Overview

It appears that Konami’s Automated Asinine-Name Generator TM has been working overtime to come up with “Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Edition”. However, after playing the game to death it also seems that the A.A.N.G.TM also has an irony setting as this edition of Winning Eleven is anything but ubiquitous.

Graphics 85/100

If there’s one thing to say about WE:UE’s visuals it’s that they’re bloody crisp! The lines are so damn sharp (with few jaggies) that it really is a solid demonstration of the PSPs power. However, while the majority of WE:UE’s visuals are great, there are a few shortcomings.

Starting off with the good, the game’s animations are top notch and seem to be almost identical to those of WE9! Pretty much everything from the slight dips of the shoulder when turning to the stumbles of players when they collide is brilliantly transferred to the small screen. There are a few omissions (in particular some of the body feints and one touch moves) but on the whole these are the best animations I’ve seen in a PSP sports game.

Likewise, the player models are very impressive particularly from the playable camera angle (notice there’s no ‘s’ there….more later) with many players recognizable from afar. However, when the camera moves in a tad closer you can see that the models are made up of slightly less polys and also the textures for the kit sponsors and names aren’t as crisp as the rest of the visuals. That said, the models are still far more impressive than those in Fifa Soccer for the PSP.

The main menus are almost identical to WE9 while the tactical menus, as I mentioned in my hands-on impressions, have been changed to better fit the PSP’s smaller screen but are still very crisp and functional. Finally, the game’s frame-rate is almost perfect with only a touch of slow-down on some of the instant replays but none on the playable angle.

The stadiums are modeled well (and include the same 3D crowds on close-up as WE9), however there are only TWO stadia available! Yeah, two.

Okay, that’s the good, now the bad; WE:UE has the same number of playable camera angles as the Premiership has legitimate title contenders – yeah, that’s right – ONE! If we’re getting technical there are a grand total of THREE camera angles available; a super close-up/action cam view, a medium close-up view, and the third (and only playable angle) that’s in between the close up and the medium views in WE9.

That’s it. Three. One useable.

Oh, and did I mention that you can’t rotate the field? Fortunately, the one playable angle is still serviceable (and you still have the radar) but as someone who’s been playing Winning Eleven with a zoomed out view (and the camera rotated) being forced into this one angle for the PSP game is a pain in the ass. What’s more galling is that it’s not as if the engine can’t handle other views (or that KCET can’t get around this – remember the disappearing fans in WE9?!?) – you can see this as some of the instant replay views are further out AND rotated AND feature no slowdown. What the hell?

Another shortcoming in the WE:UE’s visual presentation comes from the virtual absence, with the exception of instant replays, of any TV-style presentation whatsoever! There’s NO intro-sequence to a match (absolutely nothing), no end of match sequence, and no half or full-time replays!

These drawbacks really are a shame as on a quick glance WE:UE is a beautiful game that really mimics its PS2 brethren well. However, there’s slightly more to a sports game’s visuals than animations and frame-rate (though these are the foundation) and it’s here where WE:UE comes up short.

Sound 10/100

Why 10 out of a hundred? Well I figure that’s 5/100 for the generic techno-dance beats for the menus and 5/100 for the crappy generic crowd sounds. The game features ZERO commentary which is absolutely pathetic. Fifa PSP featured amazing commentary from Motson and McCoist, Winning Eleven PSP features amazing commentary from me (though only when I’m not in a public place because the last time that happened I got odd looks from the people around me and was asked to leave but that’s a story for another time……..).

Options 50/100

The main modes of play in WE:UE are Friendly, League and Training. There’s also an option for wireless/wi-fi play but I don’t have any mates with the game so I haven’t been able to try this option out. The league mode is basically a single season in either Serie A, La Liga, the EPL, Ligue 1, Budesliga and the Eredivisie. There is also an option to make a custom league in which you can use any combination of the club teams or incorporate the featured international squads. The number of teams featured is the same as in WE9 and similarly La Liga, Serie A, Eridivise as well as select few other teams feature full licenses.

