World Soccer Winning Eleven 8

Still the reigning champion of futbol, but not by much.

A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. Ajax and Rotterdam. Much like the real world of soccer, the rivalry between Konami's Winning Eleven and EA's FIFA garner strong loyalties from their respective fans. Although Winning Eleven has always enjoyed the upper hand with its ball handling, FIFA's extensive work on passing has evened the playing field--potentially bringing this season's match up to a draw.

Second-Rate Trappings
New for the series are "flick" passes that can be done with the right analog stick. While sounding useful, the actual execution is clumsy due to the imprecise analog directional controls. Players still have occasional problems of kicking the ball to team members' feet instead of anticipating ahead, slowing down the pace of offensive runs. They also tend to bunch together even when not near the goal. Although the mechanics are solid, for the first time FIFA has shown itself to be superior in core gameplay.

Crossing Injury Time
However, the match up tilts slightly in favor of Winning Eleven when looking at the whole package. It still has more life-like animations and movements for players, and dynamic sounds from crowd stands that breathe to life the maniacal fervor of the sport. Team stats overall are better balanced (not blatantly favoring South American and European teams), selection of International teams more diverse, and the Master League mode is easier to delve into. It's still a winner--but this time by a very narrow margin.

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