Football Manager 2009 Review

Looks good! Might buy it this year :)


Also - FIRST - get in! :D

Another nicely written review! Might wait for the patch though. Do we now live in a world where an incomplete, buggy game is considered "done" and patches are the answer though?

It does look good, definitely needs patches, but that's the norm...buy for me !

"Thirty or forty yard shorts"? I guess you mean shots...

Not a return to big shorts surely. That ruined the earlier releases. :)

Buggy game, needed release day patch. Expensive.

I'll stick with 08. Wait for 2010.

The injuri problem has been comfirmed to be fixed with a patch on release day.

Another review...

http://www.snappygamer.com/2008/11/10/fo...

Personally I think it is long past its best, getting more complicated and annoying every year.

So is the 3D match engine completely (as in 100%) different to the one in the demo? The one where there is 3ft of air between a player and the ball he's kicking, the one in which the animation makes Sensible Soccer look realistic, the one where players just don't move in any way like humans or into logical space, that jumps around at random, and where, upon close analysis of the replays when it was confirmed to me, one of my players scored three 100% identical goals from 35 yards in the same match? The 3D match engine is less believable and immersive than the one in the original FIFA Soccer Manager (based on the FIFA 98 engine IIRC). It is an unusable bag of wank. Given SI said 3D would wait until it was absolutely right, I can't believe they've released this shite excuse for an engine.

Yet another game with horrible DRM 5 installs and online activation, great job SI on loosing your customers.

any chance of a psp review too?

for me bathtime

another low quality sega product. Since they purchased SI and even the Creative Assembly guys, their quality is shocking! Demo was ok but there are just too many bugs to enjoy it

Another week, another launch day purchase

DRM again? Where is this detailed? I was unable to play my FM2008 which I bought, like every year since CM2, because the DRM would not allow me to install it. It disapproved of other software I had on my machine for legitimate purposes.

And then SI include 'gradual bugs' which plague the torrented versions one has to resort to having shelled out the cash.

This will probably be the first one I don't buy, then. Shame, as I just spent £750 on a new gaming rig with FM being my favourite PC game of all time.

How about Sports Interactive come round and shit on my wife, just so's I am sure exactly how little respect they have for someone who has shelled out on day one for all their games.

After playing around with the demo for a while, and trying to ignore the at times blatant lack of polish throughout the game, I found it to once again contain that FM magic. Pre-order confirmed. FM07 uninstalled.

If only SI could haul themselves up to the point of releasing a more complete game each year. Some of the features are badly thought out when you can step back and think 'well, wouldnt it be better this way around?' before you even sit down to experience them. The 3D view is progress, but it feels as though its come a year early - this bit really lacks polish and can run slowly on machines that'll run far more demanding and visually impressive games. Every year, 2-3 patches... some of the patch cotent is there purely to improve the game which is what you want, the majority to fix errors that one wonders whether they should have shipped with in the first place. At least you can say the developers listen to the community and can be counted on to patch the game.

Oh, and they removed the ability to have the match run at one speed (e.g. the commentary so you could rush through a match) and the replay highlight (e.g. a goal) at a different (you'd select normal) speed! There is just one slider... so if you watch the match commentary quickly you watch the goals at lightspeed. These kind of oversights shouldnt happen IMO. Hopefully it'll be patched from day one - but SI havent announced all the content of the patch yet.

Having said all that I think it's enough of a step forward from FM08 to warrant purchase (I skipped that one because of a particular oversight with relation to board confidence that was, as far as I'm told, never fixed). None of the other management games have yet to take enough attention from FM, but this game could possibly become more niche for its only those that know of its history and know what it offers that will continue to play on through the series.

If you havent played FM for a while, I'd give the demo a go. You can download via Steam now as well.

Oh, and good review ;)

From the review:
"The 3D match engine also suffers from copious other niggling issues, such as players sometimes taking over half a minute to take a throw-in or goal-kick, with the action appearing to stick for a short period of time. Injuries are another problem. There are simply too many of them and it's often your star players that get knackered for months on end. Thirty- or forty-yard shorts also seem rather too commonplace. Other irritants include no visible crowds in the stand (though you can hear supporters cheering and singing), while players and the ball freely pass through advertising boards."

It's like going back in time to gaming circa 1995.

I'll pass.

"Striker!"

"Back of the net!"

"Twat!"

I'll leave this until the end of the January transfer window and get a patched and updated version of the DB then. Quite happy playing with '08 still.

