The Video Game Review: Winning Eleven 8
Konami’s Winning Eleven 8 reaches a new height in creating an ultra-realistic sports experience on a video game console. There’s no sports game that sells more copies around the world, or that has garnered as much critical acclaim as the Winning Eleven series. But the question remains: Will America finally embrace a soccer game?
In the newest edition of Konami’s acclaimed soccer franchise, gamers are supplied with an array of new moves, tricks and more in-depth gameplay than any soccer game before it. This includes a deep and advanced dribbling system, a user-friendly free kick feature, and the most incredible artificial intelligence of any sports game on the market. The players in Winning Eleven 8 act so much like real soccer players, that they automatically sit back and play more defense when ahead and send more attacking players forward when behind.
Adding even more realism to the game, Winning Eleven 8 features 136 club teams, 57 national teams and control of up to 4,500 of the world’s finest footballers. These players are brilliantly brought to life through photo realistic graphics and authentically modeled features that mimic the individuals’ style of play, movement and mannerisms.
Winning Eleven 8 should be on its way to achieving “Madden-like” status in the United States (like it has in Europe and Asia). According to www.usyouthsoccer.org, soccer is the number one played youth sport in America. As we speak, hoards of new soccer fans and future soccer moms are spawning everyday. It is the ideal time for Winning Eleven to claim its stake as the “World’s Greatest Game’s,” greatest game.
Best Feature: Far and away the best AI in a soccer game (ever)
Worst Feature: No online play! I wanna’ whup a snotty little Euro Kid and then make fun of him for losing to an American.
Weirdest Feature: The music isn’t bad, if Eurasian Club is your scene…
