Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 hands-on

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Publisher Konami looks to up the ante - again - with their latest soccer sim

The next gauntlet to be thrown in the international conflagration known as the Videogame Soccer Wars is Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (also termed Longest-Titled Sports Game Ever ). Fans of the series can expect more of the sublime control and strategic options that they know and love, with some new additions sure to please the most demanding Beautiful Game enthusiasts.

Many longtime Winning Eleven gamers will wonder what could be done to make a great footy game somehow better. A few things were noticeable as soon as we got our hands on an unfinished PS2 version of the game. This year's edition takes on a bit more of a worldly flavor thanks to the addition of an International Challenge (but don't call it the World Cup, thank you very much) that will allow national sides to vie for global supremacy. The vaunted Master League returns as well, which is sure to provide countless hours of obsessive joy managing your career over an extended number of years and clubs. Standard League, Cup, Online and Training modes round out the selections. Training is always highly recommended for Winning Eleven newbies, although frankly you’ve got some 'splainin' to do if you’re a soccer gamer with no experience getting down with this sparkling franchise.

From a pure gameplay standpoint, it appears that the player animations and actions are as silky-smooth as ever while the in-game audio commentary is integrated perfectly into the game.