A Mixed Bag (Football Manager 2005 (PC))

Member Name: jonesri

Product:	Football Manager 2005 (PC)
Date:	19/04/05 (1253 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: some good new features

Disadvantages: can be slow, no great strides forward

After my review of the final offering of the SI and Eidos partnership it only seems fair that I now turn my attention to the successors to the throne. The last time I set about reviewing a Championship Manager game it turned out to be an epic experience and highly time consuming. This time I am going to try and make it a more concise experience so I apologise if it doesn't contain the same level of detail as my previous effort.

** Background **

The Championship Manager series has been around for over 10 years and proved to be a very successful partnership between SI Games and Eidos Interactive. For some reason after the release of the last game the two companies decided to part company and try their luck independently. I believe that as part of the split SI Games got to keep the database and game engine from the Championship Manager series while Eidos Interactive got the front end and the name "Championship Manager". I am not sure about the truth behind this but it is what I have heard.

After parting company with Eidos Interactive, SI Games have teamed up with Sega to develop the Football Manager spin off game. It was released in the last quarter of 2004 and looks set to be the first in another series of football games. With the much-delayed release of Championship Manager 5, Football Manager has been free to fill the void left from the Championship Manager series.

** The Basics **

Just on the off chance you have never come across this game in some variety over the last 10 years I will give you an overview of the idea behind the game, the objective and what it is that has made this game such an addictive success.

You are the manager of a football club and your job is to bring success to that football club. To do this you have responsibility for choosing your team for each game, buying and selling players, man managing your squad, dealing with the media, coming up with tactics, arranging training, hiring and firing backroom staff and making tactical changes during matches.

When you start the game you choose the scope of your footballing world and this will determine the players available to you and the clubs you can manage. All the leagues in your world will be played out by the game and results, competitions and player stats maintained.

** Playing the Game **

To start playing the game you need to define your scope. This will most likely be restricted by the power of your PC and the amount of time you are prepared to sit around waiting for the game to do its background processing. As you would expect, the more league you include the more games to be played and the longer everything will take (especially on slower PC's). I always like to have the top European leagues in my games so tend to have to wait a while between games.

Once you have set up your game you have to choose your club. This has to be one of the clubs in the leagues you have included in your game. It is also worth considering the resources and expectations of the club of choice. It is easier to be successful with lower expectations and more money.

As a new manager you start the game with no reputation so don't be surprised if fans are sceptical about your appointment. It is up to you to prove your worth. The first thing any new manager does at a club is assess the squad and staff and look to bring in their own people. Personally, I always like to have a good cull when I arrive at a club and put my own stamp on the squad. You start the game in the close season so will have a good few weeks to mould your own squad. When you are appointed you will be given a transfer budget (or not depending on your clubs financial position). This can normally be supplemented by the sales of current players.

There are several search options you can use to scour the globe to find the perfect player for you. You can employ scouts at the club and assign them to clubs, countries and regions. If you prefer to do things yourself you can use the player search facility and look at several player attributes and statistics. Once you have found players you like you can add them to your shortlist for easy reference in future. The process of buying a player is fairly simple. You need to agree a fee with the club then agree terms with the player (pay attention Chelsea).

When attempting to sell players you have several options. Firstly you can put them on the transfer list and hope that generates some interest. Further you can approach clubs and offer these players. Your assistant manager can help identify potentially interested clubs. When selling players in this way it is rare that you will get the price you want for the player.

There is also a search facility for backroom staff. The quality and quantity of coaches and physios at your club will have an impact on the development of your players and the speed of recuperation after an injury. A new feature of this game is the ability to post job adverts for positions in your club. The backroom staff will then apply for the position and your assistant will notify you of any appropriate applicants.

Once settled in your new club it is time to start thinking about your tactics and training. There are quite complex training regimes you can put together to improve your squad in a certain skill. You can also customise the training to the player's position, and retrain players to play in different positions. There is plenty of advice on doing this on the various FM2005 forums. There will be default training schedules in place when you take over the club although you will want to sort out your tactics prior to playing your first friendly matches. There is a selection of tactics pre-defined in the game and it is also possible to engineer your own if you have the time and patience.

