World Tour Soccer 2 Review

The domestic competitions may be over until the end of the summer, but thanks to the World Cup, we won't have to suffer with kicking a football against a wall. But with the British weather not exactly favourable at the best of times (despite the sweltering heat that we find ourselves in at the moment) it's always good to have a contingency, and this year Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's London Studio are attempting to make that contingency World Tour Soccer 2 (or World Tour Soccer 2006 in North America) on PSP.

Continuing with the same arcade experience of football set in its predecessor, World Tour Soccer 2 features a number of gametypes amongst the first few options given to players. Standing next to the obligatory 'Play Now' mode, the World Tour Mode makes a return and guides players around the globe in the attempt to be world-beaters. Beginning in Africa before shifting over to the other four continents, players must beat five rounds of international opponents before they can jet off to the next set of matches. Where World Tour Soccer differs from the likes of Pro Evo or FIFA is in its separate points system, challenging players to build up high scores by completing passes, making tackles, and of course scoring goals. Offering a variety of gametypes that typify the handheld version of what was the 'This Is Football' series has become, players are set the task of completing the objectives set out at the start of the match.

Following the same structure of the previous title, players have to gain a medal (Bronze, Silver or Gold) according to the points awarded during the course of the match in order to open the next selection of games. Whilst simple passes tot up low levels of points, usually ten a piece, goals (especially some of the more spectacular) can be the deciding factor in the game, even more so than in a straightforward match. Adding to challenge is the fact that points are taken away when players lose the ball, concede a goal, miss a tackle, or foul. Bringing all of those factors together makes for some tense experiences during the World Tour.

Perhaps its because it's World Cup year, but London Studio have done away with the club teams featured in the first WTS instalment, leaving gamers with the choice of internationals from around the globe (including Wales). The game also has the backing of FIFPRO, so that real names and likenesses are all present (in fact the Ryan Giggs of WTS2 far surpasses the Giggsy of EA's FIFA series), with team strips also striking similarities to the real-world counterparts.

Mixing the variety of the gametypes whether that's pitch splitting The Zone mode (where more points are awarded across different parts of the pitch than others) the unbalanced Totally Outnumbered, where the gamer's team has less players than the opposition, or any of the other eight gametypes dotted throughout the game, World Tour Soccer 2 manages to give a more unique experience. The time-important Shot Clock, where players have to score within fifteen seconds of getting possession, continues to add tension to the structure of the game, whilst the total football like All Rounder gametype sees gamers given the objective of passing to every player before being able to attempt a shot on goal. Each of the gametypes are fun to play, once the balance of its difficulty has been overcome, although ironically the least engaging is the ordinary game of football thanks to its lack of a well-rounded experience. What WTS2 does offer however is a high level of pick-up-and-playability, which should be one of the key features of any portable title, that, and of course addictiveness.

In addition to the tour, gamers can also play through the challenges set in the Medal Mode, which breaks the eleven different gametypes up in to their own sections. A number of them are locked at the start of the game, with more becoming accessible as progression is made in the main World Tour mode, adding a certain amount of motivation for players. Expanding the game further than its predecessor World Tour Soccer 2 also makes use of the PSP's Infrastructure Mode, enabling players to compete against each other, with SCEE also confirming that downloadable content will be available for the game in future.

The matches themselves offer a solid enough football experience, going side-on similarly to Konami's Pro Evolution series, with arrows pointing out the positions of the other players. The camera can be too close at times however, with fouls regularly given for tackles made on screen before the offending incident occurs off-screen. Passing and shot taking is accurate enough, and fluid enough, though free-kicks (like so many other football titles) don't feel as tight as they perhaps should be. Don't expect wild banana shots like Sensible Soccer, but at the same time don't expect there to be a great level of control of shot placement as in FIFA and Pro Evo. Yes you can point the ball in the general direction of which corner of the net to aim for, but there's never the feeling that you're actually playing a sim of a football title - but it's not intended to be either. Using combinations of the left shoulder button and the face buttons players can extend the repertoire of non-contextual skills, such as shimmies and step-overs, though World Tour Soccer 2 does include a number of context-sensitive shots such as over-head kicks, volleys, and headers. All are worth more than the more basic pass, and is worth remembering when the clock is counting down. The level of AI in the rest of the player's team seem to work largely really well, with forward runs and other positioning skills about as reactive as you'd expect - especially for a PSP title.

A worthy alternative to the more realistic likes of FIFA and Pro Evo on PSP, the main grievance with World Tour Soccer 2 ironically rests with repetitive gameplay, and level of difficulty that doesn't seem to get going until you're team is several rounds into a tournament. Whilst this undoubtedly gets players up to speed with the various gametypes in the first hour of gameplay, it presents such a straightforward path through to the second phase of Oceania & Asia, that WTS2 does get bogged down into a repetitive experience all too quickly. That said, once the difficulty levels do present more of a challenge, the opposite can occur leaving players frustrated at having to repeat the same match over again. It's a delicate balance to achieve but since the game seems to be more tailored to short bursts of play, it'll pose a problem to gamers stuck on a long journey.