Football Manager Live Review

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Substitutions and tactical tweaks can be made at any time, although with only a limited number of Time Outs per team most of your tweaks will need to be made in real time. Thankfully a mini pitch view on the tactics screen lets you keep an eye on the action. Any enforced substitutions trigger an extra one-minute hiatus. There's a genuine sense that your tactical changes make a difference to the way your team plays, which can make for some thrilling cat-and-mouse matches if you're up against a tactically savvy opponent. You're free to converse with your opposite number during a match thanks to some decent chat options, though it seems most players' idea of banter consists of 'gg', 'gl' and 'wp'. Who said conversation was dead?

The irritation of the regular and severe player injuries that blighted Football Manager 2009 on its release, and which was so prominent during FM Live's beta phase, has thankfully been dealt with. If a squad member does pick up a knock, you're informed of how long their real-time recovery will be, ranging from an hour to a couple of days. Such speedy recuperation is possible thanks to the game's impressive pace, with each season lasting four weeks, three of which are spent taking part in competitions, and one acting as a pre-season.

Along with the numerous official league and cup competitions - some of which you're automatically entered into - you can also set up your own league or cup and invite your mates, or throw down a challenge to anyone on your server. Once a competition gets under way, each match is allocated a date by which it must be played, otherwise the most active manager gets to play the game against an AI opponent. This keeps the game moving at an excellent pace and makes for some thrilling contests. And if you don't succeed in one season, there's always another one just around the corner.

Apparently he plays for Le Havre.

Achieve success in a competition and you're rewarded with cash and ranking points. The higher your rank, the more money you earn on a daily basis. Your successes are also rewarded with achievement badges, awarded to you when your team attains certain levels of excellence. Every time you're awarded a badge you're informed of how many other managers have earned it, enabling you to compare your prowess against your rivals. The sense of reward throughout the game is first class.

One of Sports Interactive's key aims with the development of Football Manager Live was to make the game accessible to newcomers yet still engrossing for existing FM fans. It's fairly successful, although FM Live does struggle at times to reconcile two such divergent audiences. The look of the game and its navigation system is typically FM, although menus and screens lack the sheen of Football Manager 2009 and often look overly text-heavy and unwelcoming. The stripped-down managerial options - there are no media bods to contend with and no board to appease - also suggest that FM Live may struggle in the longevity department, as the quick-fire seasons can result in a whiff of repetition. However, this is offset by the game's excellent pace, superb match realism and fiendishly addictive transfer options.

Match highlights use the 2D engine rather than Football Manager 2009's new 3D perspective.

There's also a suspicion that casual players will struggle to compete with more committed FM Live enthusiasts, with those entering a server late or simply lacking enough time to play every day likely to miss out on the best players, who are quickly snapped up. None of these problems prevent FM Live from being highly engaging and addictive, they're just worth bearing in mind before shelling out GBP 72.99 for the game and a year's subscription. I'd recommend opting for the GBP 22.99 three-month option to start off with.