it's being released in February...I haven't ever played any of 989 soccer series...is this game going to be worth buying or renting?
I've owned WTS 2002 for nearly a year now and not looked back, frankly. I got sick of FIFA 2002 very quicly and neither WC 2002 or 2003 appealed to me or seemed enough of a step up. Also, the lack of a creation center in FIFA 2003 put me right off. No Forest? No sale. AFAIK, WTS 2003 is similar to WTS 2002 but with more teams, better graphics and a career (franchise) mode. Career mode allows you to take a school team and work your way up the Divisions of the league of your choice. I'd definitely recommend a rental as it's different from FIFA. I think the gameplay's better but some prefer FIFA. Most reviewers place WTS somewhere between FIFA and PES (ISS), not so arcadey as FIFA but easier than PES (ISS). The graphics aren't a patch on FIFA but the amount of teams blows FIFA away. The only downside with this is that WTS only has the rights to the players names and not the teams, but it's fairly easy to change and most teams give you some clue as to who they are (i.e. Glasgow (R) and Glasgow (C)). An important thing to note is that this game is NOT made by 989, they merely publish it in the US. It's designed by Team Soho (?) in the UK.
WTS blows FIFA away in number teams???? Yet they can't get even name the teams correctly. Maybe they should try harder to get the licenses. Anyway, how many leagues does WTS have? It must be a ton.
i'm actually looking forward to this game! i currently own WTS 2002 and i really like the game play. one of the main reasons i will buy 2003 will be for the career mode, which i think will make the game much better. plus, it will hold me off until WE is released [never played it but have heard so much good stuff about it that i will surely purchase it!].
There are something like 600 club teams in WTS 2003. Most of the European leagues are represented and most of the Nationwide teams from England, French Div One, etc. The rights issues are very expensive. PES traditionally doesn't include either Player or Team rights. WTS only has the FIFPRO license, I assume the team name rights are very expensive especially for a game that is third choice in most of the world behind FIFA and PES. It's also a hell of a lot easier to rename teams than it is to rename players. Here's a partial list of leagues (from soccergaming.com): MLS Argentina League = 26 teams listed Belgian League = 22 Teams listed Brazil League = 33 teams listed. 'could be 34'? Dutch leagues = Divisions 1 + 2 English Leagues = Premier +1+2 French Leagues = Divisions 1+2 German Leagues = Divisions 1+2+3 Itallian Leagues = Serie A +1 Japan = Divisions 1+2 Korea = 10 teams listed Mexican = 24 Teams listed North America = 10 Teams listed Portuguese = 22 Teams listed Scotland = Premier +Division 1 Spain = Primera + 1 www.tif2003.com
I'm doing the same thing, just reserved WTS 2003 to hold me over for WE. I hope that WE can live up to all the hype I've read about. At my local game store, two other people had reserved WTS 2003 before me, I found that pleasently suprising. Just a point of clarification, there are NO league liceanses in the game? I knew that there were none for MLS, but that's not that big of a deal as long as the players are real. As far as clubs, there are English teams from Premier, D1, and D2? Wow, nice to be able to use John Thorrington in a game. Feb and March can't come soon enough for soccer ps2 fans.
Anyone know if the A-League will be included in some form? How current are rosters? Also, is there a way to trade players or are you stuck with the roster as is?
No A-League teams. You also cannot rename Leagues or Cups AFAIK, unfortunately. Going by WTS 2002, the teamsheets were fairly current but some reshuffling may need to be done. Particularly now the transfer window's open again and for Youth players. There is a transfer system which is available as long as you're not playing with a custom team. The one thing that I *loved* about WTS 2002 was the inclusion of classic teams. Not least because they included the Forest European Cup squad with Old Big 'Ead as the manager.
Only 2 weeks until release now!!! Has anyone read any new reviews/previews of the game? I'm jonezing for a soccer game so bad now I even played ESPN Gamenight for PSX on my PS2.
