you rather quickly. It is better to work your way up the
outside and then pass the ball into the middle as you near the goal. If
you are too aggressive, youll be caught with your defense too far
forward and the opposing team can break past for an easy shot. To be
successful in WE6, you have to always consider where everyone is on the
field and try to take advantage of any holes you see.
I know that
wasnt a very clear description of the way the game plays, but soccer
fans should understand it. Perhaps the best part about WE6 is how
intense the matches can get. One lucky pass or a defender not marking
his man can change the game entirely. The heartbreak you feel when a
shot clangs off of the goal post or the elation you feel when you score
a goal is what will keep you coming back for more. The roller coaster
ride that is soccer is captured perfectly in Winning Eleven 6 and will
keep you on the edge of your seat.
There are
some weird gameplay quirks that need to be addressed, though. There are
five difficulty levels that will really serve to challenge you. The only
problem is that the easiest difficulty is too easy and doesnt prepare
you for the harder teams at all. The defenders will just stand there and
not come at you until you are five yards past them. The goalkeeper
spends most of his time standing around watching your shots sail into
the back of the net. In other words, dont even bother with the easiest
difficulty because you wont learn anything from it. On the other
difficulty levels, there are some strange AI quirks that will surely
drive you crazy at least once a game. Usually, the game automatically
switches control to the player who is nearest to the ball. This doesnt
always happen though, and when you dont automatically switch to the
player closest to the ball the computer controlled players on your team
will often just stand around as a ball goes by them. There are other
times when a player will be chasing a ball and then suddenly stop so
another player (usually further away) starts running to it instead.
These things dont happen very often, but theyll make you scream at
your TV a few times a game. Most of the time, though, the game runs
perfectly and everything looks and plays just like a game in real life.
When you
figure everything out, Winning Eleven 6 is fantastic. It is the type of
game that youll get better at every time you play it. Youll figure out
new strategies and youll learn how to take advantage of weaknesses in
opposing teams. Weaknesses such as the Argentina keeper cant handle
long shots very well or that the Dublin club team has a Swiss cheese
defense. Realizing that you are learning and improving your game will
make you want to play the game even more, and that is a great feeling.
Graphically, Winning Eleven 6 is awesome. The player models in WE6
are fairly detailed and literally have a ton of animations. The player
faces dont really look anything like their real life counterparts, but
the animation is spot on. It is easy to recognize the style of play for
players such as Zidane or Michael Owen. There are dozens of animations
for any given situation and youll rarely see the same animations repeat
in the same game. The stadiums are very nice looking and feature such
realistic touches as fans setting fires in the stands. Thank you soccer
hooligans! The crisp, detailed graphics and the amazing animation give
the game a very realistic look and feel.
The sound, on the other hand, isnt so good. It does have its
highpoints, however, such as the way the fans react to the action on the
field or the way they sing each teams song. The commentary isnt very
good and tends to fall behind the action. The same phrases repeat over
and over through the match and can become rather annoying. There is a
nice option that allows you to make the commentary biased towards one
side or the other and you can also change the way the crowd reacts. The
commentary is bad, but the stadium noise and the sounds down on the
pitch are fairly realistic. The sound isnt great but it isnt horrible.
It gets the job done.
Overall, Winning Eleven 6 is the best soccer game available in North
America. It looks great, plays exceptionally well, and provides a
realistic feel and intensity that no other game can match. You can play
multiplayer games with up to eight people and the game is an absolute
blast. The Master League mode is incredibly addictive and lasts for a
long time. Even though the game loads quite a bit, the load times are
surprisingly short. I say surprisingly because this is the PS2 were
talking about. Having the MLS teams included would have been
appreciated, but their absence doesnt really hurt the game. Winning
Eleven 6 is a great game that no sports fan should be without.