So…..where’s are the cup competitions? Where’s the excellent Nippon Challenge/WC Qualifying? More importantly, where the hell is the Master League? Except for SHEER LAZINESS, what else could have possibly been the determining factor in KCET not including the Master League in this game? It’s not as if the 4 Division Master League is complicated! Fifa 2005’s career mode wipes the floor with Winning Eleven’s simplistic Master League. Sure, Fifa PSP doesn’t feature a career mode (only single seasons) but unlike WE PSP it does feature a ton more leagues, cup competitions and a great Scenario mode AND all this in a game that was released far earlier in the PSP’s lifespan!

Rubbing salt in the wound is the fact that the training mode doesn’t feature the mini-games and tutorials AND the rosters aren’t up to date (what a surprise!).

The final slap in the face of Winning Eleven fans comes from the game’s paltry (now there’s an understatement) TWO stadiums! Two. Uno. Dos. Like I said in my preview, Fifa PSP has THIRTY! I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again;

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?

That’s a bloody joke and it robs the league modes of quite a bit of variety as you’re only ever playing in one of two grounds (Stadium A & Stadium B)! In this day and age I find it astounding that a videogame company can release a sports game with only two stadiums. What a joke.

The one redeeming aspect of WE:UE’s options is the ability to transfer the option file from WE9 to the game using a USB cable. This allows you to make the transfers up to date (if you WE9 rosters are up to date, of course) and also transfers the English language names (if you have them in WE9). It also provides an easier way of editing rosters as you can do them on the PS2 and transfer the changes over.

Gameplay 80/100

I had actually finished this review a week ago and had ended up giving WE:UE a much lower score in this department. The main reason I had docked the game points in the gameplay department had to do with the fact that it’s almost impossible to play the game using the PSPs D-pad as diagonal movements are so hard to perform. Being forced to use the PSP’s imprecise analog nub had a lot of negative ramifications upon the gameplay.

Fortunately, after many, many hours of practice (in WE:UE as well as Street Fighter II on a SNES emu!) I’ve managed to get used to the frustrating diagonals on the PSP and as a result I’ve managed to gleam a lot more entertainment out of this solid title that shares a game engine ALMOST IDENTICAL to that of Winning Eleven 9 on the PS2. That said, you’re probably wondering why this game receives a score 10 points lower than it’s PS2 brethren. The answer arises from three areas; the simplified control scheme compared to the PS2, lack of a super-cancel, and the limited first-touch controls.

As I mentioned in my hands on impressions, the control scheme has been modified to accommodate the different button layout of the PSP compared to the Dual Shock. There are three selectable control schemes;

Type 1: Both the D-pad and analog nub can be used to control movement

Type 2. The D-pad controls movement and the analog nub performs analog passes (pressing L + the analog nub does a high pass)

Type 3: The D-pad controls movement and the analog is used to perform advanced tricks

As you can see it’s better to have the D-pad to control movement, as it allows you to use the nub to either perform tricks (Type 3) or do 360° analog passing (Type 2). However, even when you do manage to get used to the D-pad for player movement, the control still suffers from the absence of the R2 button on the PSP. As you know the R2 button in the PS2 version of Winning Eleven initiates an intermediate speed dribble as well as allows you to make quick 45 degree turns. Furthermore, when you press the R2 button in conjunction with the R1 the player in possession knocks the ball a good 10-15 yards ahead of him. This maneuver is awesome when you’re using a quick player as you can burn a slower defender just as jet-heeled players like Henry and Cisse do in real life.

Losing these dribbling maneuvers is hindrance to the game engine as it means the dribbling model is not nearly as complex as in the PS2 versions. While the lack of a R2 button sounds more like a PSP HARDWARE complaint, KCET could have included some option to incorporate the same abilities. What about double tapping (and then holding down) the R1 button to initiate an R2 style dribble? This would allow you to still do a fast/R1 dribble and push the ball forward by pushing the analog nub in the direction you’re traveling, but also allow you to do an intermediate speed dribble. Likewise they could have put in an option to press R1 and L1 TOGETHER to knock the ball ahead 10-15 yards to run onto.