There's a review for it here. http://www.techtv.com/extendedplay/reviews/story/0,24330,3412881,00.html
What's wrong with MLS Extra Time for PSX? It is still my favorite all-time game (despite hilarious ratings for MLS players)
Nothing, still my favorite PSX game, just a little old school compared to the new generation of PS2 games. My favorite FIFA game was 1998 RTWC (by a long shot) but the game is just too old to play now.
I'm also looking forward to the create-a-team mode. Been trying to decide what I should name my first team. Should be fun, especially playing on the school pitch. Armas soccer, thanks for posting that WTS 2003 review. I've been trying to find as much as I can about the game online, but keep running into the same two or three.
IGN now has a review for WTS 2003, but you have to be a member... Is anybody here a member and willing to post the review?
Only 10 left in the work, then I'm off to pick up the game. I'll try to post my first thoughts tonight or tomorrow morning. This game just need to get me to March for WE6! Has there ever been a game built up as much as that one?
Here's my quick review... Start-up, menus, and game options - Not very exciting, and the menus can be hard to read because the font isn't that large, but it is just the menu. As mentioned in many previews, there are a ton of games, including seasons, cups, challange mode, and legacy/career mode. Teams/Players - I didn't get to check every team out, but there are loads of players and teams. The players are real, and their attributes are pretty well represented. The lack of licenses really isn't that big of a deal. I ran through all the English teams (Prem, D1 and D2!) and had no trouble figuring out what the teams were. Manchester United became Manchester, Man City was just City. The colors are correct. Same goes with MLS teams. I played Dallas vs Columbus, and both teams have full rosters of around 20 players. The look to be accurate as of last year end. Game Play - Not perfect, but not bad. Better than older FIFA games (I havent played 2003). I haven't played WE so I can't compare it to that. I didn't see much support form wing defenders on offense, or that many 'creative' off the ball runs by MFs, but you could score goals with players other than strikers. The speed burst does not work like it did in FIFA games, so you have to work for goals. Other Pluses - I think the graphics are really good. There are more stats in this game that any other soccer game I've played. Goals, assists, passing %, tackles attempted and won, cross %. You can customize all the players, uniforms, teams if you like. Negatives - Player ratings are not presented well. You can't just look at you whole team at once, you have to go player by player. There is no overall rating either. The game takes a while to load, maybe because of the number of teams. Funny Aside - In the legacy mode, you start as a school team in England, so PS2 had to make up a bunch of names. Well to do this they just mixed up all the MLS player names, so you have guys on you team like Landon Petke, Cobi Victorine, Pablo Alavajna, etc. Overall - I think its a good game after one night of playing. Anyone else who has played it, any tips on shooting. I always suck at shooting in soccer games.
I got it last night and the gameplay is very similar to 2002. It does seem to be slightly harder though. As for scoring, use the instruction manuals pictures as a guide and try to pick a spot. More often than not I score by cutting in and shooting across the goal so it rebounds off the post. In 2002 my friend had low shots down to a fine art. I still can't do them as well as him but once you get it, it's almost a guaranteed goal. The amount of teams/players this time out is insane. And I like the fact that the animations have got even better. For instance when putting a long ball forward, the forward player used to reach forward and just 'catch' the ball on his foot. In this version he heads/chests it down to control it. Got to love the collision in this game. Scoring a goal of the defenders arse is hilarious. As is winding them by hitting them in the stomach or smacking them in the face with the ball. Glad the slide/hook tackle has been calmed down. Makes tackling a little harder.
A few questions: 1) Does the game have the Dutch nats? 2) Is there a game speed control? I have WTS 2002, and now that I have FIFA 2003, the speed of WTS 2002 seems way too fast to be realistic. I'm hoping WTS 2003 is a bit slower. 3) Has the passing system been improved? By this, I mean that in WTS 2002, passes and crosses were almost perfect, going directly to a player's feet or head. 4) Was the IGM system maintained? Can you still change formatons/strategies on the fly? Thanks.