World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International

by Konami

Product Features

• The world's biggest soccer stars are brought to life, through photorealistic graphics and features & individual playing styles
• Wild new moves and tricks - New free kick and penalty kick techniques, an innovative indirect free kick move and a new dribbling system that offers more control
• Choose to play 136 club teams and 57 national teams - over 4,500 of the world's greatest players in all
• Advanced referee AI reacts like a real ref - He runs up & down the field, reacting to fouls, giving advantage for minor infringements and even stepping in to break up a fight
• Enhanced Training Mode helps beginners learn soccer basics and master the depth of this game

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00076OMRE
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches ; 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: February 1, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,250 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #20 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Sports > Soccer
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com

This series has collected accolades as the best soccer game out there, and I don't dispute that. As an almost haughty acknowledgement of the near-perfect action on the field, there isn't much that's different for this year's installment. Instead, Konami has turned its attention to solidifying some of the sim aspects of its franchise. It's not a quantum leap, but it's the kind of adjustments that will only endear the faithful to this already beloved series even more.

Gameplay wise, it's very hard to see much that's different from last year. That sounds like laziness on Konami's part, but it already runs as smooth as the bald head of "Kojak" Collina. Positioning is very important in this iteration, as players jostle and interact better when it comes to dribbling and steals. I also like how teams play with different strategies, making you adjust your offense and defense accordingly.

Although Winning Eleven's coup of getting to feature the Italian, Spanish, and Dutch leagues is cool in the face of EA's ownership of the FIFA license, the real allure of this new game is the revamping done to the Master League. Players will now age and retire. Their myriad attribute stats will decline as they get older. Moreover, everyone's skills will fluctuate from match to match, and each player is built based upon one of three attribute curves. Some will find their talents blossom early, while others might be able to be at their peak for most of their career. This close attention paid to the players means you have to be more aware of substitutions, spreading the ball around so everyone gets a touch (thereby keeping their skills up), and taking care of transfers and the Negotiations phase of the Master League. There is also a mid-week training option. However it's pretty boring, though I'd enjoy it if it were more like Madden's training camp.

I doubt that the new additions to this Winning Eleven are going to convince anyone who hasn't already taken the plunge to buy this game (nor is the conspicuous lack of online), but its small steps forward are more than baby steps to the many fans it has around the world.

Concept:
The franchise bolsters itself behind the scenes to its continued betterment

Graphics:
It looks crisp as always, and all your favorite players are recognizable

Sound:
If the commentary has changed any, I certainly haven't noticed

Playability:
As always, the franchise gives you the freedom to attack the goal in many ways

Entertainment:
Master League improvements make the game stronger, but on the field it's basically the same

Replay:
oderately High

Rated: 8.75 out of 10
Editor: Matthew Kato
Issue: March 2005

2nd Opinion:
One word comes to mind with the new Winning Eleven – definitive. This is the quintessential adaptation of the world's biggest game. Boasting an exhaustive set of controls that gives you unprecedented control over the actions of your players, it's hard to fault anything but the learning curve in the gameplay department. There could still be a few improvements in the graphics, selection of announcer sound bites, and variety of music, even if those elements on the whole are quite excellent. If you like to watch soccer, by all means go play the gorgeous fields of FIFA's popular franchise. But to play a real game of football, the better choice by far is Winning Eleven.

Rated: 8.75 out of 10
Editor: Matt Miller


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Product Description

World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International brings the spirit of international soccer to your game system. Play the world's best players and teams and combine their individual strengths to create a Winning Eleven. New free kick and penalty techniques can now be used, while an innovative indirect free kick has been implemented to add further variety to set pieces. The new realism of the game captures the dynamic ebb and flow of real-life soccer action. Save your greatest teams with the My Best Eleven option

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Winning Eleven 8, March 22, 2005

By 

Craig D. Poeppelman (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (Video Game)

I like most people I know struggled through the flaws in past FIFA series. I read reviews and kept hearing the name Winning Eleven and so I decided to go for it and bought Winning Eleven 7. The game was great but Winning Eleven 8 is even better.
-Improved gameplay
-Deeper Master League
-More Licensed Club Teams and Real Player Names

I own FIFA 2005 and Winning Eleven 8 is much better (except for the online gameplay).
The question is, should I buy Winning Eleven 8 or FIFA 2005?
The games are very different and one game might suit one person more than another but here are reasons to buy one or the other...

FIFA 2005
-Online Play: This feature is great. Playing the computer can become rather boring after a while but being able to play anyone anywhere in the world at you ability is amazing. I played online for a while but became sick of other players using certain tricks or flaws in the game to win like scoring off every kickoff.
-Career Mode: This mode is very deep with every officially licensed league. The benefits is you can switch leagues and teams throughout your career (unlike WE8) but the computer is so predictable and easy to play against that I didn't have the patience to complete the first season.
-Graphics: The graphics are amazing with players, jerseys, and stadiums appearing like it was television.

