Lma Manager has knocked Championship Manager off its pedestal! (LMA Manager 2002 (PS2))

Member Name: ps2update

Product:	LMA Manager 2002 (PS2)
Date:	11/05/02 (399 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see text

Disadvantages: see text

Premier Manager used to be the serious choice for any management fan; days were spent for hours trying to get Division 3 teams up to Premiership Champions. Gremlin's Premier Manager sold a lot of copies, and justifiably so. As time progressed Championship Manager from Eidos began to come onto the scene and arguably surpassing Premier Manager. The latest Championship Manager (which can be found on both PC and X Box) is one of the best management games of all time, and perhaps the best ever. There was however a series of little gems on the PSONE in the form of Codemaster's LMA Manager, the franchise seemingly disappeared for a while as the PS2 came into play and the only management title on offer was Alex Ferguson's Player Manager. Player Manager has always been an ok management title that will satisfy for a while but it never has had nor neither will have at this rate the depth that games like Championship Manager, Premier Manager, or LMA Manager had or indeed have. With PS2 owners feeling a little empty the hole in their heart could be about to be filled as LMA Manager 2002 comes onto the scene, and this time you can manage international teams too, Series A, Scottish League, here we come…

GRAPHICS

To be fair most management games aren't exactly good lookers, an endless stream of text is presented on the screen with statistics, and figures when the gamer really wants to see the gorgeous game take place. Just imagine the possibility of being able to see your players play, that way you would know who was and wasn't great. New signings would be able to be viewed in all their glory, and you could see if they were worth all of that hard-earned cash. The original LMA Manager touched on this with Math Of The Day style highlights but as one can probably tell LMA does in fact include this, and luckily (unlike some titles that have attempted to incorporate a graphical element in the corner of the screen) the graphics are full screen,
and beautifully done.
The layout on the screen when choosing whether to tweak the formation, check out the transfer market, build a stadium, or do something other management related is nicely set out. A blue dominated background with bars on the bottom of the screen that select different options using the back buttons ensure that there are no colour clashes. A nice feature whilst managing is the training option, all of us have encountered this before, a drab feature where usually you get to set your players to "attacking", "goalkeeping", and "defending," however this feature is quite different, you can actually watch the players training. Although limited the shouting and training from the players gives the game another dimension to it that makes it particularly special.
The graphics when actually playing a game and managing your team and fairly standard for a football game but amazing for a management game, the players are seen in full 3D just like all the ISS, and Fifa football games but unfortunately there aren't too many trademarks on each player that make them like their real life counterparts, that said they are all named and since the idea is to manage and not to play football it doesn't really matter, and takes nothing away from the playability.
When in a game the latest scores from games come in across the screen, this is particularly exciting if playing a cup semi-final match or battling for relegation/promotion, as you know exactly how well your rivals are doing. The fans are done in a very standard way but the banners with sponsors, and action replays make up for this. Action replays can prove particularly satisfying when watching a goal, but not so satisfying when one has been conceded although it does help one in knowing who to take off because their defending is a little lacklustre or not quite up to the usual standard.
17/20

SOUND

It is all very well being beautiful to look at
but if the sound isn't very good it seems that all have gone to waste. Luckily with LMA Manager 2002 this is not the case at all, crowds are energetic, and each pass of the ball is amplified to a level of perfection. The crowd are realistic and they even go as far as to boo, or jeer when a player that has been booked for a harsh challenge gets the ball. One has to question why Michael Ricketts is booed at the Reebok stadium for one small tackle every time he gets the ball, either Codemasters haven't taken into consideration that home fans cheers would outweigh away fans jeers, or Bolton fans are genuinely very sporting people, and feel good sportsmanship outweighs Bolton Wanderers. Somehow I doubt that it is the latter option.
One can't help but enjoy the theme music for LMA Manager 2002 and it seems to be a very appropriate football theme that will appeal to anyone. Theme Music isn't important but to start the game off with brilliant music certainly boosts the game's chances of succeeding, and pleasing the gamer.
When watching the game over again you get the pleasure of listening to Gary Lineker and Alan Hansen. Sadly Hansen has a lack of phrases to use and there is no match analysis at the end of a match (not even an in studio talk as seen in the first LMA Manager).
19/20

