Any AVSer opinions on it?

I got it on Wednesday. Hard to say if you'll like it or not. I love the series and absolutely cannot play EA's fifa however they both have their good and bad points. Anything in particular you want to know?

I got it on Wednesday. Hard to say if you'll like it or not. I love the series and absolutely cannot play EA's fifa however they both have their good and bad points. Anything in particular you want to know?

I have WE9 for the PS2. I'm a fan of the series. Is the gameplay noticably better? The review kind of makes it sound like they left out a some stuff but if the gameplay is better (WE9 is great to begin with) the it should be worth it to play in 16:9 and HD res (eve if they aren't really up to 360 standards).

Master League and create a player still in tact?

While I can't comment compared to the PS2, I can comment versus the last two Xbox versions. The gameplay is noticably different and much harder. I never play this alone, always with a friend and we play through the Master League. We've probably played through 15- 20 seasons all together. On previous versions, we didn't notice a big difference between 3 stars and 6 stars. This version was really difficult on the equivalent of 4 stars so we bumped it down to 3 stars to get used to the controls. The music is much worse but who cares about that. The menus are a lot better and intuitive. My primary gripes are that in the xbox version, the ability to edit uniforms and stadiums is missing and the ability to transfer players is also gone. I don't know if it is a big deal to you but, on the old versions I downloaded updated roster and option files to ensure I was playing with Manchester United and not Merseyside Red (although Man U is licensed in this game, just using it as an example). I realize I kinda glanced over a lot of stuff and shoot back with any more questions you have.

While I can't comment compared to the PS2, I can comment versus the last two Xbox versions. The gameplay is noticably different and much harder. I never play this alone, always with a friend and we play through the Master League. We've probably played through 15- 20 seasons all together. On previous versions, we didn't notice a big difference between 3 stars and 6 stars. This version was really difficult on the equivalent of 4 stars so we bumped it down to 3 stars to get used to the controls. The music is much worse but who cares about that. The menus are a lot better and intuitive. My primary gripes are that in the xbox version, the ability to edit uniforms and stadiums is missing and the ability to transfer players is also gone. I don't know if it is a big deal to you but, on the old versions I downloaded updated roster and option files to ensure I was playing with Manchester United and not Merseyside Red (although Man U is licensed in this game, just using it as an example). I realize I kinda glanced over a lot of stuff and shoot back with any more questions you have.

Thanks for the feedback iamnaeth. Harder! dam, I thought WE9 was hard enough, though I though the jump from star to start was too dramatic of an increase. That's pretty cool you have a buddy that is into it as well.

FYI, WE9 on the PS2 is the same gameplay as the xbox version (aside from controller preference).

I have it and I love it, can't go back to the back-compat WE9. There are plenty of things to get pissed off at Konami about, and I mean plenty (sometimes Konami goes two steps forward, one step back), but the gameplay,even if this isn't the all-time best WE, is simply the finest sports game simulation out there, period. Easy to learn, hard to master, is the best way to describe the gameplay, and after playing this series extensively since WE6, I still see things on the pitch I've never seen before, and things that make me go 'WOW!' Online is much better than WE9 in terms of the lag, but worse in terms of options (15 minutes is the longest game available for online play, and stats are only kept for ranked games now), which is just like Konami.

My two biggest pet peeves about WE after playing hundreds of games is that its really hard to pick a guy to pass to on set pieces that you aren't going to put on goal and the 10 yard halo around players during throw ins. Throw ins are one area where EA is better but other than that, I'll take WE any day.

i picked it up yesterday and enjoying it a lot so far. It is a nice (and needed) break from the Fifa series on the 360. Seems like they cleaned up the UI a bit from previous versions and the gameplay is pretty fluid for the most part.. Noticing a few issues with online play, but other than that it's alot of fun

THe gameplay is hard lol.. But what an amazing game, now all they need is to upgrade the visuals to next gen standard and they're set! But honestly the visuals don't bother me, since the gameplay is so damn good.

if you're a soccer fan, it's absolutely worth 39 bucks. There's plenty to complain about (minimal editing, only 8 stadiums (and weak looking stadiums/crowds at that), but it walks all over Fifa in terms of gameplay and that's what matters most in a sports game.

I am a huge fan of FIFA 07, and after one game of WE for 360 I thought "what a waste of $50."

After about 30 or so games I am glad I decided to keep playing it. It is growing on me more and more. While I don't think FIFA 07 is the piece of crap that some will say it is, it's level of realism doesn't approach WE.

The defenders seem to be much more intelligent in WE. In FIFA I can get multiple breakaways per game, sometimes. In WE I am lucky if I can get 1 every 2 games.
I don't know if this is because of the improved AI, or the drastically more difficult control scheme that WE employs. What players do in FIFA, almost automatically, is a definite chore in WE. Once you begin to grasp the controls in WE though, the game really opens up and the possibilities for thrilling matches are there.

All in all I like the game a lot, definitely worth the 39 bucks at FRY's.

39 $ is a great price. I paid 49 for my copy.
This year's version is much harder. I have played the series since the we6 but this year is the hardest one. I love the fact that you need to spend a lot of time mastering it.
Also the 360 version(which i have ) feels very different than the ps2 version (played at my brother's house). I am not sure why they play differently. Maybe the difference in controls?

I am a little upset that you can only edit players' names and not the teams.
Online play has been pretty good but you can tell the Fifa fans that are playing this game online. They think this is fifa and like to sprint a lot with their fastest guy and shoot outside the box.

For us noobs, is there some sort of tutorial mode? I've always wanted to get into the WE series but I know little about the sport, aside from watching the World Cup every four years.