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LMA Manager 2002 Review
Chris Leyton
00/12/0000
Can console football management games work, Codemasters new offering has more depth and the same easy interface but can it beat Championship Manager?
Until now football management games werenât suited to the consoles, the lack of memory, storage and user interfaces meant that they stayed firmly rooted to the PC world. However things have changed, thanks to the Xbox HDD weâve recently seen the superb Championship Manager 01/02 and hoping to steal some of its thunder, this game from Codemasters, LMA Manager 2002 on the Playstation2.
Of course this isnât the first LMA title weâve seen, both this version and its predecessor somehow appeared on the PSOne, however the extra power of the PS2 has produced a game that can rival (but not beat) the mighty Champ Man on the PC and Xbox.
If youâre accustomed to the LMA games the first difference youâll notice is the huge jump in players, clubs and leagues contained. For a start there are over 17,000 players - twice as many as found in the PSOne title â“ playing in 722 clubs across 28 countries throughout Europe. For the first time six of these are playable, and theyâre the ones that have the best clubs; England, Scotland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, so if fancy taking charge of the mighty Real Madrid or Inter Milan the choice is yours. This also helps to enhance the realism and immerse you into the game; rather then feelings like youâre a big fish in a puddle, it now feels like youâre a minnow in a lake!
The clubs themselves have larger squads allowing up to 32 players plus a youth team, so thereâs plenty of scope for creating a team rich enough to compete in all competitions.
And so itâs on to the game, pick the side, tinker the tactics, delve into the transfer market and hopefully win some trophies. LMA Manager 2002 contains all of the staple ingredients needed for a football management, and thankfully gives you the opportunity for a member of your backroom staff to handle less meaningful tasks such as stadium development and sponsors, the choice is up to you which is a nice touch.
One of the major stumbling blocks for any type of game like this on a console is the interface, flicking between different screens and entering data is easy on a keyboard/mouse combo, but proves to be a frustrating experience with a joypad. Thankfully Codemasters have thought carefully about the layout of screens and the control system, so that cursor movement is kept to a minimum.
Where LMA Manager 2002 excels is onto the pitch, where the game is actually played out in true 3D. Being a Champ Man fanatic it took some getting used to and was a bit of a shock, however the implementation has worked well and closely resembles a game of football without the structured feel of previous attempts. Itâs when you begin to change the tactics around during a match that youâll really begin to realise, that your choices have a direct influence on the onscreen action. With a console audience a 3D match engine was needed, as Simon Prytherch producer of the LMA series puts it:
âWould you get so excited studying columns of text and figures?â
Being a Champ Man fanatic, well yes I do, however itâs just so surprising that it works so well.
The final cherry on the cake is the highlight analysis provided by MotD pundits, Gary âGoodyboyâ Lineker and Alan âSchoolboy Errorâ Hansen. Immediately after the match they take you through the key events, slowing down the action and analysing the teamâs performance each with their classic catchphrases.
