Come on boys, put it in the mixer! (Football Manager 2008 (PC))

Member Name: simonh7

Product:	Football Manager 2008 (PC)
Date:	14/09/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything, from the huge database to gameplay

Disadvantages: Mind out for minor heart-attacks

Ever since Championship Manager 2 96/97, I have been captivated by this series of games and have probably spent months of my life winning promotion, fighting relegation and wheeler-dealing in the transfer market, and with Football Manager 2008, things never change.

Championship Manager fundamentally became Football Manager when developers Sports Interactive (SI) and Eidos split, leading SI to join up with Sega to deliver the great game to the masses, leaving Eidos' rival efforts eating dust.

FM 2008 is your usual management simulation, where you have the choice to take control of any one of a ridiculous amount of teams, from Manchester United to a Portuguese third division side. The game database is absolutely huge and manageable countries include most of Europe and other significant leagues from around the world, including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, USA, Japan and even India!

The game itself is beautifully detailed, allowing you to stamp your authority on a side, bringing in your own players and doing things your own way; you can even manage the reserves and youth teams! As far as gameplay goes, the main gist is searching for players, which can be done via scouting or manual search, buying players after negotiation with their clubs and with them through contract offers, selling players, talking to the media, and of course, playing the actual games once you have picked your team and sorted your tactics.

In-game, you can either watch the commentary only, which are a series of statements as to how the game is going, including match stats, or watch the entire game, or just the main highlights via the 2D bird's-eye pitch view, which is far better in my opinion. While FM09 has a 3d match engine, I still prefer the FM08 and previous few games' format.

This game can be truly euphoric or absolutely devastating. Winning a trophy is superb, but battling against relegation can be the most demoralising of events, as once you're stuck in a rut, it is near impossible to get out, unless you can use your managerial wisdom to drag your side out of such dog-fights. FM08 I believe, overall, is the best Football Manager game released, as it has a perfect blend of features, so detailed, that it will keep even the most ardent football fan engrossed for a very long time.

To be honest, with so many leagues to choose from, it almost never gets boring. Since purchasing this game I have managed in a multitude of countries, taking the helm at a number of clubs from Man Utd, to PAOK Salonika, to Sporting Lisbon, to Nantes, to Real Betis, all the way back to England with Notts County! And if the database is a little out of date, which it is now, nearly two seasons later, it is very easy to update, either through online patches or manually on FM Editor, which is programme automatically installed with the game.

FM08 is superb entertainment and whilst it literally has me tearing my hair out as another 94th minute goal is conceded, it does from time to time provoke opposite emotions of adulation when you hammer your local rivals or lift that elusive trophy!

Summary: The best football management simulation ever