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> Results: Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007
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With its first appearance on the DS, Konami is melding the two names this venerable soccer series has around the world ﾖ Pro Evolution Soccer in Europe, Winning Eleven everywhere else ﾖ but does the game itself manage to bring together all the elements that make the console versions so popular with soccer fans?
The game does a lot of things right. It doesn't fall into the trap of adding unnecessary gimmicks just because it's on the DS, rather it makes good use of the lower screen as an easy way to track the fitness level of your team members and quickly change team tactics with a quick touch of the screen. The famous Winning Eleven gameplay is largely intact, eschewing the arcade feel of the higher-selling FIFA games and concentrating on more faithfully reproducing the flow of "the beautiful game". The problem is that the DS is simply not a good fit for a sports game like this. The lack of analog controls means it's hard to be precise directional control is impossible, and it seems like the developers have tried to balance this by making the opposing team dumber than they should be, resulting in a lot more goals than I'm used to in a Winning Eleven game. The graphics are serviceable (and honestly look a lot better in motion than screenshots suggest), but the game slows down noticeably when there are a lot of players on screen at once. The sound is sparse, with the crowd being reduced to an annoying hiss most of the time. There are also few teams to choose from when compared to the console or PC versions, and the available single-player game modes are limited. Multiplayer does appear to be well-served, for both local and internet play, but I have to say that not once was I able to find an internet opponent during my review time ﾖ unless you have a friend with the game, it might be hard to find a match. The other versions of Winning Eleven are best-of-breed, despite the lack of flash and licensed teams that FIFA provides. If you want portable soccer, go for the PSP version. If you simply must play soccer on the DS then this is probably the best you'll get, but otherwise do the series justice and get a console version. Other versions: The PS2 release is generally regarded as the series' crown jewel, with the greatest number of modes and features. The PSP version pretty much contains everything the PS2 has, though some concessions have been made for the more limited controls (and it lacks online multiplayer). The Xbox360 is a visual step-up from the PS2, but inexplicably lacks some of the features the older console manages to include, such as full customization. By all accounts, the PC release is a straight port of the PS2 baseline game.  
As a straight sports game, there's nothing objectionable in this title. As usual, care should be taken when allowing children to play online without supervision, though no real communication is possible in DS version of the game.
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