Not a patch on 08 (Football Manager 2009 (PC))

Member Name: sagat

Product:	Football Manager 2009 (PC)
Date:	12/01/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New 3d engine, if you can get it to work

Disadvantages: Buggy as hell

A review of this game is perhaps unnecessary as I would think most people already know if they will buy this game or not.

Football Manager (or Champ Manager to us older folk) has been around for a few years now and contineus to come out every year with various improvements and updated rosters. Those who have already been bitten by the bug, tend to buy and then play the game religiously. Champ Manager 2 was responsible for my poor performance in my English GCSE coursework.

It was then with some disappointment that I found myself bored of this version after only a days play.

Installing the game was a logistical nightmare. I found myself not to be alone in this as the SI forums will testify. The activation process was a complete mess that left a very bad taste i nthe mouth.

However, once that was out the way, I booted it all up and got down to business. The rosters as usual were updated, and features such as board expectations and confidence had been tweaked, however the biggest change was the introduction of the 3D engine.

I preferred not to use this myself, instead sticking to the text based games of old. I found the 3D quite unrealisitic in truth and didnt feel it enhanced the play.

After playing for a while, it simply did not seem to be that much 'fun'. The new press conference feature grew very boring, very quickly, resulting in me sending my assistant manager more often than not, and as usual on launch, the game was riddled with bugs.

Injuries were happening several times a week, goals scored from 40 yards were common and tactics needed tweaking far too often during a match, making it seem more of a chore than anything. Upon writing this, patch number 2 has been released, but I have not yet mustered the enthusiasm to download and install it. Instead, I have gone back to the 2008 version.

Summary: A disappointment for loyal customers of the series