This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Aaron Thomas.

One of the PSP launch titles with the most worldwide appeal is World Tour Soccer, the first-party soccer game from 989. It’s certainly going to face some stiff competition from EA’s FIFA Soccer, but WTS should be able to hold its own, and not because it was released first, but because it’s a fine representation of the world’s most popular sport.

WTS newbie, or seasoned veteran, there are four difficulty options available to suit your needs: Amateur, Pro, World Class, and Master Class. The amateur setting isn’t too difficult, so if you have in fact played WTS before, you might want to just start out on Pro. The default match length is 4 minutes, which is a bit short but can be increased to either 6, 8, or 10 minutes if you’ve got the time. You can also choose how you’d like extra time to be handled, and even turn off penalties if you’re nuts about slide-tackling. There are eight stadiums in the game, but only one is unlocked from the get go. That means you’ll have to earn the right to play in “Arnold Schwarzenegger” stadium – and no, that’s not a joke.

There are several different game modes you can choose from, ranging from a variety of cups, to local WiFi play, and even a challenge mode. The challenge mode places you in a match against increasingly difficult opponents, and rewards you with points as you play. You’ll get 300 points for a goal, but you’ll lost 300 if you give one up. Completing a pass earns you points, but having one intercepted costs you – it’s a neat system. After the game is over you are rewarded more points based on things like not getting a card and shutting out your opponent. Depending on your score, you’ll get a medal, which unlocks the next round, as well as the rest of the game’s stadiums. The cup modes are essentially tournaments that are separated by league and/or country. Winning here will unlock the rest of the game’s 245 teams that are unavailable to you initially, including some all-star teams, and classic teams from the past.

The game’s controls are easy to learn, and mapped comfortably to the PSP’s six buttons. The use of multiple button presses for moves is kept to a minimum, with only special dribbling moves and intentional dives requiring holding the L1 button in conjunction with a face button. You even have the ability to change your team’s play style from six different options by simply pressing the select button. The players themselves are easy so control, and while they do take a bit of time to turn around sometimes, generally are quick to respond to commands. Passes are crisp and accurate, the players make intelligent runs, and the special moves are nicely balanced. The referee is pretty laid back, but is always on top of offsides, and will call blatant fouls and obvious dives. As far as the gameplay goes, there’s very little to complain about – the game plays great.

Since the soccer pitch is so large, the default camera is positioned far away, making the players a bit small, but this allows it to cover a good portion of the field, which is a fair trade off. To further help you see where your players are and to help you plan your attacks, there's a radar showing player positions is at the bottom of the screen. In addition to that, there are small arrows on the left side of the screen that indicate the general whereabouts of your nearest teammate. The effort that was put into making the field and players easy to see really encourages team play, and keeps the game from being a “dribble the length of the field and shoot” title.

Despite the camera being far away from the action, the players still look good and feature a respectable number of animations. After a goal, the camera will cut to the player celebrating his feat, giving you a close-up view of the nice player models. Several different replays of the goal will follow the celebration, giving you ample opportunity to view your amazing shot, or lament your pitiful defense. The eight different stadiums look nice and feature some surprisingly nice looking grass.

The other 989 sports games’ audio have ranged from disappointing to decent, but WTS is actually quite good. For starters, there’s actually an announcer in the game, and while his comments are somewhat limited, it’s far better than nothing. He’ll call out player names, make quick comments after a goal, and does a good job keeping up with the action. There are a couple of different songs in the menus, and like most soundtracks, it’s a matter of preference as to if they’re any good or not. The crowds are lively, and will perform a variety of familiar chants during the course of the game.

WTS does have real players, but since it doesn’t have the FIFA license, there are some noticeable omissions, as far as leagues and teams go. The challenge mode is great, but it would be nice to see it lengthened a bit, and inclusion as a multi-player feature would have been welcomed as well. The exclusion of a season mode is a major disappointment as its presence would have added some significant depth to the title.

The game’s difficulty feels a bit unbalanced as it’s quite easy on the amateur mode (nothing wrong with that), but becomes quite difficult when you ramp up the difficulty just one notch. The AI isn’t horrible, at least on the offensive side of the ball, but it’s lacking on defense. Your players will offer no resistance while the computer makes its way down the field, though they will infrequently intercept passes by seemingly by sheer luck. The computer’s defense is a little more balanced, but relies heavily on crowding the penalty area, rather than challenging you with clever play. These aren’t major complaints, but they are issues worth noting.

The graphics are nice, but you will notice a few areas where presentation was sacrificed for the greater good. Little things like the nets not moving after a goal, cardboard cutout crowds, and no referee on the field (except for cut-scenes) aren’t huge omissions, but you’ll likely notice them.

Like the other 989 sports games, WTS has some simply mind-numbing load times. Unfortunately, it’s the worst of the three, with games taking over 45 seconds to begin. If you’re playing a 4 minute game, that means you’re spending the equivalent of 20% of the match twiddling your thumbs. The load times are actually different for certain play modes, which shows that they can be improved, but they weren’t.

Its big brother on the consoles is usually thought of as the lesser of the “Big Three” soccer series, but WTS on the PSP is quite a good game. The game feels polished, the controls are nice, and there are a healthy number of gameplay options to keep you entertained for a long time. Whereas the other 989 games would have been better served being built from the ground up instead of sacrificing vital features in their transition to the PSP, WTS feels like it was destined to be here all along.

The difficulty is uneven, but game plays nice and smooth.

The players look decent, the camera is ok, but little touches are missing.

Adequate announcer, lively crowds and decent menu music.

It’s lots of fun to play. Multi-player challenge mode would be nice.

It needs a season and longer challenge mode. Otherwise, there’s good depth.