Graphics: 8
Sound: 7.5
Gameplay: 10
Creativity: 9
Replay Value/Game Length: 10
Final: 9.1/10
Written by Kyle Review Guide
Pro
Improved gameplay; pressure-sensitive passing and shooting; actual MLS rosters; deep career mode. .............contro No online play; frustrating lack of camera angles; no tutorial or practice mode.
Things may be looking up for Sony's 989 Sports division. After several years of sub-par releases, the developer seems to be on something of a roll. First, there were solid NBA and MLB games, and now it storms the black boxes of gamers with World Tour Soccer 2005. Its soccer franchise has always been the strongest of its line and this year's kickfest shows why.
Unlike the other major sports there is no official soccer season as far as video games are concerned. EA Sports releases its annual FIFA title in the fall, and Konami's sophomore soccer release in this country, Winning Eleven 7, shipped in February. This is good news and bad news for the folks behind World Tour Soccer. On the plus side, it gets to see what the other developers had up their sleeves. On the negative side -- especially this year -- it knows the daunting gameplay depth and stunning visuals that it'll have to compete with.
And competition there is. While WTS2005 may be able to run on the same pitch with the latest FIFA, it's a league or two behind Konami's spectacular game. Winning Eleven 7 -- sadly for EA and 989 -- may just be the finest sports game ever released.
The battle at midfield.
That said -- WTS2005 improves over last year's WTS2003 (will somebody please buy a calendar) in almost every way. 2003 played a bit too "arcadey." The ball was far too easy to control. Combine this unnatural ball-handling ability with the equally unnatural ability to poke shots in from the most unlikely angles and you had a game that raised the eyebrows of more serious soccer fans. In 2005, you'll have to earn your way up the pitch.
While some gameplay elements will help you do this, some old ones might still frustrate. In a very cool touch, you can change strategies and formations on the fly using the right analog stick. This gives you a world of options against your on-screen foes. Unfortunately, keeping track of these on-screen foes -- as well as your own teammates -- is made more difficult than it should be by the lack of a variety of camera angles.
Like last year, you're limited to either a sideline view or a top-down view. Maybe it's because I was raised on the Maddens and NBA Lives of the world that I like to be able to see things from an end zone angle. It works in football, basketball, and hockey. To not be able to get a good read of what's in front of you makes setting up plays unnecessarily difficult. Helping you out slightly are on-screen arrows that tell you where you're off-screen teammates are. For those teammates that you can see, pressure-sensitive passing adds some realism and challenge to the action.
Shooting is also pressure sensitive. Again, it adds a deeper element of realism to things, but you'll be booting a whole mess of balls into the stands before you get a true feel for how much juice to use. This is where a training mode would have been helpful. Heck, I'm still addicted to the mini-camp-style training/tutorial mode in LAST year's Winning Eleven. A similar mode here would have been more than helpful.
All the modes from last year are back. You can play a single exhibition, any number of cup challenges (happily, this year, you can take the field as your favorite MLS team manned with the actual players), or kick away in the career mode. If you've got the time, the career mode is the way to go. You start with a lowly high school level team and try to bring them to superstar level. If you're used to jumping right into the shoes of an NFL coach or NBA executive in your favorite game's career mode, this is a hefty challenge -- like taking over a New Jersey prep school team with hopes of one day knocking off the Lakers. Adding to this surrealistic premise is that you get decide how you'll look. Unlike just about every other sports game where your created alter ego can be a jacked 22-year-old monster, here you get to decide on which crusty 50ish-looking team manager you want to play as. You can spend hours just tinkering with all the hairstyle, beard, and wardrobe options. Very odd.
Sorry -- no Gooooo-aaaaal here.
While 2005 won't let you go head-to-head online (Sony's European version, This is Football, does have online play), the game still gives you a reason to fire up your modem. The challenge mode is one of the more unique ways to play a sports game -- or any game. Your goal isn't just to win -- it's to win by using the most fundamentally sound and strategically smart soccer. At the end of the game you're given a password that you can enter online to see how you rate against other players. Playing a full match, with the settings ratcheted up to a 20 minutes per half, and knowing that every little blunder will count against you makes for some intense gaming.
With a strong showing, 989 Sports' World Tour Soccer 2005 shows that the developer may have the makings of a dynasty on its hands. The franchise has gotten better with each year and no version yet has felt like it was just coasting on the previous release's strengths. It may not have all the gameplay depth of Konami's Winning Eleven 7, but it definitely compares well with EA's latest FIFA. All in all, it's good news for the Dual Shock holding soccer fan. This year is a no-lose situation.
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