flamingwookie
Club Supporter
I've had WE7I (North American PS2 version) since it came out, and have been playing it quite a bit in the last few weeks. Before WE7I, I've owned WE6FE (Japanese import), and enjoyed it very much, especially with the WEDoIt patch.
When WE7 (Japanese import version) was first released, I almost bought it, but held out for the WE7I North American release. At first I was dazzled with new moves/animations, but the more I play, the more frustrated I'm getting with WE7I.
First off, I recently had an opportunity to pick up PES3 for PC and it looks as though WE7I is a straight port of PES3 for North America (and possibly the rest of the world?). From what I've been able to read on the 'net, PES3 appears to be based on WE6 (Japanese). Is this the case? Is WE7I truly based on a newer game engine than WE6FE, or is WE6 -> PES3 -> WE7I give the true lineage of WE7I (rather than WE7 -> WE7I)?
A few things in particular have been annoying me and lead me to believe that WE7I is not based on the Japanese game WE7 which followed WE6FE:
1. Calling for defensive help: In WE6FE, using the square button to call for an additional defender would call the expected player almost 100% of the time. I could predict which player would come aid in defense and used that along with the player I was actually controlling to stifle opposing attackers. In WE7I, calling for defensive help often results in another player running from far off the screen to help defend, while a closer teammate stands around. This a) takes longer to close down the attacker and b) often leaves a gaping hole further back in my defense. I would think the defending logic code would have improved from WE6FE -> WE7I, but I feel it has taken a step back.
2. L1 player selection: In my opinion, one of the fantastic things about the WE series has been the effortlessness with which control of players switches throughout the game. In WE6 (Japanese import) and WE6FE I almost always knew which player I was selecting with L1. All too often in WE7I, L1 selects a different player than it would have in previous versions, and this leads to all sorts of problems, especially when attempting to control the closest defender to an attacker with the ball. On a number of occassions I'll have a group of defenders and simply want control of the player closest to an attacker with the ball. L1 leaves me with another player nowhere as close to the attacker, and I've given up a couple incredibly frustrating goals where if L1 had given me control of the defender I expected, I could have made a play on the ball. Some people may think it's a simple matter of clicking L1 a second time--if at first you don't control the expected player, try, try again--but the point is that while flipping through 2 or 3 defenders a couple times to make sure I've selected the correct one, it was too late, and the shot has already been taken. WE6FE didn't have this problem. Why does WE7I?
3. Menu system: I played a _lot_ of WE6FE, and I found the menu system extremely easy to navigate. I never understood what people on these message boards were griping about concerning menus. Now I know. WE7I menus are terrible when compared to their WE6FE counterparts. Makes me wonder if WE7I isn't based on a version of WE before WE6FE . . .
In conclusion, does anyone out there know if there is a difference between WE7 (Japanese import) and WE7I, and if there is a difference, what is it? Is WE7 the same as WE7I (except for minor localization and licensing details)? If not, does WE7 exhibit these same issues? I'm still glad I bought WE7I, although if I learn that WE7 is "newer" than WE7I, I'd be inclined to import again . . . but WE7FE will probably be out soon anyway
When WE7 (Japanese import version) was first released, I almost bought it, but held out for the WE7I North American release. At first I was dazzled with new moves/animations, but the more I play, the more frustrated I'm getting with WE7I.
First off, I recently had an opportunity to pick up PES3 for PC and it looks as though WE7I is a straight port of PES3 for North America (and possibly the rest of the world?). From what I've been able to read on the 'net, PES3 appears to be based on WE6 (Japanese). Is this the case? Is WE7I truly based on a newer game engine than WE6FE, or is WE6 -> PES3 -> WE7I give the true lineage of WE7I (rather than WE7 -> WE7I)?
A few things in particular have been annoying me and lead me to believe that WE7I is not based on the Japanese game WE7 which followed WE6FE:
1. Calling for defensive help: In WE6FE, using the square button to call for an additional defender would call the expected player almost 100% of the time. I could predict which player would come aid in defense and used that along with the player I was actually controlling to stifle opposing attackers. In WE7I, calling for defensive help often results in another player running from far off the screen to help defend, while a closer teammate stands around. This a) takes longer to close down the attacker and b) often leaves a gaping hole further back in my defense. I would think the defending logic code would have improved from WE6FE -> WE7I, but I feel it has taken a step back.
2. L1 player selection: In my opinion, one of the fantastic things about the WE series has been the effortlessness with which control of players switches throughout the game. In WE6 (Japanese import) and WE6FE I almost always knew which player I was selecting with L1. All too often in WE7I, L1 selects a different player than it would have in previous versions, and this leads to all sorts of problems, especially when attempting to control the closest defender to an attacker with the ball. On a number of occassions I'll have a group of defenders and simply want control of the player closest to an attacker with the ball. L1 leaves me with another player nowhere as close to the attacker, and I've given up a couple incredibly frustrating goals where if L1 had given me control of the defender I expected, I could have made a play on the ball. Some people may think it's a simple matter of clicking L1 a second time--if at first you don't control the expected player, try, try again--but the point is that while flipping through 2 or 3 defenders a couple times to make sure I've selected the correct one, it was too late, and the shot has already been taken. WE6FE didn't have this problem. Why does WE7I?
3. Menu system: I played a _lot_ of WE6FE, and I found the menu system extremely easy to navigate. I never understood what people on these message boards were griping about concerning menus. Now I know. WE7I menus are terrible when compared to their WE6FE counterparts. Makes me wonder if WE7I isn't based on a version of WE before WE6FE . . .
In conclusion, does anyone out there know if there is a difference between WE7 (Japanese import) and WE7I, and if there is a difference, what is it? Is WE7 the same as WE7I (except for minor localization and licensing details)? If not, does WE7 exhibit these same issues? I'm still glad I bought WE7I, although if I learn that WE7 is "newer" than WE7I, I'd be inclined to import again . . . but WE7FE will probably be out soon anyway
