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Football Manager 2007 Mini Review
Chris Leyton
23/10/2006
There's just enough improvements to cast aside last year's version and say goodbye for the winter...
The release of FIFA, Championship Manager, Pro Evolution Soccer and the latest title in Sports Interactive's Football Manager series, can only mean one thing, the football season is well and truly underway as far as the videogame publishers are concerned.
Having adopted a yearly moniker instead of the traditional seasonal updates sandwiched between major releases, there seems to be a greater emphasis on Sports Interactive to stretch the barrel with each subsequent release of Football Manager. Though the change to the traditional release structure brings some questions as to exactly when the "major" new features will make an appearance, Sports Interactive and SEGA would likely argue that each annual update now contains a mixture of major new features and subtle improvements - a gradual evolution of the series. With lofty claims of more than "100 new features", Football Manager 2007 is a jump in the right direction, a refinement of the series to-date in the customary manner, making it just that little much better, thus rendering the last one obsolete - the circle of addiction faced by the many followers of Sports Interactive and their games.
Amidst suggestions that Football Manager has, perhaps, become a little too complicated for its own good, the initial change centres around the issue of accessibility. The attempt to make the experience a little more "accommodating" to newcomers is evident right from the start, presumably part of the same plan to appeal to new markets such as console gamers. A 'Set-up Wizard' steps the player through the intimidating tasks of creating a manager, setting up leagues and getting into the game. It's tough for a FM follower to understand how difficult this can possibly be, so the option to dismiss it all and opt for an 'Advanced Settings' style that's closer inline with previous titles is more than welcome. One particular new feature that is more appreciated, is the addition of a 'Past Experience' option, reminding the demanding fans and whinging players who the boss is with the many years of FM/CM experience stacked behind you. Although it's a quick solution to players concerned about a manager with a lack of experience, it does raise the expectations placed upon you for immediate success.
The overhauled 'Flexion' interface is the next noticeable change. With a new 'Ticker Bar' that initially seems to do little more then clutter the screen by offering "easy" navigation icons to the Squad, News, Shortlist and several others, I'll admit to them becoming a handy shortcut in many instances, though the information on the bar is rarely significant. Based upon designable 'skins', alterative options to suit everybody's interface taste will be available soon.
Developing the interaction between manager and player is a continuing challenge for Sports Interactive, an area in which FM 2007 makes significant strides towards accomplishing. Increased options to handle various aspects of a player's career, whether it's gushing praise at your want-away star player or "tapping up" a potential transfer target, create a stronger sense of handling issues on a personal level and forging that special relationship between manager and player. Being able to let players know you're resting them instead of being dropped without explanation, watching their morale plunge in the process, is an addition of monumental stature in this area, one of the many little changes that adds up to a lot. Although there's always going to be room for even more types of interaction and actions possible, this aspect of the game is beginning to feel like you're actually having a significant role and impact on a player's performance.
In the continuous strive to simulate the changing world of modern football, FM 2007 introduces increasingly popular aspects such as 'Feeder/Parent Clubs' and the dreaded 'Take-Over'. A larger club can take advantage of sending unwanted players or developing talent out, or perhaps having the first option over any of the feeder clubs most promising players; consequently the smaller club can gain financially from its bigger brother. Mirroring the daily talk of club take-overs in the real world, aspiring billionaires (or those willing to take a risk and plunge a club into debt) are a constant feature throughout the game and provide a significant new introduction to the game. Whether scripted by the team at Sports Interactive or sheer coincidence, a few months into my first season brought talk of a take-over at Upton Park â“ if that's the case, Liverpool and Chelsea will both finish mid-table and miss out on Europe next year!
