Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 Review (Xbox 360)

Domination. That’s all there is to say about what kind of control Konami has had over the soccer game world in the past years. Their Pro Evolution / Winning Eleven franchises never had the big-time support like EA - whether through FIFA licensing or marketing - but always seemed to excel in the area of gameplay. And gameplay is really what sports games are about, especially in a sport that is heavy on technique like soccer.

EA definitely closed the gap between the two franchises with their recent FIFA titles. FIFA 07 for both the Xbox and Xbox 360 were solid titles that came a long way from EA’s 06 offerings. The fact that Konami has been absent from the next-gen (and basically from making a fresh title) for a few seasons hasn’t helped much either, but we knew the soccer juggernaut was going to emerge onto the Xbox pitch sooner or later.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is Konami’s first Xbox 360 soccer romp, but it’s hardly a brand-spankin’-new title made exclusively to win over the hearts of the Microsoft faithful. In fact, it seems as though this title is a port-over from the PS2 version (make a note: NOT the PS3 version) with better graphics (not surprising) but less features (surprising).

Having an Xbox 360 game based off of a previous-gen game is no big surprise, but we were kind of hoping for a completely fresh title that works with the powers and capabilities of the Xbox 360. Nevertheless, this is the greatest soccer franchise in the universe, which means that even juiced-up previous-gen code could be worth its weight in gold.

So let’s get right into the gameplay of Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. For those that aren’t familiar with the series in the past, the WE/PES titles were always known for an almost organic feel on the pitch. Instead of feeling like the player that you control is the only player out there, the A.I. programming and general knowledge of the sport by Konami’s dev team gives a sensation of a finely-tuned machine working together. It’s almost hard to put into words how the series has played, but “like playing the real thing” has come out of more gamers’ mouths about WE/PES than any other sports franchise we can remember.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 has a very similar feel than its predecessors (we don’t doubt it’s the same engine albeit overhauled) but with a more advanced offensive arsenal available to gamers. The control set is highly evolved in Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 and can be difficult to master. But rest assured that you can continue to play in a basic manner and still do well if the fundamentals are all in place.

The basic art of dribbling can get pretty intricate in Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. Fast and slow dribbling can now be easily controlled by the user, with the ability to stop the ball on a dime if necessary. It’s entirely possibly to create “space” between each touch as well with a few handy taps on the D-pad. Even the amount of time in between each ball touch can be extended. One other very nice inclusion is the ability to instantly face the opposition’s goal with a simple pull of the right trigger while receiving a pass. This queues up an animation that mimics the pro players that accept passes with their backs to the goal, stop the pill, and then turn for a quick blast.

Passing is a bit more like its predecessors in Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, as is the cross/shoot system. Long, short, and through passes are all accomplished with different face buttons. Valuable one-two combos are handled with simple shoulder button modifiers. You can also initiate a give-and-go with an A.I. unit by laying on the right trigger immediately after making a one-two or similar pass to your teammate. Crosses can come along the ground, lob-style, or in a normal fashion. Crosses aren’t available unless you’re deep in your opponent’s zone, unless of course an early cross is initiated, which can take place anywhere from midfield on in. The X button will bring up and build the power gauge which moves at a pretty good rate. The more the gauge is filled, the more likely the ball will be out of control and over the crossbar. A first-time shot can be achieved if X is pressed right before a pass is completed. The first-timer can really catch the defense and goalie off guard, as it’s the closest thing soccer has to the one-timer in hockey. The chip shot is a craft maneuver too, and can be mastered with some practice. The chip can be performed in two trajectories as well, with the lower of the two creating more rebound opportunities.

A healthy dossier of trick plays and special skills are available in every match, including fake kicks, jukes, and step-overs. One of these moves known as Matthews Trick requires a player to have a certain dribbling attribute score before it can be completed, but the others are free-game for anybody with the dexterity to pull them off. Some are basic right stick flips or combos, but some of the kick cancels involving the shoulder buttons and the feints can be a bit tough to do at game speed.

The game’s engine is exquisite, as in WE games of old. The more complete control set allows advanced players to get a bit fancier, while still retaining the core aspects that have made this engine so successful over the years. It definitely won’t feel like a soccer “revolution” at your fingertips, but the evolution that its moniker suggests definitely holds some truth.

Matches come at you in a simple quick style, league-style, a franchise mode, and via online play. Quickies have basic setup options, including teams, lineups, and formations. Speaking of teams, Konami has put out the effort to acquire some decent licenses here, but it’s pretty bare bones if you are looking for a true World Cup experience. There are good teams here for sure (and a nice attribute comparison system), and familiar faces, but expect a lot of scab teams and players to crop up. The Master League is essentially the franchise of Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, with actions revolving heavily around player development. The trade/transfer system is also a large part of this mode. The regular league of Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 cuts out the trading and progression bit for more football action, while the cup cuts out more football action for more overall excitement; a fair trade-off we guess. You won’t find much love in the online area either, as there are no leagues to be had. As is the case with many of EA’s sports games, Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 online consists of either ranked or unranked matches in a one-on-one style. We figured online leagues were a given, but alas, we were sorely mistaken. Back to FIFA 07 on the Big Black Box for us.

Unfortunately, you won’t see many ways to edit a player other than in the area of stats. It will be difficult to customize any team or player to your liking, so get used to what is pretty much thrown on the table. This means that it will be VERY difficult to emulate a player or a certain pro scenario in Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. Most games with no or partial licensing like to make player editing a priority as they know gamers will put the time in to “make their own” if the game is good enough. This was definitely the case with older WE/PES titles, but not this time around.

All of the work that EA has put into Sports Lab and what not is finally paying off for the developer, which unfortunately widens the gap between Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 and FIFA 07. Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 isn’t a bad looking game, but in HD resolutions, there just isn’t enough detail and realism in the players. They transition nicely from move to move but don’t look too natural throughout the entire string. You won’t catch any fancy post-production techniques in Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 either, nor will you see independent textile physics, or crazy fan animations. Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 still looks like a solid football game due to all of Konami’s years of practice, but visuals programmed for previous-gen power uprated for 1080 resolutions aren’t exactly mind-blowing at this stage in the 360’s development.

It’s a bit easier to get away with previous-gen sound on next-gen systems. Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is a perfect example of this, as most of what you’ll hear sounds fresh. The call from the announcer’s box is about as good as you’ll find in a sports game, and the crowd chants, cheers, and jeers are entertaining to say the least. There’s not real soundtrack to speak of (pluses here for EA), but you will have to deal with some interesting music throughout hold screens and whatnot.

Although perhaps not the complete soccer experience Xbox 360 gamers had hoped for, Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 still holds its own with a gameplay engine that just won’t quit. The fifty dollar price tag gives allows us to give Konami some leeway on some of the missing content, but to be one-upped by the PS2 version is a tough pill to swallow.

EA still has a bit of work to do on its next-gen soccer franchise (the previous gen version of FIFA 07 is super-solid), but not much in order to really separate itself from Pro Evolution Soccer 2007. With that said, Konami has created yet another title that gets by on its fantastic gameplay engine, but does little to create a new fan base through features or truly next-gen gameplay. But for once the cleat is now on the other foot.