Football manager has always been a game where you wait until the january transfer window patch... by then it becomes a far more enjoyable game. I think the problem they have is that they have to release a game every year... which means they never have the full development time to fully flesh out each feature from the initial release; as mentioned the 2d engine took a couple of itterations to get right, and I'm sure the 3d one will be the same. I didn't much like it; amount of times the player on the ball would just stand still completely. I'm sure its trying to simulate someone looking around to make a pass, but the representation of that was horrible.

Maybe I'm just jaded from FM. Been beta testing FML since March; cancelling subscription to that due to becoming very jaded with the match engine. (now I'm just trying to convince myself not to pick this up, because i know that if I do I'm doomed to addiction again)

Thirty- or forty-yard shorts also seem rather too commonplace

So how tall are these footballers again?

Eat my goal!

The goalie has football pie all over his shirt!

great job SI on loosing your customers.

like teh dogs of war?

The demo crashes on me when the 3d match engine loads up :(

Having played the demo, 8 seems fairly generous to give to the game before any patches come out. I'll be sticking with FM Live for a while.

I'm with jonarob, with so many stats these days it's nigh on impossible to really know whop is a good player and what tweaks to a team line up will win you a game.

I want a post match screen explaining EXACTLy where my strategy cocked up (that my full back was destroyed by their winger) where it went well (My centre backs constantly won all crosses that were fired in) and what my options are on what to do in tiume for the next game.

Just having a bunch of stats all interacting with each other and no idea if what you are trying to do is actually happening is too frustrating when you start losing. (Although lots of fun when you win). If i ever knew why i was losing, it wouldn't be a problem.

Why is EG reviewing demo code when it's going to get a release day patch. Pointless.

Aren't they reviewing what's on the disc?

Same as every year then; don't start playing until the first patch is released. Every. Single. Year.

MMaaaaaarrrss Attacks!

No?

Why is EG reviewing demo code when it's going to get a release day patch. Pointless.

Why are SI having to release a patch on day of release? The demo code is the code that went "gold". They are right to review this. shame on SI for having all those problems.

In this day and age, you think it's worth reviewing gold code, or the code which people will be playing once they've patched it?

Especially given FM's legacy with patches ('unplayable until the second patch', etc etc - not that I necessarily agree with that).

Two pages spent talking mostly about bugs, yet still awarded an 8?

Scoring games on this site seems to be more about reputation than actual product. At what point do you allow a significant lack of polish (to put it generously) to influence your estimate?

And why does Eurogamer always shirk comment on the DRM? There's a significant change to the DRM on the game this year, very significant. Plus I believe there's issues about hardware profiling and downloading ads into the game... These may not affect gameplay but they do impact game players.

And...

"Press conferences help provide an extra layer of immersion and realism, despite some questions tending to be repeated and your selection of answers lacking charisma. You really feel as though you can use the media to send out messages to your squad, whether it's praising a player or admonishing your team for a gutless performance."

Does this mean that, yet again, we are meant to believe that, though in contact with the players in your team six days a week, the only way you communicate with them is via a press conference? Hardly realistic, is it?

It's a shame the reviewer didn't mention the intrusive advertising part of this game and how the ads intrude your internet connection to serve you ads that you probs not interested in.

"Does this mean that, yet again, we are meant to believe that, though in contact with the players in your team six days a week, the only way you communicate with them is via a press conference? Hardly realistic, is it?"

Yeah this is one of the things that generally exemplfies my (few) frustrations with FM as a series. It's realistic, in a hard and fast spreadsheety way. The 2D engine is flipping fantastic. But when it comes to actually playing a game that makes me feel like I'm PLAYING a manager's role, well, I've been playing FIFA MANAGER 09 recently and certain bits of that are so much better. I can talk to my players. When you first do it's like a revelation. I replaced Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, played a few matches, dinked around with the formation, argued with my board about finances. Okay. Then I starting clicking things. Clicked the players, 'talk to player'. Sounds interesting. A whole page loads up where I can talk to them about how they are doing, what I want them to do. If it has a positive affect, they say 'thanks boss' (words to that effect), and continue with their job. It actually works.

Also I can't communicate with certain players because they don't speak the same language as me, I can put up with that, or hire a translator, or tell one of my teammates to look after them if they speak the same language. Genius. Presumably I can also communicate with them on match day, by running round the dressing room shouting expletives, and they get the message that way too. (Yes, the game has a decent half-time team talk, unlike FM).

