2003 Konami
Every now and then, one game dominates in its field. A game so influential and remarkable in its genre that other developers can only ever borrow ideas from it and attempt to build upon them. Winning Eleven is one of those games. Or rather it has developed into a series, gradually improving upon itself over many iterations. Much like EAs Fifa franchise and the root series from which Winning Eleven spun off from (International Superstar Soccer), with every update the developer stresses newly added features that strive to recreate the realistic plays of football in the digital form.
Features- Winning Eleven finally hits a Nintendo console
- Wealth of International/Club teams to choose from including all-star teams
- International and Domestic League and Cup competitions
- In-Depth Master League mode
- Large number of tricks and flicks including specific star signature moves
- Many goal celebrations including specific player celebrations
- Comprehensive Edit mode
- Recognisable International stars
- Superb animation
- Deep on/off-field strategy options
- Lively Commentary
- Detailed Traning mode
- Progressive Scan/60Hz
Anthony Pepera: KCETs design doc must have looked a little bit nave at first, as Im sure it simply read; Upload soccer from pitch, to console, because thats just how it feels. Winning Eleven controls very differently to anything else out there at the moment (even though surprisingly it shares the same lay-out as Fifa Football 2003 for the GameCube). At no point do you feel you cannot achieve a particular move with a little patience and practice. The only restriction is your own skill (and maybe the skill of your team), which is a fantastic achievement in hindsight, as its this that ties the game so closely to the reality it mimics. But lets look into what you by no doubt have realised by now- is the best the GameCube has to offer in-terms of football, whether you like to dabble in simulation or fancy a bit of the wild and frisky arcade side of things.
First let me say, the sense of control in this game is killer. Helped by a multitude of animations (include some that are brand new to the series), the game puts you in complete charge of whoever you control. Want to pass along the ground with curve? Not a problem. Want to pass effectively within a crowd of players? Not a problem. Want to put an early cross into the box without hanging around for animation routines? Again, not a problem. Infact there are so few problems with the controls you'll find when you do make a mistake, that it's almost always entirely your own fault.
There has been a running debate on whether the GameCube controller is the real reason behind most apprehensions when approaching a sports game on the GameCube. Obviously, if you, as a sports developer, look at all three consoles evenly youll notice the Cubes missing a button when lined up next to competitor pads. Miyamoto in his eagerness to design an ergonomic controller seems to have left sports -and arguably fighter- fans out in the cold with this omission. So youre probably wondering how the hell did Konami managed to cram all those complicated football moves into the GameCubes stubborn, yet wonderful to hold, controller, right?
Well, In the aforementioned Playstation version of the game there are 3 individual run functions, all accessed through the shoulder buttons. You dont have to be a mathematical wiz-kid to work out this provides a challenge when converting the game onto the GameCube (with only 2 priority triggers). Regardless, Konami managed to fit all three runs in there and intact, thanks to the oft forgotten and oft bitched about Z button. This may not seem like a plausible solution to some (even Nintendo themselves shunned it as more of a select button) but it seems to work out fairly well due to the pacing of Winning Eleven 6: FE. I found that I was pulling off the quick step over with a double tap of Z with much ease, dazzling defences to the floor on numerous occasions (maybe I should bump up the difficulty).
No time to worry about the difficulty though. Once youve figured the run buttons youll want to know how to pass through teams like -an on form- Manchester United side, and with WE6: FE, you can. There are a cacophony of pass moves available at your thumb and fingertips that will take a while to learn and an age to master, which is another beauty of this game. Everything from Beckham-like searching, cross-field balls to lobbed passes, chipped one-twos, threaded through-balls and more, crop up in heated matches. Also, experimenting with the basic passing options can yield some impressive results. A string of intelligent passes coupled with the right tempo will likely culminate in a goal. Yes, you read correctly, tempo. You cant really charge down the field with a midfielder, cross the ball in and expect a head to be on the end of it. There are one or two things you should be thinking about in that situation. Slowing down and holding the ball up in anticipation for a striker to charge into the box, and also whether you have enough people covering the hole you left in the midfield in-case the opposition breaks down your attack. Playing on 5 stars will get you paranoid like this. It actually feels like youre utilising the advantages or suffering the disadvantages of whatever strategies youve put into plan off-field.
When you do decide to have a pop at goal, youll find there are a daunting number of ways to hit the target (or in some cases row Z tee hee hee). All the usual suspects are in there. The overhead kick, the scissor kicks, a number of low volleys, toe-punts, side-footed tap-ins, and many header animations are all present. Youll notice that each shot I mentioned was written in plural (barring the overhead kick). Thats no mistake my friends. Depending on various factors such as your position in the air or whether youre wrestling off a defender while shooting for example, the shot animation will vary. For instance while taking a low and powerful corner towards the near post, a midfield player (while the ball was mid-flight) made a late dash into the six yard box and headed the ball into the top-hand corner while being sent off balance by the sheer force of the cross (delivered by non other than David Beckham). Its a superb animation and an iota of what you can expect to witness on your path to glory in the various cups and leagues on offer.
