Championship Manager (PSP)

So what's the PSP version like? All in all not bad, perhaps not spectacular, but the recognisable heart of the game has definitely survived.

The first thing that struck me was how much they've managed to fit in. A load of leagues are available, hundreds of clubs, thousands of players (all searchable), along with a full transfer and contract system. The tactics options are as full featured as all but the most recent PC versions and the 2D match engine, allowing you to watch the game as it happens, has survived (it's apparently been dropped from the soon to be release Football Manager for the PSP).

The interface is a bit clunky at first because of the lack of a mouse, but once you read them manual (doh!) and learn the short cuts it becomes surprisingly navigable.

Generally game play works pretty much as the PC game, though they've also added a couple of features aimed at making games quicker (instead of seeing the whole came play out you can opt for a quick result for instance). For me that's unnecessary as it's the open ended nature of the game and the detail that makes it what it is, but they give you the choice so it's up to you how you choose to play.

On the downside there are some rough edges. The match commentary, 2D match engine and statistics don't always tally particularly well. You can watch a player through on goal, the keeper make a save, the commentary says it and the stats for shots on goal don't change. Or the commentary will sit and say "he's got to shoot from here" for a freekick two yards from the corner flag. It may seem minor but with half a dozen or so similar incidents per game it does make you wonder what information can be trusted when you're making decisions.

Also I'm not sure if it's just me having not full got to grips with the tactics yet, but there are times when I can't buy a goal even with my best side out against week opposition despite dominating play and having 20+ attempts. Overall results are realistic in terms of number of goals and typical score lines, but don't necessarily feel like they always reflect the game you've watched... perhaps that just adds to the realism as fans rarely think their side got the result they really deserved though I'm not convinced.

But as a first go this is pretty good, and it's certainly as addictive as ever (I nearly burned the house down playing it while cooking last night). If you think about it as roughly where the PC version was a releases or two ago, and expect a few rough edges you'll have it about right, and if you like the PC game you'll probably like the PSP version.

For me, I'll take a look at Football Manger when it arrives in March but until then this is happily keeping me entertained when I'm out and about...

The interface is lovely - easy to use, clear to read and loading times are not at all a worry. A few seconds at most. Navigating the game is a breeze and Gusto games have made this so very playable, even without a mouse.

The ingame engine is a 2D one, or text commentary - the 2D engine works although is a bit funny at times, but sadly the commentary is poor. Its random - skipping from goal kicks to corners (could happen i guess) or from a shot by one team to a goal to the other. Its a real shame as it hampers the gameplay considerably.

Another problem is the difficulty. OK so managing is not meant to be easy, but at times this just feels out of control. Managing Chelsea I signed Henry - we won agaisnt Man Utd 4-0, only to lose the next match to WBA (a mediocre team, according to scouts) by 3-0. IT's very random, frustrating and chaning tactics in the game makes very little difference to the outcome of a match that is half way through.

Still, if you bare with it, cope with some gameplay flaws and obviously unrealistic features then its an enjoyable experience. But for people who can wait, Football Manager is released next March for PSP, and hopefully that will make this game redudant - or managing Everton anyway!! (only joking!)

A great effort, let down by some frustracting flaws and difficulty. Worth a rent!

The reason? Gusto Games have blatantly ripped the guts out of 01-02, even improving on them in some areas, and have more or less successfully transplanted them into Sony's sleek black handheld. That's not to say it's a perfect conversion, more of a 'tribute' with a few neat touches and a few imperfections.

Let's start with the negatives: The game gives a wealth of options to change each team's and each player's tactics but during matches I get the feeling that my input has less of an impact than in the previous PC versions. Also, the game's fastest commentary speed is a little too slow for my liking; as one reviewer states, there is a "quick result" feauture but the game's own "Top Tips" warn against using this regularly as it will result in too many games going the opposition's way, no matter how strong your squad is. In addition, players can have a decent game but still score 5's or 6's and, if you're like me and look for decent players in the U21's you'll be disappointed as all International Teams have been stripped from the database. Finally, make sure you turn your screen brightness down to the minimum setting while playing as the game constantly reads from disc and eats into valuable battery time.

So, that's basically it for the negatives. It sounds a lot but don't let them put you off as there are far fewer glitches in this game than in the Championship Manager games that Eidos tried to pass off to the public following their split with Sports Interactive.

As for improvements, this is no Champ Manager 4 on PC, but it does have nice touches such as more contract clause options, more individual team and player tactic options, a useful filter for news, more player scores (split into physical, technical, mentality etc...) and, of course, the PSP gives the ability to turn the machine off mid-match, turn it on again and pick up where you left off! Excellent for the morning commute!

A special note must also go to the interface. Anyone who is concerned at the PSP's lack of mouse or stylus need not worry as Gusto Games has done an excellent job of using every single button on the PSP to make menu navigation as simple as possible. Within a few days it will be second nature and it will be interesting to see how SI Games tackles this obstacle in their forthcoming PSP Football Manager game due out in March.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by Eidos' newest baby Champ Manager and, despite the flaws listed above, I've had it two weeks now and am as addicted as I ever was with Championship Manager on the PC which, when I think about it, is the highest praise I could probably give. Eidos finally seems to have sorted their act out! A worthy addition to any football fan's PSP collection.