GAMEPLAY

This is the big section, the section where LMA Manager 2002 will either sell or wont sell, this is by far the most important section in the review and I am sure some readers turned to this straight away. For those who are wondering whether to get Championship Manager for their PC or to get LMA Manager 2002 for their PS2 there is a simple answer - GET LMA MANAGER 2002.
Although Championship Manager is one of the best management games LMA Manager really is a game made by fans, for fans. Games such as FA Manager aim to be official, and tries to sell on that basis, Championship Manager throws in a lot of figures, is a house hold name
, and tries to sell on that basis, but LMA Manager 2002 caters for the fans needs, and gives the fans what they want and will sell on that basis.
So what does LMA Manager have to offer that will truly make you believe that you are as near to as a manager that you will ever get unless you happen to stumble across a vacancy and have a great football related CV? LMA Manager has many options never seen before in a management game, for a start you can manage a vast variety of teams from German, English, Italian, Scottish, and other European leagues. The vast array of teams available means that the transfer market is also equally large, you can sign free transfer players from small teams in Division 3 to internationally known superstars such as Michael Owen, or Zidane for around 40 million plus.
LMA Manager is a brand new experience; the player gets to watch each individual match so they know exactly who is, and who isn't playing well. This means that if a player is ignoring your command to attack when you say attack, or to play the long ball when you request it then you can substitute him off for another player who will obey your order. This also means that you can see who can finish and who can't, sure the ratings in each match give you a rough idea but to actually watch your players play is the best way to get a feel for what they can really achieve. For example in the Arsenal team you may feel that Thierry Henry is your best striker due to his high rating, however when watching the game you may notice that it is in fact Kanu who is better at finishing and Henry is much better at creating opportunities and therefore should be placed behind Kanu and not in front of him. Little details like this cannot be viewed in any other management game as there is simply not the option nor facilities to actually watch the match.
For those of you who don't enjoy watching the matches (and if you are one of them I would seriously consider watching them as it a
dds a whole new level of depth to the game) there is the option to skip matches or to have a fast mode. Be warned now though, watching the matches will give you the ultimate gaming experience, skipping them will make it just another management game, and believe me LMA Manager 2002 is well above that.
Not content with having a huge career mode LMA Manager has added two player options, and challenges; this in itself adds a whole new level of life to the game. Two player games mean that you can compete against a mate in a bid to be the better manager; this is usually most enjoyable when you take control of a similar team to your friend such as Rangers, and Celtic, battling to win the Scottish League, and Scottish Cup.
In short LMA Manager is the most complete experience to date, and it is highly recommended that you play it whether you are or aren't a fan of management games. For football fans out there who just enjoy playing football games and not management games this may be the opportunity you have been looking for because LMA Manager has been targeted specifically for football fans, and not for management fanatics.
25/25

LIFESPAN

LMA Manager will last you one hell of a long time because quite simply there are so many possible scenarios. You can take control of a third division team and transform them into Champions League material, you can transfer from one management job to another if you keep an eye on the vacancy list, and you can have endless promotion, and relegation battles.
With the inclusion of other modes it wouldn't be over the top to say that LMA Manager could very easily last you until the next LMA Manager game comes along (we can only hope there is another but one has to wonder how this can possibly be improved).
LMA Manager will keep you up for many sleepless nights as you tinker with your formation, and try to create the perfect team, it wont be easy but managing a world class football team never is,
but with perseverance and patience it is achievable.
25/25

ORIGINALITY

LMA Manager has actually done the damn near impossible and made a seemingly tired, and worn out concept into a brand new original game. Management games have been going for years and just when you thought there was nothing left to add other than the formidable update every season with new footballers, LMA Manager came along and rocked the world! With challenge modes, two player modes, highlights, real time management in the dugout, and a whole host of other things LMA Manager has knocked Championship Manager off it's pedestal, and sat on a significantly higher one of it's own - great stuff!
8/10

OVERALL

LMA Manager is a must have for any respectable football fan; it is the management game that all other games of its ilk should aspire to be and look up to. LMA Manager 2002 has not only surpassed Championship Manager in terms of ability but has also made a mockery out of all other management games, after all when you see the likes of Premier Manager it is just laughable - who wants to play Premier, Player or Championship Manager when you can have the complete package ala LMA Manager 2002?




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