The overall visuals lack the frills, bells and whistles of a certain other soccer franchise, but boast superior player body modelling and you can edit players until your hearts content. The stadiums themselves are impressive in their sense of scale along with the activities the crowd participate in (waving large flags and lighting flairs among other things). What's disappointing though is the crowd. The chanting, noise level as well as the overall drab look, lacks enthusiasm. Switching from the supporters in Fifa Football 2003 to this is almost jarring at first but you get accustomed to seeing the rather grey crowd warmly greet your team before each game.
What the 5 frame animation- fans lack in excitement and personality, the actual players on the field make-up with flair and grace. Once out on the field its a whole new ball game, and that pun is very much intended. The fluid animation while not perfect- captures the mood of the sport, with plenty of incidental animation routines to surprise you from time to time. Things such as your striking partner or another team mate, clapping after a missed attempt at goal should bring a smile to the face of Heskey fans. Some times the ball will be in mid-flight and with the right timing your player will perform a spectacular scissor kicked pass (seeing Zidan do this had this staffer struggling to keep hold of his pad in the excitement). The moves that can be executed are almost flawless in-terms of animation and I hate to say it again but- true to real life.
Other visual factors can actually effect gameplay (weather and fatigue for example). As the players tire their controls become looser, especially controlling the ball on runs with the R-Trigger. Rain and wet surfaces mean the ball will skid quickly when passed too hard or stop short when passed too lax. Infact, special mention has to be paid to the ball movement in this game. Id like to say a big thank you to Konami for realising the physics of a real footballs motions through a 90min game. Every touch of the ball by the dexterous feet of the player can be seen through the resulting spin on the ball. Shoot the ball towards the net for a better demonstration of this. Depending on the direction youve applied on the after-touch, the ball will realistically turn that way. It doesnt stop there. You can produce accurate lobs and long-range passes in and around the mid-field with enough practice. This especially comes in handy with chipped through balls that arrive over the shoulder of strikers, bouncing into their stride as they skip majestically toward goal (although with Owen its more with terrifying pace than majestic skipping).
You can more often than not make out your favourite international stars in the team line up just from their well modelled faces. Similarly, attributes of each player have been responsibly allocated and tend to reflect how that player would play. On the field you can normally tell a player from their characteristics paralleling the strengths and weakness of their real-life personas. Details like this help keep the gameplay balanced and grounded in the realms of reality (which some sports games tend to stray from).
A number of competitions are available for you to test your skills with. Apart from the obligatory Exhibition mode theres an International League, International Cup, Regional Cups (European, Asian, etc), a Konami Cup, the Master League, and last but not least, a very accomplished and entertaining Training section. The mode which is likely to eat up most of your time though is the Master League. This consists of all the club teams in the game (which just happens to be the select-few top teams from the note-able leagues in the world along with some strange additions such as Aston Villa and West Ham), battling through 3 divisions to reach the number one slot in the first division. Along the way there are regional cups and European cups to deal with along with other managerial strains such as player wages and the brutal dog-eat-dog world of the transfer market.
By now youve probably gathered that Winning Eleven 6: Final Evolution has many plus points going for it, however, its not perfect. The game contains a few niggles that will prick at your side from time to time. When you eventually score a truly amazing goal from the culmination of slick passing moves, your reward is a criminally short replay of the last two or three passes in the move, followed by the critical shot. Along with that disappointment is the fact that you cant access the replay mode from the menu during gameplay. This means, if you happen to pull off an impressive looking piece of skill that youd like to view again for -whatever reason-, youll be left empty-handed. I also noticed the game unpredictably hiccups a frame sometimes. Its rare and completely random, but definitely worth noting.
That said, there isnt much else that I could find to complain about with this import. The menus are easy to navigate, and the meaning behind most of the Japanese text (mainly in the Master League and Training sections) can be guessed without much effort as well. The game will load up in 60Hz (that goes for you Freeloaders owners too) and if you have the right television and RGB cable it results in a crisp picture, rich with colour. You also have the option to edit just about everything in the game from the team kits to the eye colour of the players. You can even edit all the names of teams and players into English. The impressive variety of boots you can create will definitely please every nit-picky fan out there. God knows how KCET have managed to dodge the Nike lawyers... (you'll know what i mean when you see Totti's boots).
Konami could have thrown out a half-arsed port (sadly familiar territory for cube owners) and used the profits on larger, juicier sandwiches for lunch, but theyve knocked out what is quite simply the best football game on the GameCube and arguably the best football game out on the market at the moment. Even the wacky Japanese commentary is great fun, just to hear the overreaction when you score a goal. You just know someones enjoying a game when they have to come up for air while screaming GOAL. Dont wait for Konami to bring this one over (cause it aint happenin), this is a must-import for footy fans. Ok, I'm closing my eyes now, and when i open them I expect you to all be frantically clicking your way through an import site...