The visuals are great up close, but lose some luster and sheen when pulled back to check out the entire pitch. Uninspired textures, jumpy animation, and washed out colors are the makeup of WTS 06. There are some really nice animations, mind you, but they are dismissed, as the transitions from one to another are sporadic. It almost seems as if this game was a few years older, as this is a brand new engine, and from scratch, there are more ingredients that are needed here if they are going to stack up with the big boys. The only real bright spot comes in the presentation and cut scenes which are done so well and look fantastic, you wonder if they were programmed from a different engine. The stadiums are large in structure, but the weak polygon textures for the field are awful, which really takes away from what could have been. Toss in some very cluttered and plain menu screens and you have a decent to mediocre looking title at best. Even widescreen presentation does not put this up top with the elite.

Audio isn't as disappointing, yet it too fails to impress. Stock sound effects, bouncy house menu music, and less than stimulating commentary are pro to typical of this series, and 2006 doesn't improve on this at all. Nothing, once again, is terrible but there just is not much of a wow factor when playing WTS 06.

Game play is a sad case of "what could have been." The A.I. is competitive enough that not only will the shots and goals be sufficient and low, like a typical soccer game, but the challenge at keeping them at bay is welcome. This kind of intensity results in exciting games that take place in the middle of the pitch with both teams vying for possession rights, which is how it should be. The biggest factor comes in the animations. The jumpy animations affect the game play itself, resulting in missed timed tackles, interceptions, and can even lead to offside penalties. The control scheme even relies on preloaded button presses which can result in poor passing, and poor shots on goal. These things can kill a soccer game, and consider WTS 06 wounded because of such intrusions.

If you can get by the so so game play, then you can expect a ton of features to play around with. WTS 06 offers over 900 teams, 19,000 real players, the ability to put yourself in the action thanks to the EyeToy, tons of tournament play, unlockables galore, and a solid online mode. WTS 06 also provides a pretty extensive career mode, but the options are nowhere as vast as Winning Elevens'.

Overall, it is hard to recommend this title over either FIFA or Winning 11 as both games offer better game play, visuals, and bang for your buck than Sony's offering. The game is no means a bad title, it just feels average, and at the near end of a system's life cycle, average just does not cut it for 40 bucks anymore.