Winning Eleven 8
-Gameplay: The gameplay is amazing, it has improved from WE7 and the computer AI is much more difficult. A new 6 star difficulty is available to unlock and I don't see this game becoming too easy for anybody. The crowd's participation makes you sweat pushing for an equaliser or holding a one goal lead. Playing with two people is much better than FIFA 2005 with quicker game play and no cheap goals. You'll play for hours with a friend who is at the same skill as you.
-Graphics: Personally I think the graphics are almost as good as FIFA. The difference doesn't bother me except for the uniforms which are kind of plain on the unlicensed teams. The jerseys for unlicensed teams are the same colors but don't have logos or sponsors on them.
-Master League: It is even more advanced and has more features than WE7. Although their isn't license leagues and cups, it does replicate real soccer. Yes, Manchester United is in the game as for the top 100 or so European clubs including licensed Italian, Spanish, and Dutch leagues. Each league has a cup and there is a WEFA Championship (Champion's League) and WEFA Master's Cup (UEFA Cup). With all new Master League edit mode, you can change which teams are in what leagues and create a "Power League" which is very entertaining. All in all this feature is worth buying the game itself.



If you love European Football and know a little bit about the teams and their players, than Winning Eleven 8 is for you. If you like arcade style soccer, buy FIFA 2005. True soccer fans will love this game and the more people that buy it, the more licensed leagues will ensue in future versions of Winning Eleven, so buy it today!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best soccer video games ever made !, March 8, 2005

By 

SoCalReviews (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (Video Game)

I own both the FIFA Soccer 2005 and the new Winning Eleven 8 video games. I actually purchased W.E.8 after I had bought FIFA 2005 because I really liked FIFA 2005 but most of the reviews that I had read online praised the Winning Eleven 8 game as the better of the two games. I was very curious to see for myself what the differences were between the two.

Both FIFA Soccer 2005 and Winning Eleven 8 have great graphics and I see strong points to both games but in this review I will mostly focus on what I like about W.E.8 . First, the game control is very similar in both games but it seems like W.E.8 has a higher level of precision built into the controls. There is more depth and variety to the character animations and movements. There are so many subtle character movements that it looks almost like a television broadcast. This PS2 version of W.E.8 is visually one of the best sports games you will ever see on the PS2. Graphically speaking this game is to soccer video games what NFL2K5 is to the the American football video games. The computer A.I. is really amazing in W.E.8 . Overall this is one of the best sports games I have played and even if you are not a soccer fan or even if you are unfamiliar with the game of soccer I recommend this game. However, if online game play is your main goal (no pun intended) then FIFA 2005 is your only choice for now but plan on buying W.E.8 later on since it really is a must have game for all soccer and sports game fans. If you do not plan on playing soccer online then by all means pick up W.E. 8 first since it is probably the only soccer video game that you will need this year.

PROS: One of the best sports games I have ever played. It has super realistic graphics and player animations. The incredible depth of the game play makes it a highly addictive gaming experience. It has great player A.I.. The controls are easy to learn but take a long time and a great deal of skill to master. You have your choice of Spanish or English game commentary.

CONS: It has a limited number of officially licensed players, teams, uniforms, etc. compared to the EA Sports FIFA Soccer series of games. There is no online internet game play.

There are so many things that make this game great that it is impossible to write them all down in one review. I really suggest that you go out and rent or buy this game so that you can play it ASAP and then you will see why I believe this is hands down (again, no pun intended) one of the best soccer video games ever made!

The bottom line...Five Stars !

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest football game ever, November 16, 2005

By 

Trevor Cotton (Penzance, Cornwall, England) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (Video Game)

Yes you heard me, the greatest 'football' game, to give it it's proper name. Many Americans, fail to point out, or maybe just don't know that football was invented a long time before American football. Therefore it doesn't deserve to be called 'soccer' by anyone, maybe I can think of a new name for American Football and make everyone call it that instead. I know you have your own sports but if you look outside you will see that football is by far the most popular sport in the world.

Anyway enough ranting, this game is great, in Europe it is actually titled Pro Evolution 'Soccer', but is exactly the same game. We now have Pro Evo 5, which is once again even better than the previous games. Let me explain why it is much better than the awful FIFA, it plays realistically, no you can't run the length of the pitch with your keeper and score. You have to pass and move, the opposition is intelligent, particularly on 6 star difficulty. The Master League mode is almost life consuming, it is really that great.

The only drawback of this game is that Konami continually fail to get proper licensing rights. Yes, they have the Dutch, Italian and Spanish leagues, but it is not enough, they need full licensing of the English Premier League and more. It is a shame they cant do this, because i'm sure no one would buy the joke that is FIFA, if they got the level of licensing that had. Please dont buy sports games from EA, they just rehash the same c**p every year with a new number on the end, buy real quality games like this. The best football sim on the market.