Genre: Sports
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami

Only a half a notch below its console/PC cousins, WE9 PSP uses high polygon count models, some sharp textures, the same animations as the other versions, and runs all of this at near perfect framerates, even with most or all of the 22 players on the pitch in full view. Like many PSP games there is some "dithering" evident (16-bit color depth maybe?) and some occasional poly clipping issues, but all in all the game looks very nice.

There are some nice crowd chants and a ridiculously catchy theme song, but like all the WE games this one sounds a bit flat, even with headphones. This is probably the only area where other football titles might have an advantage, however slight. The PSP version also lacks commentary which, frankly, is a welcome subtraction.

The WE games are very complex; you can do 4 different types of crosses for Pete's sake. Yet they're always so accessible despite the sheer quantity of possible moves. In this PSP version, every last move, ability, and feature we've known from past WE games is as present and easy to use as ever. In fact, as we've seen with other PSP titles, there have been literally no gameplay sacrifices made despite the form factor. The PSP is more of a mini console than a handheld, and it pays when developers can make games like this one on the platform.

The WE games use the most sophisticated player skill modelling system I've ever seen in any sports game, and in this case, complexity is a good thing. Because of this model the eb and flow of football, to use a cliche, is spelled out on the game's sleeve, one could easily mistake it for a real football match. The PSP does make a few sacrifices; there is only one stadium, no commentary, and the wonderful Master League mode has gone inexplicably missing despite the fact that the PSP has the same amount of RAM (32 meg) as the PS2 and more than enough storage capacity (1.8 gig UMD). But the most important aspect, the glorious gameplay engine, made the conversion flawlessly, and season mode is intriguing enough to give the game long-term substance.