Actually, this is not going to be a pro-rant about evolution, rather a posting in praise of Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer, or (as we know it in North America) Winning Eleven 9.
Previously, I used to play FIFA Soccer, which I discussed here. If you have an XBOX or Playstation, don’t bother going for EAs FIFA Soccer series. They’re boring and repetitive: WE9 closely mimics original gameplay. As an example: in real-life soccer it’s considered to be ‘courteous’ to kick the ball out of play if one of the opponent’s players gets injured. When the game continues, the opponent returns that favour. I was shocked to see WE9 players do actually the same: this is not only ‘smart programming’ (it’s a minor change in code, I presume), it adds to the gameplay.
And yes, at least there’s a referee running around on the field, something that’s amiss in FIFA. OK, you can continue reading the rest of the web now.