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While watching MLS games with more and more interest over the past several years, I have come to appreciate its style of play. This 12-team league offers an exciting brand of soccer that can only help the sport grow in the United States. Endorsed by Carlos Valderamma, ESPN MLS GameNight is a game that tries to capture the MLS experience. The fact that a soccer game with a full MLS license is coming out this summer is good enough news for soccer fans. However, considering that Konami is behind this title makes the news that much better. The following hands-on preview is based on approximately 20 hours of play with an alpha version of ESPN MLS GameNight.

Most sports gamers are aware that the 11/4 game engine is the best in the business. The creators of this engine are behind ESPN MLS GameNight. This game feels very similar to previous Konami soccer games. The gameplay of the alpha version is already excellent. There are four difficulty levels, and I played most games on the second level. This game is not a cakewalk! My games at the second level were very competitive (1-0, 2-1, 2-2, etc.). The first level is fairly easy to beat, but the upper two levels will challenge the best gamers. The AI is rock solid. I encountered very few unrealistic breakdowns by the CPU. Adding to the gameplay of MLS GameNight is a setting to adjust gamespeed. All soccer and hockey games should offer a gamespeed setting, since there are so many opinions on what speed is "just right." Although the graphics of FIFA 2000 Major League Soccer were gorgeous, the shoddy gameplay was a huge letdown. ESPN MLS GameNight offers the meat and potatoes of soccer gameplay. After suffering through FIFA 2000 last year, it is nice to play a soccer game on the PSX that "looks" like the actual sport of soccer.

The depth of ESPN MLS GameNight is awesome. Not only can the user play through a full MLS season and playoffs, but Konami has included 53 international-style teams, as well as various tournaments and cups. One of the things that impresses me most about GameNight is the excellent team management. There are plenty of formations to choose from, and offensive/defensive aggressiveness and zone/man assignments can be set for each player. Each player is rated in a ton of categories. It definitely pays to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the players, and use them accordingly to get good match-ups on the field. Another outstanding feature is the player editor/creator. This powerful feature gives the user the ability to customize virtually everything about the players, as well as edit their numbers, abilities, etc. The player creator is one of the best I have encountered. Other features include a nice training mode, a trophy room, saved replays, and a custom league creator. In short, the feature set of MLS GameNight is impressive.

The presentation of MLS GameNight is good. The graphics, while not quite as detailed as those found in FIFA 2000, are above average. The players are modeled to look like their real-world counterparts. For example, it is not hard to recognize Carlos Valderamma, as his huge bouffant is readily apparent (Be sure to check out the generous helping of screens we took of this game). The players animate exceptionally well and the collision detection is absolutely fantastic. It looks and feels like real soccer. The camera angles are fine for my taste, and the radar screen is helpful. Although Bob Ley, of ESPN, handles the commentary and does a credible job, I change the commentary setting to "Spanish." Famed announcer Louis Tapia does the Spanish commentary. It is cool to hear "Goooaaalll!" upon a score. The on-field sounds are solid and the crowd really gets into the game at key moments. The overall atmosphere of MLS GameNight is exciting.

Being that the version of ESPN MLS GameNight I played was an alpha copy, I will refrain from going into too much detail, as I am sure the developer will be tweaking and adding stuff. However, as you can tell from the aforementioned observations, MLS GameNight is headed in the right direction and promises to be an exciting game for PSX owners. There is little doubt that by the time the final version of this game is complete, we will have a winner on our hands. It is quite simple - Konami has its hands on the best soccer engine in console gaming. Combine that soccer engine with full MLS and ESPN licenses, and you have just put thousands of MLS fans in gaming heaven. Be on the lookout for this title later this summer.