heres what Playstation.com thought of Winning eleven 7.
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http://uk.playstation.com/news/news...LWSMFQ?storyId=104217_en_GB_NEWS&linktype=MPC
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We've only gone and played the latest instalment of The Greatest Football Game Ever. Can life possibly get any more exciting?
Man, it's hot. What with the exotic weather we're enjoying at the moment and the fact that the football season is just a few days away from kick off, we're already pushing boiling point. Now we've gone well and truly over-the-edge thanks to the arrival of Winning Eleven 7 - officially released in Japan today, but already nestled safely in the office PS2 like the rarest, most beautiful bird of play you'll ever see. If this web site was scratch 'n' sniff you'd be able to smell the excitement oozing out of our trembling fingers.
For anyone who doesn't know (where you been?) Winning Eleven is the Japanese title for our own Pro Evolution Soccer, and this seventh iteration will form the basis for PES3. But enough background chatter, how the hell does the thing play? Well, let's just say better than anything else there has ever been since man first crawled out of the primordial gloop and decided to invent football. Shingo 'Seabass' Takatsuka and his genius team at Konami Tokyo have well and truly delivered the goods.
Winning Eleven 7 has the following. Faster, more responsive passing. A new skill move on the right analogue stick - move the stick through 360 degrees to pull off a drag-back spin (the first time we used this to squeeze Zidane between two defenders was an almost sexual experience). Referee's implementing the advantage rule. Even better player animation, resulting in tighter control, sharper turning circles and none of the running-the-ball-over-the-touchline-for-no-apparent-reason malarkey. A whole raft of fancy flicks that can be performed depending on the situation and the player in possession - for example, when an opposing defender attempted to clear the ball with a diving header, we just ran Van Nistelrooy in, nonchalantly backheel-flicked the ball over the centre back and volleyed it, on the drop, straight into the roof of the net. Sweet. As. A. Nut.
Winning Eleven 7 is so far beyond PES2 (9/10, OPS2#27) it almost defies belief. And that's after just a few hours play - we've barely scratched the surface of its ample charms. Still, we've got 365 days to rectify that before the next instalment arrives (kisses shirt, drops to the ground, praises the god of football, sprints back to the PS2 for another match).
*Winning Eleven 7 is out in Japan on 7 August. The UK version, Pro Evolution Soccer 3 hits the shelves in October. Get the lowdown on it in OPS2#37, on sale 08/08/03.