World Tour Soccer 2005 – PS2 – Review

You have to hand it to 989
Sports, each year their sports titles up the ante and improve everything we love
about our favorite sports games on the PS2.  So, as an aficionado of the
internationally loved game of soccer, you can bet that World Tour Soccer 2005
didn’t go unnoticed by myself or legions of sports fans eager to run out into
the field with their favorite team to take on the world and play some ball on
their PS2 consoles.  Still, with two very great soccer titles already out, does
this game have what it takes to compete?  Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

World Tour Soccer 2003, a
game that clearly superseded the World Tour Soccer game before that in gameplay
quality and game modes, really gave fans of the sport plenty to rave about and,
with so many international teams and clubs, there was enough to satisfy
everyone’s tastes.  The good news is that this year’s game keeps the tradition
going with 900 international and club teams (that’s 18,000 players for those
keeping score at home).  That means fans from Argentina will be able to play as
their favorite clubs such as River Plate and fans of Mexican soccer clubs can
see Cruz Azul win a championship.  Yes, it’s that deep so there’s plenty for
everyone to enjoy.

Making its comeback are
the game modes from last years game so you’ll find Exhibition Match, the neat
Challenge modes, Career Mode and Season.   Once again, Challenge Mode is the
meat and potatoes of the game.  It’s in this mode that you learn to advance your
skills as a player, tightening things such as your defensive tackles to making
stellar passes that can get you closer to your rival’s goal post.  When you’re
ready for a much deeper challenge, you can head straight to Career Mode where
you’ll take your own school team and promote them by way of games and handling
their affairs as a manager.  Once again, you’ll be able to construct your own
team anyway you see fit.  That is, you can design everything from their jerseys
to the type of flags fans will be waving during matches.  Season, of course,
takes you through twenty-three seasons and plenty of tournaments and cups.

As I mentioned above,
there are enough teams to sink your teeth into and this is one of the highlights
of World Tour Soccer 2005.  Your favorite teams are accurately portrayed in the
game and you’ll find the right jersey colors and a lineup of all known players,
although the teams are classified by a point system.  The points are broken down
into stars that, oddly enough, reflect a team’s overall strength.  For the most
part the stars are accurate in identifying the powerhouse teams and true fans of
the sport know that these powerhouses make it difficult for less technical teams
to dominate the field.  You wouldn’t expect Trinidad and Tobago to be scoring
unmercifully over a powerhouse like England, would you?  While this accuracy
makes for a realistic and very strategy-like game of soccer, it would have been
fun being able to take less powerful teams and take them to world cup division
matches.  Why not let the gamer be able to fantasize a bit and see their
favorite team making to the World Cup itself?

Here’s the bad news;
control-wise the game is a step down from World Tour Soccer 2003.  Last years
game moved more fluidly and it was a joy performing bicycle kicks far more
easily than this game.  One of the things we love about Winning Eleven 7
and FIFA Soccer 2004 is the fact that the flow keeps the action moving
and thus makes it addictively enjoyable.  Part of the reason the game isn’t as
smooth is that the action is often interrupted by the unnecessary need to pass
out yellow cards for every little infraction . . . even the ones that weren’t
intentional in the first.  Secondly, there’s a delay in performing the
occasional passes and kicks to the goal.  I’ve missed countless shots to the
goal because after pressing the shoot button the player responded two seconds
later with a kick.  Here’s another frustrating glitch–long shots could send the
ball offside and thus leads you to yank your hair out in frustration.

All is not bad, though.
This year’s game sees icon passing that helps control corner kicks and the
direction of throw-ins from the offside line.  There’s also an enjoyable amount
of ball handling tricks that aren’t easy to pull off but with lots of practice
you’ll be able to get away with some really fancy footwork.  And my favorite
part of the game is the fact that it keeps a real sense of atmosphere.  If you
make it to the World Cup, the fanfare you’ll see in the crowd as well as the
presentation make it all worth the hard work you put into taking your team
there.

Graphically speaking,
nothing much has changed from last year’s game.  Stadiums are once again true to
the real deal, although sometimes during the game they’ll look rather plain in
spots.  Yet watching the fans wave their flags and your wonderfully detailed
players react to referee decisions will not fail to bring a smile to gamers’
face.  A nice addition to the game is the cinema cut scenes of players running
out into the field and pose for a quick team picture before the match starts
like an actual televised game. My only grievance is with the camera that
sometimes doesn’t pan away quickly after long shots from one end of the field.
There aren’t many camera position options to help remedy this either.

Sound once again plays a
nice part in immersing the gamer into the excitement of watching a really
great-televised presentation.  You’ll hear fans chant and stomp their feet.
You’ll hear them sing songs true to their club or nationality.  When the
Peruvian team plays, you’ll hear trumpets play a very Peruvian march while the
Mexican team is met with its typical “Si se puede!” chant.  The commentary is
also good, although this year the color commentary is kept at a minimum or
sometimes ignored altogether.  This is actually good news since commentary can
sometimes get repetitive. You can also listen to commentary in Spanish, French
and Italian (the Spanish commentary is, by far, the best I’ve heard in a sports
game).

World Tour Soccer 2005 is
actually a step down from last year’s game, but this necessarily doesn’t mean
you won’t enjoy it.  With so many teams to choose from and solid game modes that
give gamers enough to do for months, there’s no denying that this game gives you
your money’s worth.  However, the gameplay mechanics feels a bit more rigid and
less arcade-like and the camera sometimes doesn’t give you the best view of the
action.  To answer the question I made at the beginning of this review: This
game doesn’t have what it takes to compete with this year’s stellar soccer
titles, but it’s heading in the right direction. 

#World Tour Soccer 2005 Review Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.0
All the favorite game modes from
last year are all present and accounted for and soccer fans couldn’t be any
happier.  Still, the game doesn’t run as smoothly and everything from passing to
performing head butts feels too stiff to be fun.  Can’t complain with all these
teams, though.

Graphics: 7.5
The stadiums look amazing during
intense cup matches or any matches come to think of it.  The player models are
also nicely done . . . especially when it comes to recreating the very dreamy
David Beckham.  Maybe next year 989 Sports will do something about the camera,
though.

Sound: 8.2
Nothing is more impressive than
hearing thousands of fans chanting, singing, stomping their feet and reacting to
goals and World Tour Soccer 2005 captures this excellently.  The commentary is
also played down enough that it doesn’t get old.  A tune from The Vines also
opens the game . . . and darn if it’s not a really great tune.

Difficulty: Medium
The single player games are met with
skilled AI opponents that are governed by the amount of stars they’ve been
assigned.  That means, like in real life, you’ll have to play a good offensive
and defensive game if you want to beat the powerhouse that is Brazil using
Greece or Saudi Arabia.

Concept: 8.0
Teams, teams and more teams keep the
game with enough players to trade and use anyway you see fit.  Ever wanted to
see Ronaldo play for the LA Galaxy?  Well now you can in this game!  You can
also unlock legendary players like Brazil’s Pele or classic teams such as 1970s
Liverpool team.

Multiplayer: 7.8
You can play this one with a friend
or up to eight of them using the PS2 Multitap and let the soccer goodness
begin.  But it physically hurts me to see that this game excluded online play
since MLB 2005 has an online mode.  Why, 989 Sports, why?

Overall: 7.5
Despite its great game modes and the
amazing lineup of teams and players, World Tour Soccer 2005 doesn’t quite live
up to the reputation or expectations of last years amazingly addictive game.
That’s not to say that the game is bad, it just means that World Tour Soccer
2003 will still remain a fan favorite.