Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 Review
More football for DS owners, but can it beat out the competition that's had a two year headstart?
Let me at least get this out in the open right away: the Nintendo DS isn't really the best platform to get the ultimate sports experience. Of the systems currently on the market the DS comes in an easy last place in terms of system power and media sizes, so to expect the same amount of presentation in the same sports titles that's pushed on current generation console systems is a little out there. Companies do make at least a valiant attempt even with the shorter development cycles, weaker hardware and smaller cartridge sizes, and at least when it comes to FIFA, EA's managed to keep the DS version at a level that, while still not nearly as intense an experience as one you'd get on PS2 or Xbox, is comparable if you understand the restrictions.
So, with three versions of FIFA already in the handheld's library, it's time for Konami to show the DS world that it's got the handheld soccer game to own.
Winning Eleven plays adequately but a little on the rigid side. Manual control makes the game feel a little stiff switching characters using the shoulder button. Semi-automatic player switching alleviates this problem somewhat, but then you run into the problem of occasionally gaining control over the player you didn't want. The computer AI shows its weakness in predictable patterns and routines, and it's easy to break through and find the openings at least in the single player mode...even in its most difficult settings.
The limited and sprite-like robotic animations of the 3D player models definitely attribute to the overall starchy feel of the gameplay. And that little nasty bout of slowdown when players start clustering around the goal for an intense shot attempt is a little sobering and shows that the engine might've needed a little more work. It's not as if the programmers didn't shave a few corners here and there in favor of getting the game moving at a decent clip; dig the low-resolution textures and the flat-top haircuts on all the players.
The limitations don't kill the game, though, and Winning Eleven on the Nintendo DS isn't a bust. It is, after all, the first real-world sports game to hop online via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. The support is nicely implemented when it works, though half the time we connected in some of the worst lag imaginable. The other half we could definitely feel a slight drag in the action that told us we're dealing with long-distance match-ups, but it was certainly playable and a welcome addition...even if the actual soccer game isn't as top-notch as it is on other platforms. Local battles are definitely better since the lag is non-existent, and you can also hop into single cartridge matchups against a system that lacks a copy of the game. Take that, FIFA.
Where FIFA's strength is in its gameplay, Konami at least went the route of external features. If you're a "customization" nut then you'll probably have a field day with what you can do within Winning Eleven DS outside of the match. Teams and players can be renamed and saved on the cartridge, and you can earn and form a custom team. But in terms of presentation, this game fails big time. No commentary and no victory cutscenes are evident anywhere in the product. It's just a cut-and-dried game of soccer with no frills to jazz up its energy.