Just when you thought it was safe to switch on your Xbox without getting hooked, along comes the most compelling game ever made in the form of Football Manager 2006.
This PC port has been updated for Xbox owners and the result is a title so fantastically good that you really ought to give up employment, marriage, life and friends before you even contemplate buying it.
Complete with a tally of over 280,000 players, teams from around the world and enough backroom staff to fill up the new Wembley, FM06 is easily the most comprehensive footie management game of its kind and tears shreds out of the once great Championship Manager.
Those lucky enough to own an Xbox 360 will find new additions to the game, including full Xbox Live compatibility whereby you can export previously saved teams and go head to head with other online players in a 16 team knockout cup or an eight team league.
They say:
Official Xbox 360 Magazine: “Still fixated on the relatively unflashy graphics? Don't worry, it's not for you. It's for true footie fans.”
Eurogamer: “To paraphrase the words of Shanks, the genre has two great games: Football Manager 2006 on PC/Mac and Football Manager 2006 on Xbox 360.”
Total Video Games: “If you're the owner of an Xbox 360 and starting to find your PC can't quite cope with the demands of Football Manager, then this outing is absolutely essential.”
We say:
Footie fans are set for soccer heaven after experiencing the awesome Football Manager 2006 on the Xbox 360. With more leagues, more players, an improved match engine and the opportunity to take part in half time and full time team talks, gamers have never had it so good.
If you want to keep an eye on your managerial progress, a new “Gamerpoints” feature lets you see if you’re really up to the job. You’re awarded points for every move you make, from signing players to going a whole season unbeaten.
Also, there’s now more interaction between managers and the board and as you play you’ll find you build a real awareness of what it’s like to run a football team.
If you want success, you’ll need good on-pitch tactics and the knack of keeping player morale high before moving up the ranks.
Real dugouts at the side of the 2D pitch allows you to keep an eye on individual players, offering them encouragement or giving them a bollocking if they are not playing up to scratch.
And, although the visuals are nothing to write home about, FM 06 offers an amazing level of depth and superior design for a footie management game.
Take a close up look at Championship Manager 06 and you’ll find player information is spread across a number of pages. Not so with FM 06, where all this information – and more – is streamlined down to two.
Scouting also offers another big plus. Searching for players in CM 06 lets you look across a range of criteria, but it doesn’t offer individual attribute searches like FM 06. Handy if you want to track down someone suited to a specific task.
With so many refinements and attention to detail, Football Manager 2006 stands proudly above its competitors.
Buy it, get some beers in and revel in its realism. Just don’t forget to talk to your partner once in a while!
FORMATS
Xbox 360, PC
POSTED...
Sun 16 Apr 2006 at 10:20am
