The remaining option on the main menu is the all-important edit mode,
which lets you customize the names, appearances, and attributes of every
player and team in the game. This option has always been a key feature
of Winning Eleven games, simply because the vast majority of that
information is incorrect by default as a result of Konami lacking the
necessary licenses to use real-world information. That situation is
slowly improving, though, and so in addition to the licenses that Konami
acquired for the Dutch, Italian, and Spanish leagues last year, there
are now a number of other licensed club teams in the game, including the
likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Rangers, Celtic, Dynamo Kiev, and
Galatasaray. It's unfortunate that there are still a large number of
high-profile teams in Winning Eleven 9 whose names and uniforms are
generic, but you'll find that the game's editing tools are more powerful
than ever before if you don't mind spending some time with them. If you
own the PS2 version of Winning Eleven 9, it's also possible for you to
transfer your edited information from that game to your PSP.
What sets Winning Eleven 9 apart from the competition once a match
gets underway can be difficult to put a finger on, but it's clear that
Konami's development team has once again taken a near-perfect soccer
game and improved upon it in more ways than we dared hope. More
impressive still is the fact that, visuals aside, the PSP game is almost
impossible to distinguish from the PS2 version. Perhaps the most
dramatic improvement this year is the way that your players handle when
you're controlling them, but you'll also notice that the other players
on the field behave and are animated far more realistically now.
When you're in control of a player with the ball, for example, it's
very simple to perform quick sidesteps and turns because you don't have
to use anything but your analog stick to do so. You still have the
option to perform more showy turns and tricks using the left shoulder
button, but it's unlikely that you'll ever become dependent on them
because, now more than ever, it's your ability to pass the ball that
will win you matches. Passing is important not only because your CPU
opponents are very quick to close you down whenever you get the ball,
but also because the CPU players on your team will be making intelligent
runs forward and expecting you to pick them out any time you have
possession.
Since passing the ball is even more
important in Winning Eleven 9 than it has been in previous Winning
Eleven games, it's also important that you're able to intercept the
opposing team's passes when you're on defense. The bad news is that the
tackles your players will perform automatically when you hold down the
"pressure" button are a little clumsier than in previous games, often
resulting in mistimed challenges. The opposite is true for sliding
tackles, however, which are relatively easy to time correctly, and are
far more likely to result in you coming away with the ball than has been
the case in previous games. The upshot of this subtle but noticeable
change is that you can no longer rely on just holding down the pressure
button to win the ball back. With that said, having a second CPU player
apply pressure to the opponent with the ball while you concentrate on
marking the player you think he's looking to pass to is definitely one
that you'll want to master, particularly if you're planning to play
against friends.
Intelligent CPU players are all well
and good, of course, but there's really no substitute for playing
against a human opponent, which the PSP version of Winning Eleven 9 lets
you do using the handheld's Ad Hoc wireless functionality. The lack of
online play is definitely a little disappointing, as is the fact that
the game supports only two players (FIFA 06 supports four), but neither
of these things is reason enough to dismiss what is otherwise a superb
soccer game. Nor is Winning Eleven 9's lack of any match commentary a
cause for concern, even if it's the most noticeable difference between
the PSP and PS2 games on the field.
The PSP version of
Winning Eleven 9 is, quite simply, a great achievement on the part of
Konami's Tokyo-based development team. It's almost a given nowadays that
PSP versions of PS2 games are often every bit as good, but that doesn't
make being able to play a game like Winning Eleven 9 while sitting on
the bus any less remarkable.
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