Football Manager 2010 (PC)
The recent Championship Manager 2010 game proved that it was possible for another game to challenge the Football Manager dominance.
This latest game from Sega though does reinforce that dominance once again.
Back with a bang this is the best game in the series in years.
Redesigned and freshened up the game has an interface that finally delivers the depth of the game in some style.
In the old days the magic of the franchise was that it mixed a real depth with a perfect simplicity of use.
It's hard to achieve that simplicity now because of the vastness of the game but this is close to reigning things back in and stripping them down once again.
The Overview screen is perfect for keeping tabs of everything that is going on and has quick links to everything you need directly or via drop links.
It means you can hop from one area of the game to another with consummate ease, you can even tailor the news to make it as relevant as you need it to be.
Every single aspect of football management is covered and there is far too much to detail here.
Things like training, press conferences, tactics, player interaction and transfers are all tweaked and even more in-depth than ever before.
The eye for detail is quite something really and in particular the feedback, research and assistance from your backroom staff is fantastic and does make your job easier to say the least.
The main area for me where the game excels is the superb 3D match engine and presentation.
You can view the whole game in 3D from various camera angles and watch as your tactics and team selection develop in front of your eyes.
And it really does have an affect, if you pick a formation they stick to it. If you tell a player to run around like a headless chicken he does.
You can pore through every singles stat imaginable as the game unfolds too if you wish. That is the magic of the matchday, you can live though it in as much or as little detail as you wish.
The navigation on this game makes sure that it maintains the usual high standards. There isn't a massive amount of innovation on display, more a case of a huge dollop of polish to a very shiny car.
There is no doubt that FM needs to be on its' toes with the competitors raising their game in a big way.
Older/Newer
Authors
Steve Wollaston - Sunday Mercury games reviewer Steve has been writing about video games for donkey's years. In fact he is probably far too old for it now which is why you will see a lot of reviews been done by kids... He has been nominated three times for Regional Games Journalist Of The Year at the Games Media Awards, but never wins. His major love is sports games and rates Sensible World of Soccer circa 90's as the greatest game ever made - closely followed by Championship Manager 2. Skyrim has currently taken over his life.