Expect SI to raise their game considerably or EA will probably be beating them at their own (football management) game in a few years.

EG: fancy actually reviewing FIFA MANAGER 09?

Ah yes FIFA Manager, the game that has had a decent 3d match for the past few years.
Much ignored strangely.

3D match engine running = 3/10
2D engine running = 6/10

AMAZED EG has given this an 8 - what version where you playing? o_O

What would you give FM08's 2D engine out of interest?

I would have given it a 7/10

The reason I give this 2D version a 6 is because while it seems more detailed, it's also jerkier, player names glitch into being left at old locations while the player icons continue to move on and there is also questionable advertising on the pitch... I though FM would rise above that sort of thing that adorns other games...

Very thankful for some of the excellent the posts here. For "veterans" probably more useful than the review itself.

Almost decided to give FIFA Manager a shot because increasingly FM was starting to feel like real hard work instead of playing a game. By the time it seems to become essential to study "Tactical Theorems & Frameworks" for a few days something has gone wrong imho. Still can't have a simple chat with a player but I can instruct him to change his mindset from 12 to 13 after 20 minutes or so. Guess that's the sort of thing Guardiola is doing when he shouts a bit at Xavi. Change your f'ing mindset to 13 all right and dribble less often ! In the '07 release never ever managed to get more than 2-3 dribbles out of Messi. Probably should have set width to 15 instead of the utterly stupid 14.

FM "defeated" the folk who'd come up with some wacko tactic which would "trick" the game engine but to me it seems that came at a very high price and made it impossible for people perfectly happy with just a few arrows on a blackboard to still enjoy the game as much as they used to. Without studying those "Tactical Theorems & Frameworks" I simply would have given up after a few days. Managed to make sense out of Atletico Madrid but after 4 domestic titles and 2 CLs was still miles and miles away from overtaking Real as the most popular club. And after 3 domestic titles and 1 CL, Torres (loyalty = 20) still wanted to f off ...

Another thing I seem to remember from '07 was that absolutely nobody in the bloody world wanted to sign for Arsenal. Tried at least 5 times but never ever managed to strengthen the squad pre-season in spite of a pretty stellar transfer budget (not sure whether perhaps that's just in my memory).

Followed up on some of the posts here and according to some reviews FIFA Manager is now where FM was, when FM was still a very nice game you could sort of play intuitively and without getting a Bachelors in the relationship between passing and field width (am I still playing a remotely realistic football game here ? I have to tell Iniësta how long his passes should be ? And when I'm 2-0 up 5 minutes from time I should tell Iniësta to pass more like 8-9 or so because I just instructed the entire team to go from field width 14 to 10 and from a Ro2 to a Ro0 ? Seriously ? Care to explain that to Roy Keane as a way to get Sunderland into the CL ?).

Aaargh ... I still get upset when I still think about all that utter nonsense. 5-600 hours of pure aggravation basically.

Seems though FIFA Manager '09 is still rather full of little bugs too as yet but will follow that very, very closely from now on.

FM always boasts about being "realistic" but adding press conferences and more meaningless answers will not hide the fact that I simply never ever managed in '07 to make Barca play the way they actually really play .... and actually win. Not even remotely. Not with all the bleeding "Tactical Theorems & Frameworks" in the world.

One question to close off: Did anybody check whether Genie Scout works with '09 ??? 'Cos I'm still totally in love with Genie Scout.

FM beat the geeks. Fine .... But f'ing screw those "Tactical Theorems & Frameworks" and give us back our blackboard, give us back our game.

Good points. And you're right about the arrows on the blackboard thing. FM is way too mechanical in this day and age. I too think the absence of s(idewards)arrows is bizarre, because apparently people used them to exploit the game (which was harder on FM08 anyway). That's their fault. At a basic level, the sarrows just allowed you to control your team's playstyle more effectively.

I've been playing FM09 trying to tell whether they've actually incorporated a more natural system of telling your players how to play - so that sarrows aren't necessary, but it's hard to tell.

As I said up there, part of the reason I like FIFA MANAGER, although it's not a must own game, is that it feels more fluid and organic.

One day, a proper management game will come along, where you can actually stroll up and down the technical area, shouting abuse at your lazy players, and throw shapes at them. I would play the hell out of that, and that for me would be a more natural way to integrate 'tell Messi to get the hell up the pitch and stop hoofing it', rather than dragging a slider.