When people come up to me and ask me which game I like better, FIFA 2003 or Winning 11, I usually tell them I have both and that they are both good. But if you were to come up and ask me " Hey Jon, which game do you play more? ", I'd basically give them the answer they were asking for in the first question.

World Soccer Winning Eleven 6 (WW6) and FIFA 2003 are similar and different in many ways. Graphically WW6 has a bit of an edge in the race, but just slightly. The character features and physics tend to look a bit more fluid than FIFA as well as when the up close shots, FIFA still needs to work on the "zombie like features of some of the players faces. However they have made vast improvements since FIFA 2002 & World Cup and seem to be moving closer to their goal. The player's looks are a bit dated however, maybe due to the fact this is the 1st time WW6 has made it to the states, it seems more like a 2002 version more than a current.

When it comes to sound, FIFA absolutely dominates in the competition. If you truly want to enjoy playing a football game (Soccer), then you need to turn the commentators off (only have them on when you and a buddy are playing or with a group of friends). You can truly enjoy haring the banter between players and the crowd, and the crunch of a good tackle. WW6 truly drops the ball in this department. Football (Soccer) is a living, breathing, experience brought to life with atmosphere. The crowd chanting, booing …singing songs. The rush of blood that fills you with excitement when a goal is scored or a penalty saved. The crowd is a living thing, and in winning 11 it's stagnant. However in FIFA, team songs as well as player songs add to a game and let you know who's " house " you are playing in. when you are losing 2-0, nothing hurts worse than a smile on your friends face and the crowd singing.. " two nil, Two nil, Two Nil!!!! " and the players on the field screaming at each other. FIFA puts you in th e stadium, and engulfs you in the sounds of the world's game.

Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things. Control in a game can either make or break a title and if a person gets frustrated and fed up with playing then what's the point of even playing. FIFA's controls over the years haven't changed to drastically. They have improved with each passing year. In fact the only complaint one might have with the game, is they left out the "give and go "control that was so very useful in the game. Give and go's if used properly can be devastating, and one who mastered its technique would control the tempo of a game. Give and Go's are like a "Fast Break "in the NBA or a QB faking a hand-off and going for a long bomb down field. When FIFA added this into the 2002 game, it was a huge leap forward. And I feel that if they would have kept it into the 2003 game with the additions they made, the controls would have been perfect, maybe in 2004? WW6 control is a whole other story. The full range of control you have with WW6 is amazing. Almost each button has 4-6 different functions on both defense and offense. While at first one becomes amazed by this, once the novelty wears off, you realize that in the game you might have to result to button mashing and crossing your fingers to even get control in a game, never mind score.

The main thing I always her people complain about in FIFA is either "it's too hard to score," or, "it's too easy to score". I'm going to shed some light on some people that may have a hard time understanding what to do when the little game is getting too hard for them or too easy. See there is this "weird" little menu selection in a game called OPTIONS, and in the magical menu there is a way you can (now see if you can stay with me on this one) A-D-J-U-S-T the Difficultly level on the game. It's a pretty weird concept, but if the game is too easy and you find yourself scoring 10-12 goals with your injured water boy I'd say it's about time you bumped up to the normal or even try putting all the rules on and making sure the ref's strictness is a little higher than having it set where he's blind to everything on the field. Additionally, if you can't even score a goal with 11 of your men vs. 9 of theirs and the goalkeeper signing autographs in the stands... I'd say you need to slap those training wheels back on and try a little more practice at amateur level, there's no shame, you just aren't Pele.

Now what you need to ask yourself when you are trying to decide between these games is a real easy question. Why are you playing a soccer game? to play with you favorite team, or to pick up and play with a buddy something easy and simple. Do you want to pick a team and start a franchise or run simulations? FIFA has a major advantage over WW6, license! Even though many of the players on all the teams in WW6 are named correctly and are in the right positions and have the right squad numbers. None of the FIFA licensing is there, so Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, A.C. Milan, Juventas, and Ajax are all called other teams. Many players have to be renamed, and even though WW6 is fully editable, who wants to spend 6 hrs fixing the game so all the team names are right and the squads are up to date? WW6 also seems to only have a little less than 20 "professional" teams and the rest are all world cup squads. When you want to play a Basketball game.. Don't you want to play with your favorite team, and have them called what they are and have them spell the players right? How much fun would it be to play a NBA game with the San Antonio Sparkles? How about the latest version of Madden with the world champion Green Bay Cheese heads??? Yes you know they are the Packers and Spurs.. But wouldn't it irk you if they weren't called that? I have been a Manchester United supporter my whole life; my grandfather supported the club since 1910, and my Uncle since 1944. Now I've read some reviews in "other" sites with tag lines like "Soccer players play Fifa and Football players play WW6", and it makes me laugh. WW6 may be the top seller over FIFA in Europe, but does that mean it is the better game? Maybe, but don't judge either game on sales. Ask yourself why you are getting a football (soccer) game. What do you want out of any sports game? License can play a major part in one's decision. I personally like my teams named right and to be immersed in a sports game as much as possible. Game play is a major factor, but sports games are different. Why do we play them? We want to be on the team we follow. We want to pound our rivals and win the league. We want the fantasy mixed with the real.