Visually, the game stands up against the crowd, with detailed player models, realistic faces, lively environments, and fast paced action. The presentation has been vamped up with some great cut scenes and special effects that resemble telecasts. The player models are very detailed and move about at a decent frame rate. There are some fantastic animations that vary quite well and keep the game fresh. You'll see plenty of headers, tackles, and kicks that have mostly unique tendencies and outcomes. Player faces are very detailed and full of emotion. WTS provides most definitely the best faces of all 3 soccer titles this year. Granted I don't know one man from another, but the detail is very striking. The ball physics are very alive without feeling restrictive. The ball will generally miss passes and get away from you unless you plan ahead. This allows the game to look very authentic and genuine. I would have liked to see progressively dirty uniforms like MLB provided this year, but the over all weather effects do an admirable job. Overall, the game looks great without trying to be too flashy in the process.

Audio is very common in WTS 2005. Sure the play-by-play and color man provide accurate and detailed analysis and commentary, but it all seems too streamed and lifeless. This actually plagues all soccer games, especially when the only bit of excitement from your commentators is when you score a goal or hard tackle. The crowd on the other hand is very lively and "ohh and ahhs" precisely at the right times. All in all, the audio is very good for a soccer game, but someone really needs to build excitement in these sports in the audio department.

WTS 2005 has some fantastic game play. With plenty of moves to perform, and a sharp A.I. the challenge is great on any difficulty. The game has a good sense of speed, which feels realistic in terms of the sport. The goalkeepers are accurate, but can make error judgment calls when fooled on the pitch. There are no real money plays here, so expect for low scoring games, unless of course the two teams are unbalanced in attributes. The new control system works well, and resembles the competition more so than the past. The realism of the ball physics make you work to keep the ball in play and making accurate passes and shots on goal. Overall, nothing really revolutionary in game play, but the game does play very well.

989 have increased the number of things you can do in WTS this season. For starters, you now have control over the Transfer Market in Career Mode. You must finally manage your money and win your games in order to buy that franchise player. This year you have 82 trophies to win, 900 teams, and 18,000 real life players to choose from. Throw in a deep player/team editor to personalize your game the way you want. The World Tour Soccer franchise has yet to go online, and if they had done it this year, they would have an edge on Winning Eleven, but FIFA is the only game in town you can play worldwide. The lack of this mode still doesn't affect the lasting appeal badly, as there is plenty to do and many modes to do it in.

If soccer is your gig, if you found FIFA too light, Winning Eleven too intense, you should pick up World Tour Soccer. It may be the middleman, but folks from the States and casual fans may find that aspect their cup of tea.