An improvement on perfection? (Championship Manager 00/01 (PC))

Member Name: Dr_Evil

Product:	Championship Manager 00/01 (PC)
Date:	30/10/00 (519 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The most addictive game ever

Disadvantages: It will take over your life

The box for Championship Manager 2000/01 features the slogan 'It's the most important game of your life', and while in most cases a slogan like this could be seen as being very arrogant, in the case of Championship Manager it is probably true.

Championship Manager 2000/01 is the latest version of the greatest management simulation of all time. This is not a totally new version of the game and, as with CM99/00, is still based on the CM3 engine although it does feature significant improvements and is updated for the current season with all the latest promotions, relegations and transfers.

I have been buying Championship Manager games since the realease of CM93 some 7 years ago and can honestly say that each version has been an improvement on the last and the game has lost none of the qualities that have always made it so addictive. Although other games are released which may initially seem brilliant I always find myself going back to playing Championship Mangager after a few weeks.

CM00/01 doesn't feature flashy 3D graphics like EA's FA Premier League Manager but instead represents a match using text commentary. In my opinion this is much more engrossing as you can imagine how the match is going, while graphical match engines are still not sophisticated enough to make you feel like you are watching a real match. CM00/01 also includes sound effects that capture the atmosphere of a football match, which is an improvement on the audio commentary used in CM2. Although an audio commmentary initially sounds like a good idea, I found within a few matches it had become to repetitive and switched it off. The text commentary on the other hand is so varied that you may not see some phrases even after playing the game for months.

The interface used in CM00/01 is much like a webpage with most items being active links to other pages of information. For example clicking on a player name anywhere in the game will take you to the
players profile, and clicking on a club name will take you to the clubs squad screen. There is also a menu bar which remains on screen the whole time and makes most of the information easily accessible. The interface is very intuitive which is essential given the sheer volume of information contained in the game.

CM00/01 contains 26 playable leagues from around the world each with all the competitions of that country implemented accurately. The latest European league formats, international competitions including the World Cup, European Championship, Copa America and even the Olympics are included, and each country even has Under 21 and 'B' teams. Although you can take control of any team, in any league, you can only become an International manager by building up a good reputation at club level.

Sports Interactive have released an official patch for the game already which really is an essential download before you start playing the game. This patch fixes a few minor bugs, but most importantly brings the game up-to-date with all the transfers up to the games release date. This includes transfers such as Freedman and Rubins to Crystal Palace, Mark Hughes to Blackburn and Stan Collymore to Bradford.

CM00/01 contains many improvement over CM99/00 which further cement Championship Managers position as the best management game available. The major improvements include the opportunity to respond to media criticism, approach the FA to complain about referees and new statistics for players. CM00/01 also includes a data editor which allows you to update the database with new transfers, change you teams colours or improve your stadium. CM00/01 is the first PC game to come in a smart DVD style case, and I would say this is an improvement over the traditional large cardboard boxes, and hopefully something that other publishers will adopt in the future.

There is just so much to say about this game that I could go on forever but hopeful
ly I have said enough to convince you that CM00/01 is the greatest game ever written. If you are already a CM addict then I am sure you will buy this update anyway, but if you have never played it before then I urge you to buy it now. Put quite simply, Championship Manager is the 'most important game of your life'

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