Konami Touts Winning Eleven 9
New features for the latest instalment in the best damn soccer, er, football game around.
It may not, strictly speaking, be the Pro Evolution Soccer 5 details everyone is waiting for, but it's the next best thing. Konami has revealed some of the new features Japanese gamers can expect in Winning Eleven 9, the Japanese version of the next Pro Evolution Soccer game.
Good news for PlayStation 2 owners is the inclusion of online play, which only made it into the Xbox instalment of Pro Evolution Soccer 4 last year. The developers at Konami have built a new online engine for Winning Eleven 9, which also allows you to take your custom Master League teams onto the Net.
Gameplay in Winning Eleven 9 has been tweaked, allowing for smoother ball control, while the graphics are better thanks to new character animation. Konami has also introduced two new player positions.
Winning Eleven 9 will be out in Japan in early August, while the domestic version, Pro Evolution Soccer 5, should be in shops towards the end of the year, likely in October.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games