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> Results: World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International
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Still The GreatestSo you say you love sports videogames. You've played Madden every year since its inception on Sega Genesis oh so many years ago. You cut your teeth on NHL Hockey and became a hockey god by the time NHL '94, the first of the EA Sports games with the now ubiquitous white boxes, hit the racks. You called NFL2K a revelation when it launched alongside Sega's Dreamcast back in '99. Even if you've played the games in EA's FIFA series, nothing can prepare you for what is arguably the very best sports videogame ever created, Konami's Winning Eleven 7. Once you get to the professional level, soccer is pretty much a second tier sport here in the US. That has kept this stellar series of games from finding its way here until this generation of consoles. When it comes to replicating the sport on screen, no other game comes close to Winning Eleven. Whether it's the presentation, the animation, the players or even the stadiums themselves and the ambience of each one, there is no experience closer to the real sport. Players move so fluidly and realistically that you will often double-take at the graphics noting how exact the game looks to what you see on television or even in person. Even more impressive is how new animations will just seemingly pop out of nowhere and wow you with their brilliance. Each time you play you're bound to see something new. The graphic presentation is so good and the action so fascinating in its animation that you can easily sit and watch others play the game and it's as good as any match you'd see on television. It's just that impressive.  What really takes the game into the stratosphere is the fact that the gameplay is so spot on. If you don't understand soccer in the least before playing, by the time you're done you will have an in depth appreciation for the strategy, the power and the finesse of the real game. This is soccer in every way it should be on the field. You have total control of the players and can execute exacting passes, play balls into space, defend with hard tackles and even bend it like Beckham. The control scheme gives you the ability to make any play you can imagine a reality. It's simply brilliant in its execution and always precise. You never feel like the game takes control out of your hands and in fact always know when it's your own lack of button pushing prowess that cost you a pretty header into the back of the net. There's really nothing to find fault with in Winning Eleven 7 except the fact that it's not a humongous upgrade from Winning Eleven 6. The game contains a hardcore Master League mode that lets you build a club from the ground up. This is the real meat of the game and it lets you play coach, manager and player all at once. If the strategy on the field isn't enough, the wheeling and dealing of keeping your club in the hunt adds plenty more excellent gameplay. There is also extensive training where you can gain mastery over the tight controls. Training is a great way to introduce any soccer neophyte to the basics and because it's so well realized, you will ultimately become a much better player after you've spent time here. Of course you can always just sit down and play an exhibition with the ability to customize just about anything right down to the referee you'd prefer to have for the match. Given the way officials often have different tendencies, this is a superb addition to the game and something that would enhance any subsequent sports game. The best compliment for the game is that it will make anyone a fan of soccer. The NHL Hockey series from Electronic Arts is often credited with bringing thousands of new fans to ice hockey simply because the game was so enjoyable to play even for non-fans and showed off the best aspects of the sport. Winning Eleven 7 and its prequel released here in the US also are so good they will bring people to soccer that have never grasped its strategy or its action. When you play this game, you feel the tug of war that happens between offense and defense. You can sense the gaps in your lineup and see the mismatches in ability and speed between players. Best of all, you get on the edge of your seat anytime you're building toward a shot. When you put in that magical golden goal to seal the deal in extra time, you will literally jump out of your chair in triumph and run screaming through the house with your arms held high! Ok, maybe you won't go quite that far...but you will definitely understand why a game with a final tally of 1-0 can be just as exciting as one that's filled with scoring. If you love sports and even have a tiny interest in soccer, buy this game. Kid Factor: Soccer moms nationwide should invest in this game for their kids' Playstation 2. There's nothing offensive. The only thing that's a little bit disconcerting is the way the players almost always disagree visually with the referee's calls. It's certainly right in line with reality and the representaiton on screen is uncanny. However, as someone who lives with a referee, I can tell you it's not necessarily the right message for kids. It's a silly complaint though and I'm really reaching. This game is top notch and entertaining for the entire family whether you're eight or eighty. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 5+ Genre: Sports ESRB Rating: E-Everyone Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo 
Soccer moms nationwide should invest in this game for their kids' Playstation 2. There's nothing offensive. The only thing that's a little bit disconcerting is the way the players almost always disagree visually with the referee's calls. It's certainly right in line with reality and the representaiton on screen is uncanny. However, as someone who lives with a referee, I can tell you it's not necessarily the right message for kids. It's a silly complaint though and I'm really reaching. This game is top notch and entertaining for the entire family whether you're eight or eighty.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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