After much anticipation and two interim updates of Winning Eleven 5, the next true sequel to this amazing series has finally bestowed upon its many fans and to great applause. From the first few seconds of the intro (played alongside Queen's We Will Rock You) it is apparent that Konami have really pushed the boat out on this one, and with a release date coinciding with the World Cup their timing is impeccable.

Once you get to the title screen you can see all the usual options that can be found in previous WE games such as cup, league and master league although this time once you have selected your team there is more emphasis on the setting up of formation than there was before. Editing features are vast ranging from customising player names to altering the attributes of each individual player, of which there are many.

As far as the stats go I think that Konami have done a very good job - when WE5 was released I recall the player roster being very outdated indeed but for WE6 Konami have got it more or less spot on, so plus marks there. Another improvement is the fact that WE6 boasts 14 stadia as opposed to WE5's paltry 5. For any potential importers, you'll be pleased to know that the menus are almost completely in English although they are written in Katakana so even with only a little Japanese knowledge you should be fine. For those who know no Japanese whatsoever, menu navigation will have to be done from memory.

Moving onto the actual game the first thing you'll notice is the huge improvement in the graphics department. To me the graphics in WE5 were functional but adequete. This time though it is clear that KCET have got a real grasp of Renderware, dispelling any doubts on middleware from the cynics. Players are now much more detailed and recognisable, the grass textures look amazing and lighting has been improved greatly. Also, the sequel has benefitted from an injection of speed making the game even faster than before although all the extra detail makes for the occasional slowdown.

The game physics have been admirably tweaked almost to perfection. Dribbling is performed using the shoulder buttons which also perform the different run speeds. This dual use of the R1 & R2 buttons simplifies the already playable controls making the game very easy to get into. The same shoot, pass, long pass and through pass buttons have been retained although this time through passes are a lot more effective which makes for more frequent use of the one-two pass. You are now less likely to sky rocket shots on goal when using power but not to the point where you get unrealistic results. Games still remain balanced and goals are still as difficult to score as they should be.

Overall I would recommend this game to any football (soccer) fan without hesitation. The plethora of single player modes add to the longevity but it is when you play multiplayer that the life span of the game seems infinite. Unfortunately many people have been scarred by the abomination known as the FIFA series and so are unwilling to try the WE series which is a shame as this is definitely the benchmark of its genre. I would also recommend this game to those who enjoy multiplayer games as matches can be very tense and WE6 is one of those games that you simply cannot tire of.

In my opinion, this is the best game available for the Playstation 2.

- - Samanosuke