Furthermore, the R2 absence aside, even when you get used to the PSP’s shitty D-pad the dribbling is still not quite as responsive as the PS2 version and this is yet another factor that makes the overall attacking play not quite as fun as in Winning Eleven 9.

Another problem that affects the gameplay on the defensive, as well as the offensive side of the game, is the lack of a super-cancel maneuver. This omission was a real eye-opener for me because it highlighted some aspects of the AI that I had largely been sheltered from in the PS2 versions. Like a lot of Winning Eleven die-hards I use the super-cancel on an almost continual basis, be to veer off a CPU controlled run to cut out a pass or to manual move a player to the ball on a corner. Suddenly, without super cancel I find that the player movements are more restricted and aren’t as uber smart as I perhaps give them credit for. Don’t get me wrong, the AI is still top notch and players still move appropriately into space, it’s just that little things like blind runs to cut off a ball bother me as I can’t correct them on the fly like I’ve done before.

Finally, even though WE:UE features the same phenomenal ball physics as Winning Eleven 9, the limited one-touch moves (compared to WE9) hurt the flow of the attacking play. In particular, the loss of the ability to not touch an oncoming pass and yet still retain control over it is a big loss. I’m not talking about holding down R1 and not pressing any movements for the ball to go THROUGH a players legs, I’m talking about the turning WITHOUT touching the ball that was first implemented in WE8:LE. The absence of this move slightly hampers the flow of the passing game – now you have to control the ball to move with it, whereas in the past two PS2 games (WE8:LE & WE9) you could open your body to the ball, let it run on, and still have it close to your feet for a quick pass or move.

Despite these problems, however, I think it’s important for me to point out Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Edition still plays a bloody good game of football! As I’ve mentioned numerous times, the rest of the game engine is still identical to that of WE9 and all the tactical nuances present in the PS2 version are still present here. The problem is that the attacking play just isn’t as fluid, intricate and exciting as in Winning Eleven 9. Your mileage may vary but I just don’t find the PSP version of Winning Eleven as fun as the PS2 one. By comparison, if you play Fifa PSP you’re playing a game almost identical to its PS2 brethren and just as fun.

Replay Value 60

I guess this all depends upon whether or not you’ve got a PS2 around. If you don’t have a PS2 or you’re on the road a most of the time I’d say Ubiquitous Edition provides a hell of a lot of replay value as the game is still packed to the brim with depth in terms of its GAMPLAY. However, if the PSP comprises only a part of your gaming time and you’re frequently playing Winning Eleven on the PS2 I can’t help but think you’d find yourself choosing to play something ELSE on your PSP rather than a noticeably inferior Winning Eleven game. And lets not forget the pathetic feature set in this game with no cup competitions, no Master League, no training mini-games, and no Nippon Challenge!

Overall 78/100

At 78/100 I’ve given Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Edition a score identical to that of Fifa Soccer PSP as I think both games are equal in terms of their entertainment value. While WE:UE’s gameplay isn’t as good as WE9 it definitely would have received a much higher score if Konami had of actually put an effort into the options and the presentation. I cannot imagine another company, in this day and age, releasing a team sports game that features only TWO stadiums to play in. Combine that with the lack of a Master League, the piss poor TV-style presentation, lack of play by play commentary and it all amounts to a slap in the face to Winning Eleven fans. This game was totally rushed out the door and I have very little confidence that these absences will be addressed for the European and North American releases.

Don’t bother to import this and be sure to try BEFORE you buy when it comes out in Europe and North America. As for me, I suspect Fifa 2006 PSP will be garnering most of my handheld soccer gaming time this year.

Lavan Chandran

10/1/2005

[Screenshots from IGN...duh]