Money well spent? - A Football Manager 2008 review

Posted in Articles | On December 1st, 2007 | By Kazzy

So why not? I know for a fact a few people who where members of the scene, and still are to a lesser extent, don’t actually own a copy of the new game. For reasons unknown, whether it be lack of money - the student life getting the better of it, nevertheless that doesn’t matter. What does matter, is making sure they buy the game and don’t regret it. I deemed it necessary to put together a personal review of the game. Consider it my 2 cents whether the game is worth buying or not. I will argue the toss, but to be fair to those whom may not have the game, and will be reading this.. I will talk about the things that may put you off.

You may have read about the game an heard a lot of up raw about the game, and the amount of bugs it possess. Now, this problem should be quashed due to the fact the patch is out, and I can guarantee that it improves the game with an immense effect. To make things clear, it is essential to get the patch.

In terms of graphics and other such things to do with the look of the game, has been a major talking point of the new game, negative speak at that. The skin was created by Ter, as known on the scene. Ter used to work for Championship Manager (CM) and it was taken from his blue prints of the one he was working on. Some may say it should have been left with them. However, I quite like it. Its easy on the eyes, and that’s what you want when playing many a Football Manager (FM) all nighter. After all, its not the be all and end all. There are many a site dedicated to creating graphics and skins, which will range to suit all tastes.

Continuing the graphics in the new game; faces have been total revamped. The new look of face pack, is to help merge the new facegen (face generation) feature in. The faces are all cut from the background. This causes quite a few problems, as they are a lot hard to make an they take a lot longer to make, than previous ones. Yet again, its not the be all and end all, as there is the good few mod (moderation) which means it can support different types of face packs. So realistically, you won’t have to change your face packs from your previous issue of the game.

I touched on the facegen or the face generation feature previously. Basically what it creates a generated face for regenerated players, or regens as you may know them as. So basically, when all the players have retired whom start on the original database, say in your 40th season and what not, all players will have a face to go with the name. Hey! If you don’t like it, there is a feature to turn it off, so everyone’s a winner.

Concluding the graphics in the new game, you can say they are an improvement, but more than every feature its down to personal taste. But if you like all the default stuff then that’s great, and you will save yourself some time. Nevertheless, if you don’t like them you can spend a few hours sorting out all your graphics, downloading them from the relevant sites in order to get it to just how you want it. Getting it to just how you want it, is made ever more easier if you download the relevant modifications.

Having gone over the graphics, it would only make sense to speak about the new features. Now don’t expect loads of new features, but lets face it who wants that? Too many cooks spoil the broth and all that. Cast your mind back to the days of CM, too many drastic changes may not work, it could spoil the whole persona of the game, notably like it did to CM 4. I feel that its quality over quantity in terms of features. However I would like more, the mix is very nice and a couple of the new features are very refreshing.

On with the new features. My most favourite feature of the new game is the whole revamp of the finances; Finances revamp - To reflect the changes in modern day football, Sports Interactive have updated the finance area of Football Manager™ 2008 to better reflect the ever changing football world, with more information available to the manager too, including, but not limited to, corporate match day income, season ticket news, investment funds, improved sponsorships, collective win bonuses, and the ability to move around funds from the wage budget and transfer budget (and vice versa) at any point to help you in your quest for the ideal squad.

The way in which you can move around the funds of your wage and transfers budget means that you can cater for all your needs, and make the most out of players available. Its more relevance to teams outside the top leagues, whom may not have as much money at their exposal as the likes of them in the top divisions. Generally making your experience of a manager a lot more varied and means that you can get a loner enjoyment out of the game as you can play more levels for longer.

Now there are little things that you take for granted, however they do improve the game beyond any doubt. It’s a lot easier to navigate and use. Mainly linked to the new skin. But the new advisor system makes it easier for the new player to work the game - don’t think it will be too complicated to play if you’re new to it, this system will quash all of them disbeliefs. Also, coach reports make taking over a new team easier, and the new calendar system lists all important dates throughout the season.

Yet again something that you take for granted is the speed of it all - you don’t want to be sat for ages waiting for your game to process, or save so you can actually get to bed so you don’t miss work in the morning. Saving and loading is now significantly quicker. Along with network gaming.

For me FM’08 is a complete step in the right direction, and a big one at that. Don’t get me wrong its nor boarding on the CM4 state of things, with the Luther Van Dross spin on things. I would recommend the game, but make sure to patch her up . Otherwise, you may just be a little disappointed. If you’re not a fan of the graphics, be sure to check out a few sites and search deep and hard to find the relevant downloads and modifications to perfect it to your standards. All other things depending, the game is well worthy of its price tag, which is indeed considered as a bargain in many a players eyes.

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