In the build up to a match you are required to select a team. After spending the last couple of months hand crafting your squad you should have a fairly good idea of what your starting line up is going to be. Once you have picked your starting team, substitutes and any tactics specific to the opposition you move onto the game. You can alter your tactics and personnel at any point during the game so you should be able to make telling substitutions if the game is not going as you would expect. When the final whistle blows, just sit back and bask in the glory of your success.

If you find that you have taken the club as far as you can or just feel like you need a new project you always have the chance to move clubs. Similar to recruiting your own backroom staff you can reply to job adverts for manager positions at other clubs. You success will depend on the reputation you have built up during your time at your current club.

** Interface and Appearance **

It was my understanding that this game would have a new front end written for it and use the database and game engine from the previous Championship Manager games. If this is the case then the newly designed interface is very similar in look and feel to the previous game. It has changed from previous versions but in principal it is the same as the previous versions. The general look and feel of the pages will seem familiar but some of the navigation has been changed slightly.

Some of the buttons have moved around the page, which can take a while to get used to and the menu's are much more dynamic than any of the previous versions. It will come down to your personal preference as to whether you think this is an improvement or not. For me, at first I didn't really like but with time I have come to find it easier to use than previous systems.

** New/Improved Features **

Each evolutionary step in this games development has seen the introduction of a raft of new features and this is no exception. If you want to see the full list of these features you are probably better checking the SI Games website, but here are my top 3 new features to look out for:

1. Media Interaction - Media interaction is not so much a new feature for the Championship Manager series but there have been big steps taken in making it realistic in this instalment. You are able to make comments about other managers at will, respond to comments made by other managers as well as praise and criticise your players. Make friends or make enemies. Either way, do it in public.

2. Manager Reputation - Again, not a new feature as such but a feature that has been greatly improved. For the first time a 30-year-old unknown going in as manager of Manchester United is greeted by unrest from the supporters. Your reputation also has a strong effect on the media interaction you have with other managers in the league and your ability to get other jobs.

3. Posting Job Vacancies - This is a new feature for this version of the game. If you need a new coach you can simply post an advert and wait for applicants to come to you. What could be easier?

** Playability **

Probably the biggest asset the previous games in the series have had has been their playability. They have been easy to play and easy to get addicted to. Is this latest offering as addictive and playable?

Well, for me I have to say no. I haven't managed to get addicted to this game like I have to previous offerings but that may be more to do with my lifestyle these days than the game itself. Since leaving university I don't have the same amount of time for games like this that I have previously and I find it frustrating at the small amount of progress I can make when only playing in short spells. As far as I am concerned Championship Manager has been getting significantly slower over recent releases. Now, my PC is by no means state of the art but exceeds the requirements for the game, however, with a decent sized database and a reasonable number of leagues I find this version painfully slow. A better PC may handle this size of processing easier but I don't think you should need a super computer to play this game.

** More Information and Useful Links **

If you want more information about Football Manager 2005 check out the SI Games website http://www.sigames.com/

This is also where you will find the forums offering tips and advice and more importantly any patches released to fix bugs in the game.

** Overall **

To be honest I have somewhat mixed feelings about this game. I am not sure if I am getting old now or if the game has gone a little stale. I would say that this is a worthy follow up to the Championship Manager series and fans of these games would be well advised to give it a try. There are certainly some good new features in this instalment but I am far from convinced that it is a massive step forward. The processing requirements of the game seem to have finally reached a level where I am not prepared to wait anymore which is a shame. Maybe I should just take it as a hint to buy a new PC though.

Given that there is Championship Manager 5 now available it doesn't really seem fair to crown this the new king of football manager games without trying out the opposition. This is certainly as good as Championship Manager 03/04 but I am not sure any great strides have been made. Maybe the next instalment will be better or maybe it has reached the end of the line.

Thanks for reading

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