FIFA Manager 09

Keeping tabs on your personal progress is made simple by an excellent summary page that informs you of where you're falling short and which areas you need to address e.g. staff, player communication etc., with a single click transporting you to the associated screen. Other decent feedback features include confidence bars that display how your players, board and supporters feel about you while newspaper reports provide results roundups and transfer gossip. In fact it's testament to FIFA Manager 09's excellent levels of feedback that you're rarely left in any doubt as to how your career is progressing or where you need to improve.

Transfer and contract negotiations are decent though lack the depth of Football Manager, and there are also some valuation discrepancies, especially for players in the final year of their contracts. The good news is that a youth transfer market has been added, allowing you to concentrate on nurturing young blood in order to lay a foundation for future success.

As well as managing your team and club, you must also juggle your personal life. You can choose to get married and even have kids, but opt to be a family man and you're going to have to find a work/life balance unless you want to come home to find your wife straddling the gardener and little Tommy injecting heroin between his toes. You can also take up golf to improve your relationship with board members or learn a new language if you're planning on jumping ship to a team in another country. These lifestyle elements, while admittedly simplistic, imbue FIFA Manager 09 with a distinct personality, adding a personal dimension to the slew of more hardcore management options.

One of the game's quirkier features is the ability to control a single player during 3D matches. This can either be an existing squad member or a new player you've created in your own image, or more likely, in the image of someone far fitter, wittier, more skilful and attractive than you. In truth, this is more of a novelty than a key selling point as the level of player control is incredibly limited compared to the likes of FIFA 09, though some fun can be had if you persevere, despite the relatively clumsy controls.