The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does. ~Phil Woosnam, 1974

Feel like a game of football, eh? Of course, not your typical game of "football", at least not in the American sense. Rather, this is the fleet-footed, shin-guarded, "goal-tastic" sport that is loved the world over, much more so than that aforementioned, barbaric contest.

Whatever your preference, World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 should fulfill your gaming needs. It comes to us from industry veteran Konami, and has been challenging EA’s FIFA soccer franchise for the past several years. This latest installment is no exception.

Graphically, WE9 boasts a wide array of positives. The frame rates hold steady throughout the most hectic of moments, so too with the smooth animations capturing the nimble athletes pirouette around that tiny leather ball. Player models seem well proportioned, and move realistically, especially in regards to the crucial actions of dribbling and shooting. Some games in the past seemed to have an invisible string tied to the soccer ball, but this title allows for more accurate physics for the most part. Close up, even the facial animations are surprisingly detailed. It’s just too bad I had no clue who anyone was. But you true soccer fans out there should just eat this up.

There are a wealth of slick cinematic cutscenes, which blend the gameplay and competitiveness into a one seamless interface. The camera angles are also rather nifty, being able to zoom in tight, or see all the action in a blimp-esque view.

Sound wise, WE9 is indeed an international game. Commentary, from Peter Brackley and Trevor Brooking, comes in five flavors: Spanish, English, Italian, German or French. The stadiums also exude energy and vibrate with raucous soccer fans screaming, punctuated by a big goal, or turn over. Sound effects are nothing special, but get the job done, with your basic on the field effects like grunting, kicking, and the sound of grass crushing underneath 22 pairs of cleats. All of this with decent surround sound support too.

World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 has quite a few game modes that show off its solid gameplay. The Match mode is your basic exhibition format, where you and a friend can hop into a quick game. The League mode boasts the ability to play in seven international leagues of your choosing, in full or half season schedules. The Cup mode offers numerous tournaments, such as Regional Cups (African, American, European), 32-team international, or the unique Konami cup. The Master League is basically the franchise mode for WE9, where you are in total control of personnel, scheduling, finances and more, as you craft your soccer team into an elite competitor. Lastly, there is an online mode, which will be discussed later.

Even if you don’t like the current set of teams or locales, you can edit everything - stadiums, players etc - to your heart’s content. Not only can you edit the larger picture, but also before each game, you can mess with uniforms (down to every detail), weather, fireworks, referees (yes… I said you can pick your refs), team focus (individualistic/group) and more. One of the key elements in every title that claims it is realistic is the amount of tweaking you can perform, which not so long ago wasn’t very common. Thankfully, companies are recognizing the want of the gamer to customize their play experience.

On the field, or “pitch”, WE9 is a testament to slick controls, tension-filled action, and some of the truest representations of soccer around. From relying on cross shots, headers, attacking from the wings and more, your knowledge of the game will be tested each match. If some of this does seem a bit daunting, there is a pleasant training mode that introduces you to the fundamentals of soccer- dribbling, passing, and shooting. The list of moves is quite massive, and along the way, you should keep adding to your repertoire, or else be left behind in the various tournaments and contests. Being able to take charge during an attack on the opponent’s goal is key in getting the most out of your players. This hands-on approach should be rather familiar to gamers who enjoy hockey or basketball games, because without the human component, your A.I. teammates can seem a tad lost. Being able to recognize your formations and employing them at the right moment is also key to being successful in WE9. You usually want to keep the pressure on the other side of the field, away from your vulnerable goal, but be aware of overextending your defense. Also be careful of being overly aggressive with tackling and whatnot, or you will be littered with a bevy of yellow and red cards, ejecting your players out left and right. This isn't Mutant League Soccer or anything. And then there are the dreaded penalty kicks, which I fondly remember from my wee days as a young lad. Not because they were momentous in games, but because they scared the crap out of me for, *ahem, gender specific reasons. Human wall anyone?

It seems as if every game is online capable these days, as the merger between PC technology, as well as the fruition of platforms like Xbox Live, have each accelerated the growth of online play. In WE9, you have a variety of modes such as Create-a-Match, Quick Match, and Optimatch, all fully customizable, of course. You use your player profile to engage in the online ranking and even take your Master League roster online to challenge others.

For starters, the great training mode really elevates the pressure on learning the intricate and vast set of moves at your disposal. After you get a hang of these and the formations and general strategy, everything seems to be rather simple. The opponent A.I. is pretty decent, as it seems to really lock you down when you have the ball, harassing you up and down the field. The goalies don’t allow any mass scoring either; it is true to life in most cases. Overall, you shouldn’t have an issue withWorld Soccer: Winning Eleven 9's slight learning curve and game play.

Like any excellent sports title, World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 comes stock with some solid controls. You have your standard pass, shoot and dash buttons, and each is laid out well. The left analog stick is your main control element besides the face buttons, but to add some extra spice, the rear triggers and right analog stick add layers of special abilities. To really excel at most of the game, as I mentioned earlier, it would behoove you to master all elements of the controls, especially the sick special move button, where you can really break some ankles when a would-be tackler comes in to intercept your ball. The menu system is a tad awkward, but as far as navigating, after a while, you get the hang of it.

World Soccer: Winning Eleven 9 combines spot-on controls, excellent visuals, and enough rousing gameplay to make it the de facto champ among soccer titles today. Fans of the sport shouldn’t be without this classic title, and even novice spectators like myself can be turned into soccer fans overnight after we score our first goal, crush someone with a leg-snapping tackle, or nail a game-winning penalty kick.