Import: Winning Eleven 9: Ubiquitous Evolution

Review - Highly evolved.

If FIFA is the over-hyped, over-paid Chelsea of the football-gaming world, then surely (and it pains me to say it) Winning Eleven is Liverpool: more cultured, under-estimated, and the undisputed Champion of Europe. This despite a lower 'league' (err, chart) position. Okay, so the analogy wore thin long before my determination to drag out this introduction, but I'm hoping you'll catch my drift. Winning Eleven, or Pro Evolution, as it is known on European shores, is by far and away the most complexly-cultured soccer game available at the moment. Not only does it offer the most richly detailed simulation of the beautiful game available, it also captures the gruelling, hard-fought nature of the professional game perfectly. Goals don't flow like Bacchian wine a la FIFA, they require patience, skill and that certain je ne sais quois, so vital in the real sport, and so frequently misrepresented in videogame form.

Winning Eleven 9, or Pro Evo Soccer 5 as it will be known in Europe when translated releases are completed later this year, is the latest in Konami's ever-evolving series of games, and the first bound for the burgeoning PSP handheld. Of course, the name sounds quite frankly pants. Ubiquitous? Revolution? Thank god for localisation. However, despite having to put up the with the duff title, our Japanese brothers are already enjoying this new game, whilst Pro Evo fans have to lock their doors and wait for the nights to draw in before getting their slice of the action. That is unless they import Konami's latest of course, a far easier task than on the PS2 thanks to the region-free nature of the PSP handheld.

Winning Eleven 9 takes the majority of its inspiration from the console equivalent released on the PS2 earlier this year in Japan. Though a few tweaks and modifications have been necessitated and approved to mark the series handheld debut. Before we go any further then, let me confirm that yes, Winning Eleven 9: Ubiquitous (ouch) Evolution (ooh) is just about the best handheld football game available, authentically bringing the rich and challenging gameplay of the console criterion to a mobile platform. That is not to say, however, that this is the definitive article, or without its flaws - no matter how much the authentic Zidane free-kicks, Beckham passes or Andy Johnson penalties can paper-over the hairline cracks.

Like the PS2 version, match, league, training and multiplayer modes of play are included. Sadly, the Master League option has devastatingly and somewhat inexplicably been omitted - perhaps owing to constraints upon development time and the nature of the format, we can but surmise. That said, the ad-hoc wireless mode is something of a compensator, and plays like a dream if you can find a willing challenger. The commentary has also been omitted from the game, something a number of fans have already been complaining about but quite frankly I can live without its irritating drone anyway. What isn't quite so easily over-looked are the loading times, which for a handheld can be maddeningly excessive at times. I understand the nature of the UMD format, and also the incredibly complex nature of the game, but some of the waits became a real burden, especially when handheld games are most readily associated with instant playability. Hopefully, this and the occasional in-game slow-down can be ironed out during the transition to PAL regions as Pro Evo 5.

Thankfully, said slow-down is reasonably infrequent and certainly doesn't reach the infuriating levels of the load-times, only presenting itself during the odd corner or in penalty area scrambles. Just imagine your watching an England friendly and the performance will seem entirely normal. A couple of simplifications have been made to the previous PS2 control setup, making the game both simpler to master (if still ludicrously hard at times) and the action more fluid. Axed from the line-up is the Super Cancel combo, and side- stepping can now be achieved with merely the D-pad, also making things a tad simpler. These changes might initially confuse seasoned players, but apparently the PS2 game has the same modifications in store eventually, as designer Shingo Takatsuka looks to 'smoothen' the feel of Winning Eleven's moves.

Other changes from the series last outing include the close-season transfers, which now sees Robinho at Real, Davids at Spurs, et al. Having not experienced FIFA on the PSP (ah the joys and pitfalls of working in Japan in an instant), I cannot compare the bitter rivals directly, but I suspect it comes down as ever to a gameplay preference. FIFA is generally fast, friendly and action-packed. Whilst Winning Eleven is intricate, engaging and very challenging. The polish all EA games enjoy can't quite be matched in Winning Eleven 9, however the visuals still cause a wee flutter of excitement, if in part because I'm still struggling to accustom myself to being able to read 3D player shirts on a handheld. Speaking of reading, you may wish to think twice before importing this game, because all the writing bar the top-level menus and the writing on player's shirts is presented in Japanese only. Of course, this could be viewed as an opportunity to learn Katakana, depending on how dedicated you are to games developed by our friends out east.

Another slight change is a small shift in the camera angle, which narrows the view somewhat, but I found this to be in the main an aesthetic change only - though I have heard complaints about this slight alteration inhibiting through-balls and the like. As with the console outing, Spanish and Italian leagues are represented in their glorious entirety, whilst the English premiership is still something of a shadow of its true self. All in all, however, Winning Eleven has never been about extensive licences and options, but rather an intricate football simulation. This it achieves to nigh-on perfection, minus the glitches already mentioned.

Konami designer Shingo Takatsuka has already promised that future iterations of the series will be heading to the PSP handheld, and he can be justifiably proud of his series first kick-about on a handheld platform. We'll keep you posted on this, and the European Pro Evo 5 outing as the winter months loom.

A scintillating performance, marred only by the odd foul.

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