Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007

Published on: 3rd May, 2009

Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007  | read this item

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• Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007

The joy when Konami first announced World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 was coming to PSP was fairly short-lived once the game hit shelves in January 2006. After only a few minutes of banging the ball about on the small-screen pitch a fair few problems became obvious. For a start, even the furthest back camera angle was too close to the players.

Then there was a strange motion blur when sprinting or turning quickly. And, most disappointing of all, there was no Master League. What was Konami thinking? It was, well, OK – but felt soulless in comparison to soccer the way we love it.

And so Konami went back to the drawing board. For WEPES 2007, they’ve sent the cameraman back a few steps to give you a wider view of the action and the shadowy motion blur silhouettes have vanished. But there’s still no… nah, only kidding, Master League has made it in as well. Yeah!

With all the changes, it feels much better than last time out. Aside from the horrible PSP nubbin trying its hardest to spoil things, controlling your players is more responsive than before, so taking off on mazy runs and leaving the opposition in your wake is less of a chore and more of a highlight, just like it should be.

Shots from distance look a lot classier as the wider viewpoint allows for a more focused sight of your target, plus goalmouth scrambles are as random and exciting as on PlayStation 2. The only features PSP lacks are the online mode (it’s just Wi-Fi as usual) and the random selection match generator.

This is more than made up for by the fully-functioning Master League, mind you. Everything is in there that you’d expect, although the cross-platform dream of continuing your PS2 journey over to PSP – and vice-versa – has been left out.

No matter, there’s still the player development, transfer system and pre-match tinkering to get to grips with. This means you can maintain an assault on the European Masters Cup below your desk when you should be doing the accounts and the like. Honestly, Konami could single-handedly cripple work productivity across the country with this feature.

It’s not all good news, mind. Back on the pitch the atmosphere is as raucous as a funeral procession. Without the ramblings of Brackley and Brooking, matches feel deathly quiet – except for a tinny cry of “It’s a goooaal!” delivered at a decibel almost exclusively audible only to dogs. Ouch.

Also, the slowdown that can appear in congested areas has sneaked into WEPES 2007 again too. This can mean sticky situations while taking corners or free-kicks. But then again, the loading times have been trimmed by a few seconds.

Other PSP features? Well there are six leagues to play through, including the Premiership (or – sigh – ‘England League’) and the Italian Serie A. You’ve got the usual selection of cup modes including the International and European championship and the new Reebok Cup, which is a straight knockout tournament for clubs and nations alike.

Plus you can still transfer edited information from PS2 to PSP via a USB lead, just like last season. And, while it’s not the most noteworthy option here, you can turn on Battery Save mode, which does exactly as you’d expect by turning the crowd noise, music and certain sound effects off – making the atmosphere even more muted in the process.

Although playing WEPES 2007 on PSP still hurts your fingers and thumbs over prolonged periods, it still stands out as the must-have footie experience on the machine. Visually, it’s stunning – there’s no finer feeling than watching your little lifelike Rooney run riot in his crisp Man Yoo kit, plus the tweaked animations allow you to twist and turn the opposition with devastating effect. And with its array of new game modes – most notably the Master League – there are more than enough reasons to come back for more.
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