Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is the latest installment in a soccer game series that has been growing in popularity over the years. The 2007 version is the series' sixth iteration. It has been released cross-platform for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PC, and PSP. This review covers the PSP version, which is a pretty fun soccer game. It comes with a lot of features and should keep gamers busy for hours on end. "Pro Evolution Soccer 2007" features single- and multi-player gaming modes, of which the former is the majority of the game. The single-player modes include an exhibition free match, "Master League", "League", and "Cup". The bulk of your time will be spent in "Master League".

"Master League" is a simulation of a real soccer season. Beyond the standard game play (winning soccer matches), the mode uses WEN points as a form of money that is important to progressing in the game. WEN points can be used for a couple things, which include paying player's salaries and recruiting new players. New players can be obtained at two specific points, mid-season and at the end of the year. These two times are open trading windows. On the note of player management, there are also events to deal with like retirement and contract negotiation. The player management helps the game feel like you are actually managing a team. While playing through a season in "Master League", it is possible to improve the team's playing abilities. There is an option called regulate condition/team training and it allows for poor condition rated teams to boost their stamina and work on specific skills. It is a fairly interesting way to improve one's team.

"League" is a light version of "Master League". It is basically playing through a season without full control of the team. If you aren't interested in micro-managing the team, it is a good avenue to just play a sequence of games. "Cup" is the last single-player mode, which allows for competing in a variety of tournaments. They include Asia-Oceanian Cup, Konami Cup, PUMA Cup, International Cup, European Cup, African Cup, and American Cup. Prior to competing in a tournament, there are several options that include picking elimination type, participating teams, etc.

An additional mode and a pretty neat feature is training mode. It is great for getting used to the game. It provides gamers practice modes for shooting, free kicks, penalty shots, and corner kicks. These modes are executed with a minimal number of the opposition (usually just the keeper.) It also includes a relatively fine degree of control. There are options to configure difficulty level, player health, turf, play time, play type, number of players to scrimmage against, and so on.

For multi-player options, gamers can play head-to-head via the PSP's ad-hoc wireless support. Additional features of the game include an edit mode to create new players, modify existing players, assign players to teams, change squad numbers, and more. The game also has five levels of difficulty, so there is plenty to master!

What works for "Pro Evolution Soccer 2007" is the game play. It plays out like a real soccer game and it is easy to pick up and play. The controls are also fairly intuitive and easy to figure out; however, some of the more advanced controls take some time to get used to. In addition, the game's training mode is great (as previously mentioned) to work on mastering advanced plays.

The game's technical aspects are not very strong, and could have used some attention. Visually, "Pro Evolution Soccer 2007" is somewhat sparse with a plain looking menu navigation. The menus are not fancy, nor are the player portraits. The good news is there are virtually no delays in loading (a recent review of UEFA Championships League 2006-2007 had noticeable delays in menu navigation). While the menus are plain looking, the in-game action is better looking, on par with other PSP games of this nature. The game sounds are also very limited, with virtually no in-game commentary. I was bummed about this aspect, as a colorful commentary can make a match that much better and feel more realistic.

Overall, Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 is a fun game. While the game looks fairly plain, it still has a multitude of gaming options and the controls handle really well. However, the game could have benefited from a stronger multi-player mode--infrastructure wireless for head-to-head gaming over the Internet and an actual play-by-play commentary of the action. In the end, soccer fans will appreciate this game.