Beckham is still on Man Utd in this game!

EA Sports has dominated the soccer video game market with its FIFA series for many years. However, the quality of each game has deteriorated after the classic in 1998, and many soccer gamers (myself included) have longed for competition. In steps 989 Sports, infamous for terrible sports games on both Playstation and PS2, and the result is a surprising success.

The gameplay is one of the game's strengths. Passing maneuvers include ground passes, lob passes, through balls, and one-two passes. The shooting interface allows for curling shots, straight shots, and chips. Perfecting the 'finishing touch' will take some practice, but once the gamer learns the shooting system it is relatively easy to score. While there exists no button to send players on runs, the AI is smart enough to keep teammates without the ball moving so that the player can find a perfect through ball. Both a ground and an aerial attack will work; neither allows for easier scoring chances than the other. In-game strategy allows for a player whose team is trailing late in the game to send his players forward and also for the Italian gamer to play his boring counter-attack mode. Free kicks and corner kicks operate in a similar fashion. Both include power meters and allow for the gamer's after-touch to bend the kick one way or another - simple and effective.

Game modes include exhibition/friendly, season (which includes Champions League, UEFA Cup, league cup fixtures in addition to the normal league games), tournament, career mode, and challenge mode. In the season mode, the gamer can choose from teams from 15 different leagues and then progress from year to year trying to make more money and purchase better players. As the years pass, younger players like Joe Cole join the ranks of the elite. The Career mode works the same way, only the gamer begins at the bottom of pit: the school league. Playing with crappy players who are extremely short, have no endurance, and lack finishing skills is a good beginning to the game and will force the gamer to learn how to win 1-0 games and play with intelligence. One must toil through the school league and semi-pro league before he joins a real league (a choice from 15). Naturally, if the gamer wishes to bring his team to England, he must start at the second division (the third highest), while less distinguished countries (France) only have two levels. It is quite fun and challenging to play with school boys against a team like Liverpool in cup competition. Tournament mode is self-explanatory, and challenge mode involves a performance grade on how well the gamers plays.

Many leagues means many teams, which means many players. This game has lower division teams from countries such as England, Germany, Spain, Italy, and others. However, there are a few weird details. First, many of the team names are named after the city in which the teams plays. For example, Ajax is Amsterdam, Real Madrid is Madrid, Juventus is Turin, Arsenal is Highbury (this one is due to the fact that an Argentinian club's name is also Arsenal). Second, all of the Dutch players have altered names: Kluivert is Kluivern, Van Nistelrooy is Van Nistroy, Davids is Davis. However, it is worth noting that recent FIFA games have omitted the Dutch national team altogether, which would be the equivalent of a college football game neglecting to include Ohio State. Moreover, WTS 2003's flaws are fixable through customization. Team and player names are changeable, and the gamer can even customize his own league or tournament.

On the detail side, the game hits and misses. Stat-tracking is average - goals, assists, tackles, and bookings are covered, but pass-completion and cross-completion give only percentages, and a statistic for headers won would have been nice. The graphics are good, but nothing spectacular. Player faces are on the bland side and pale in comparison to the life-like faces of the FIFA players. The players' bodies look much better, as the gamer can easily tell a short player from a tall one when his school team takes on a world power such as Man Utd. Each of the game's ten stadiums are well designed, although they are mostly (if not all) fictional. One can assume that obtaining the rights to have authentic stadiums would have cost more money, so the developers cut corners and, instead, created those that resembled iconic European stadiums such as Old Trafford, San Siro, and the Nou Camp. Should the gamer have a problem with this cutting of corners - no, because the extra money clearly went into making the rest of the game better, and it shows.

In the sound department, the game is fairly average. The English commentator is fine until he raises his voice when shouting players' names every time they have a scoring chance. The crowd noise is appropriate after goals, but the game is too quiet for the majority of gameplay. However, I never put much weight on a sports game's sound because I usually end up listening to music instead. Other features worth mentioning include weather types featuring clear, overcast, rain, and snow. One of the best little things about the game is its "edit line-up" screen right before the start of a match. A gamer would not appreciate how useful this feature is unless he has played other sports games. Also, almost any conceivable formation can be used.

This game would make a great purchase for any sports gamer, even if he is the typical "I'm an American so I can't understand soccer, but I like NASCAR" guy.