Konami disappointed me on this one, I hate to admit it but they really did...
User Rating: 7.2 | World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International PC
Winning eleven 8 is the follow up to the beloved winning eleven series and is a sequel to winning eleven 7 International. Speaking of WE 7, I spent more than six or seven months with that game, playing every day until my eyes hurt. That’s how much I LOVE WE 7. But let’s move on to Konami’s latest soccer game, Winning Eleven 8! Gameplay:__ I couldn’t be more disappointed with how WE 8 plays. It’s absolutely a let down from last year’s superb game, WE 7. Yes, the passing system has been improved which gives the game a realistic look to it but other than that, the game seems like a rush job. Konami changed the formula that made WE 7 so great and replaced it with some official kits and a few eye candies here and there. Defending in WE 8 is a joke! Every time you tackle to get the ball from the opposition team, the ball bounces off your defender’s feet and goes somewhere else. This almost happens all the time which is really annoying. The other thing that really annoyed me throughout the game was the crossing system. It’s super unrealistic! First of all every single player can cross the ball into the box with their both feet and the ball always gets a weird curve to it. The goalkeepers have been improved since the WE 7, but now they can make some stupid moves that will make you want to break your controller. For instance, I was playing against my brother the other day and I shot a slow ball from 35 meters away with “schools” left foot aiming at his goal, and all his keeper did was watch the ball pass by his feet into the net. IT WAS THE MOST UNREALISTIC SCENE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN A KONAKI SPORTS GAME SINCE WE 4! Graphics:__ The graphics haven’t changed much from last year’s game. There are a few nice additions where as player’s clothing gets dirty when they perform a slide tackle or when they have been fouled and fell onto the ground. And the ball looks whole lot better now. I can say the soccer ball is the most realistic thing in the game. The players look life-like and the stadiums are well done. If there is something ugly about the graphics, it would be the crowds. When looking at them from far enough, they look OK, but when you get closer, all you see is animated black pieces of crap! Sound:__ The sound in WE 8 is pretty good and that’s about it. The only thing Konami improved in this section, is the commentary. It’s much better and less repetitive now. The crowds sound pretty good and the background music is again OK. Nothing special here... Value:__There are still a dozen modes you can play like the league mode, cup mode, and the popular Master league mode. These modes are really nice and could be really enjoyable, but the gameplay ruins the experience. And there is also a decent training mode where you can almost learn everything about soccer and WE 8. The bottom line: Winning Eleven 8 is a good game that will more likely appeal to the new comers with its in-depth training mode than to the hardcore fans who were looking for a BETTER game than WE 7.