Scouting has seen the most significant development, providing greater control with more thorough and informative reports. A scout checking out your next opponent will produce a comprehensive report, detailing the team's formation, style of play, star players and whether there's any injuries in the squad. The true tactician will take pleasure in scrutinizing the highlights from the report, hoping to discover the smallest chink in the opponent's defence. Scouting potential transfer targets has also been made more useful then ever, with the option to send a staff member out to watch over a specific player or from a region. Taking into account new 'Knowledge' levels that determine a staff member's effectiveness in any particular country, the resulting report is a comprehensive summary of the player's ability, potential, strengths, weaknesses, recommendation and transfer options.
Expanding upon the half-time talks introduced in its predecessor, FM 2007 now allows aspiring managers to issue inspirational comments before a match, during half-time and a final word on the performance after the match. A new feedback option also allows you to see the effect your talk has had on individual players, which although feeling largely random, does at least suggest you have some kind of influence.
Although still a fiddly area to perfect, Training as a whole feels more accessible then before, making it easier to gauge how a player is developing and encouraging to try out different routines for players. It's still not perfect and an obvious area for Sports Interactive to improve. Given the demands of individual training schedules to suit the varying demands of the players, it would be useful to create broad parent schedules covering the major areas and then fine-tuning an individual's routine on the player's Training tab. It's also difficult to judge what affect varying schedules are having on a player, because it's hard to determine what brought about a peak or a dip in improvements. Adding the dates of when a schedule starts, stops and changes to gauge its effectiveness over a certain period, would be a welcome 'new feature' for next year's version!
Away from the improvements to the scouting and player interaction, there's little that could be labelled as monumental new additions to the staple FM formula. Instead SI have worked away at a multitude of smaller aspects, which combine to make FM that little bit more enjoyable, at times inducing the "collapse-of-your-social-life" addiction that Sports Interactive are renowned for providing. Being able to nurture players back to full health by sending them to the reserves until match fit is a great addition, equally the ability to target a specific opponent during a match by forcing them on to their weaker foot or putting a hard tackle in. The true handicap on many FM follower's aspirations has finally been removed with the option of moving to a new stadium, provided there's adequate funds or the board is willing to suffer the debt. The crop of new talent when young players join the clubs feels more developed and believable then before, with authentic 'pre-contract' options and the flow of new players dictated by a club's resources. Playing a more significant role, the chairman and the board can go above your head when accepting an offer for a player; although it's a frustrating option when you know the people making that decision are doing it entirely for the money, it nonetheless captures the increasing depiction of football as a business.
Sports Interactive once again overcome any initial scepticism with a multitude of little touches and new introductions combined to make Football Manager 2007 an essential update - just that little bit better then before. A return to the "One More Match" compulsion that signifies Sports Interactive's work, Football Manager 2007 is going to keep you company for all the long and late nights on the way.
Anonymous
Date Added:Tue 8th Jul 2008 07:57
win 7 times CL and 5 times on Serie A
J.M. Reina
V. Kompany
Dani Alves
Gerrard Pique
Marcelo
Pirlo
R Vander Vaart
Kaka
C Vela
Sergio Aguero (wordclass forward)
Fernando Torres
Nicolas Millan
Silva... [ Read full comment... ]
Anonymous
Date Added:Sat 15th Dec 2007 08:37
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Date Added:Fri 7th Dec 2007 12:42
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Date Added:Fri 7th Dec 2007 12:31
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Date Added:Fri 7th Dec 2007 12:28
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Date Added:Fri 7th Dec 2007 12:26
Anonymous
Date Added:Tue 20th Nov 2007 14:42
Vanden borre vgood DR
Borowski MC
Benzema FC
higuain MC/FC
Bojinov FC score lots of goals
Malik Fathi DL
Mattia Marzetti young DC play in Italian first team at 19 years
Ben Harfa AML
Gago DM
Sneijder AMC
Kaboul DC
M... [ Read full comment... ]
Anonymous
Date Added:Tue 9th Oct 2007 14:26
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Date Added:Mon 3rd Sep 2007 18:35
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Date Added:Tue 7th Aug 2007 08:48