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 Topic: The Neo Football Manager Review
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 HuzzerHibbert Scores, We Riot
Still Seekin'   total posts: 3943 since: Jul 2007 |
 Nov 05, 09 at 2:06pm |
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This year Underated kindly asked me to to the Neoseeker review for Football Manager 2010. I've tried to follow the opinions of the board as much as possible. It's been quite difficult because of the amount of information and range of opinions on here, but I thought I'd post up the review since it's basically a representation of what people think on here:
Neo Review Long ago Sport Interactive discovered the formula for a successful football management simulation. They stripped the game of gimmicks and complexity and delivered a product which had fans staying up into the small hours, promising themselves they will play just one more game. Fans would skip work; endlessly discuss the game in online forums, and even worn suits for important cup finals. Sadly, Football Manager 2009, for many, was a disappointment. It was frustrating, full of glitches and missing the spark which made people want to play it again and again. It seemed like suits would be gathering dust in wardrobes for years to come. Football Manager 2010 was a calculated gamble. There is no headline grabbing innovations this year. To the untrained eye the game is simply a polished version of Football Manager 2009. The gamble, however, has paid off spectacularly. The Football Manager 2010 match day experience is a joy to behold. Once you join a club, the assistant manager and staff offer you reams of advice ranging from suggested signings and preferred formations to the best person to take your penalties. Throughout the season the assistant will arrange meetings to assist you in your quest for glory. The sheer amount of information on match day is presented in a tidy and easy to understand way. The tactics creator allows you to see at a glance what positions and player roles will suit your style of play and the game even goes as far as highlight the stats a player needs in order to excel in a certain role. Now you can set a striker to be a Francesco Totti style ‘trequartista’, linking play between attack and midfield, or a Didier Drogba style target man, leading the line with his physicality. With hundreds of options throughout the team, the game allows you to really feel the team is being moulded in your image as time progresses. And the match engine has been polished and tweaked as well. The much maligned 3D match engine flows more than ever and the AI has improved significantly. Players make better decisions and goalkeepers produce more difficult saves. A welcome change from the ‘stand in the centre of the goal and flop over to one side’ of previous versions. So we come to the biggest step forward for the game this year. The touchline shouts and tactics wizard give you more control than ever over how your team plays. Every decision, tactic and shout can be seen played out on the 3D pitch as your players try to do as they are told. Now a 3-0 home defeat has none of the confused frustrations of previous versions because it is easier than ever to see exactly why your team didn’t perform. The match engine runs as well as previous versions, even with the added stadium details and inclusion of grey, bouncing spectators. That isn’t to say the match engine is perfect. There seems to be a large amount of goals scored from set pieces, particularly corners and free kicks, and full backs are regularly caught out of position. However, these are minor problems, and a huge improvement on the glitch ridden match engine of Football Manager 2009. Outside of the match day experience the game is full of small things which remind you why this is the best loved and most in depth football manager game ever. Sports Interactive have a database so revered Everton FC have signed up to use it as a scouting tool. The effort and detail is evident more than ever this year. Stats in general seem to have been lowered, making those special players stand out even more. Now Lionel Messi will torment a fullback with his dribbling and Tim Cahill will arrive late in the box to score a header. Stats and game play mirrors the football world more than ever, adding a dose of realism sorely missing from other management simulations. All of the problems which blighted Football Manager 2009 have been cleared up, polished and packaged in a game which will have fans reaching for the phone and putting on their best ‘I’ve got the flu, I’ll be off for a week’ voice. Even without the patch which was available for download on release day, the game is surprisingly free from bugs and glitches. In fact the only gripe long term followers of the series may have is the new navigation system. The side bar navigation menu which has been an ever present in the Football Manager series has been scrapped and a new tabs based system has come in to replace it, complete with a light and a dark skin. The tabs have the potential to split opinion. Sports Interactive hope the navigation will introduce a new generation of fans to the joys of Football Manager, but older players of the game may take some time adapting to the changes. Drop down boxes have been replaced by tabs where possible and although easier to see information clearly, they can be untidy and difficult to reach the required page. However, the introduction of the Manager home page with customizable news is extremely useful. Now a manager hoping to move to pastures new can easily see available jobs on his home screen, alternatively you can choose to see your player availability, club finances, league tables or any other bits of information you wish to see at a glance. So we come to one of the most exciting developments of the game this year. Each year Football Manager has provided us with a data editor allowing players to change stats, transfers and even move teams between divisions. This year the editor capability has been expanded. There are now options to create new leagues and cups, as well as adding tiers to existing leagues. For the first time leagues such as the Unibond and Isthmian division in England can be loaded, as well as leagues such as Luxembourg, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The capabilities of the editor are limitless, and already a huge amount of playable leagues from around the world have been posted online for others to download. As an added bonus, instead of editing one database, the leagues can be saved as XML files and added separately, meaning you can attach leagues to your current league without touching the original database, opening up untapped leagues and cups to be won for the Football Manager who has won it all. Make no mistake, Football Manager 2009 was a very good game, but judged against the impossibly high standards set by previous versions it was a big let-down. It felt half finished, bogged down in new features which didn’t quite hit the spot. The famous ‘just one more game’ pull that drags people towards the game had faded and Sports Interactive really needed to get things back on track. I am delighted to say they have delivered in style. This was less a year of standing still and more a year of perfecting what they had. Sports Interactive have taken the lump of coal that was Football Manager 2009 and polished it into a diamond. Now, let me just dust off that suit, I have a cup final to attend... ------------------- *Insert Sig Here*
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constantplanck I am MeiAID's proud slave.
(moderator) FM2010 Experiments, Challenges & Competitions FM2010 Graphics FM2010 Player Forum FM2010 Stories Football Manager 2010   since: Nov 2008 |
 Nov 05, 09 at 2:10pm |
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*starts slow clap*
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Arguru just getting started!
 total posts: 135 since: Oct 2009 |
Nov 05, 09 at 2:12pm |
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I fully approve of this, great read Huzzer and brilliantly written. Well done.
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Huzzer Hibbert Scores, We Riot
Still Seekin' total posts: 3943 since: Jul 2007 |
Nov 05, 09 at 2:21pm |
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It hasn't been sent yet, and I'm including a bit about press conferences, so if anyone thinks I've missed anything let me know.
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constantplanck I am MeiAID's proud slave.
(moderator) FM2010 Experiments, Challenges & Competitions FM2010 Graphics FM2010 Player Forum FM2010 Stories Football Manager 2010 since: Nov 2008 |
Nov 05, 09 at 2:24pm |
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The press conferences still stink but they're better. Thats my review.
 IMO you have captured the general mood of the board pretty nicely, Huzzer. It think that we're all enjoying this year's game thoroughly. ------------------- | |
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mahoy dangerous
 total posts: 187 since: Aug 2009 |
Nov 05, 09 at 2:35pm |
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I wouldn't consider Football Manager 2009 as a disappointment. It was voted the best computer game of all time in a radio one poll wasn't it? But a great write-up Huzzer I agree with everything you've said about FM 10 there
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Winter1 Neo's resident Honey Badger
Neo or Bust   total posts: 7528 since: Aug 2006 |
 Nov 05, 09 at 2:40pm |
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Well done a good read.
This years game has certainly got me hooked and interested in the series in a bit way again. I didn't have many complaints on 09 but it was missing a certain something -------------------  Credit 9-Martins-9 | |
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