I myself have played soccer for many, many years. I watch tons of soccer matches, even on the spanish channels. This game really recreates the soccer experience quite well. The AI seems to be top notch and will adjust playing styles, the animations are quite fluid, and the game really requires skill and strategy to play. You do not need to know soccer to play as the game is that simple to pick up. Kick the ball in the net. The real challenge is how the ball has gotten to that point. I personally think this is one of the best soccer games I have ever played and is leaps and bounds over the EA Fifa series. This game may force EA's hand on the soccer market though so keep an eye out for the coming years to see what comes next.

I would recommend this game to skill level of player.

This is the best soccer game out. Way better than Fifa. The only thing bad,which i could care less about is that the jerseys are wrong and the team names arent right(Barclays Premier) Who Cares tho. Thats why they got the edit mode. Everyone who likes this game should be looking forward to Winning Eleven 9,which comes out in Febuary. Will be 10 times as better. (Online!)

Say EA, what??? EA sports with their fifa does not come nearly this game. First of all, the graphics are great and you can play the game in third person view (you have to unlock this feature). So far , this is the best soccer game I've ever played. I own the FIFA 06 also but it is nothing like this game. If you are a soccer fan, you should pick this one up. Thumbs up!!!

As an avid football fan I was always disappointed with the repetitive garbage that I was forced to swallow from EASports and their Fifa franchise. Then...winning eleven 8 came out for xbox. I promptly discarded my previous fifa titles into the nearest trash receptacle and do not regret it (although I had a moment of weakness and bought fifa06 last week...that was a mistake). Anyway, on to the review.

Strengths:
-This is about as good a gameplay sim as you can expect to get out of any sports franchise. The controls are extremely responsive, and the depth of the tactical control and the myriad of types of goals that can be scored leave WE8 head and shoulders above EA.

-You have the ability to alter a player's exact position on the field (no locked in positions like fifa), their defensive or offensive mentality, the direction they will attack or make runs to, who they will man-mark, or rather what zone they are responsible for defending all down the very last inch of the pitch. The great variety and permutations this allows you to experience adds a great amount of depth and staying power.

-Couple the great tactical control with great gameplay and the formula is simple for a great game. Add to that increased gameplay depth with the various ways you can score goals (I consistently score with shots from outside the box, cross to header, cross to volley or side kick, breakaway slotted, breakaway hard shot, breakaway keeper lob and corner kicks...all on the highest difficulty level) Also, unlike fifa, you can beat players one v. one and your A.I teammates actually possess a brain.

Weakness:
The only weakness this game has is really in its presentation. WE8 only has licenses for the Spanish, Italian, and Dutch leagues...So I have to play with Liverpool FC (that's 5, get it right, 5 European cups) in all tomato red plain shirts which kind of makes the experience feel a bit hollow. Also, since they don't have licenses, you have to rename all the stadiums and all the teams in the game as well as some of the players for 'other' teams, such as Boca Juniors (It may seem a painful task, but you can get lists on the internet that help). Lastly, the menus, music and other GUI elements are quite poor (the pokemon music drives me crazy).

Don't put too much weight into my tirade at the end there about the GUI as it only slightly distracts you from the overall beautiful experience of the beautiful game that can only be brought to you by Konami and their Winning Eleven Masterpiece.

I was a Fifa guy for years, and finally made the switch to Winning Eleven this year. I can't overstate how incredibly deep, detailed and engrossing WE is. Fifa isn't a bad game, but it feels very arcady compared to WE; the latter has a wealth of options that should accomodate even the most hardcore soccer/football fans. Want to see a diagram of what parts of the field your reserve midfielder used the most? Check. The statistical wealth is crazy, and the gameplay is even better. This game manages to be challenging without turning off newbies, and that is quite a feat. There are more moves in this game than in many fighting games!

Overall, even if you are a casual fan of soccer, WE will entertain and win you over; if you're a fanatic, then this game will delight you.