Football Manager 2012

 

 

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Although the game is ok, it really doesn't warrant £30 'IF' you already have Football Manager 2011. The Steam activation is ridiculous, having to be on-line, one code, no resale value, extra memory wasted on Steam running in the background etc etc...with very little benefit to the consumer. We don't mind annoyances if they benefit us, after all its us paying the money. However this only benefits Sports Interactive.

I have played Football Manager 2011 to the point where my saved game shows that I have played it for 14 days straight, and now playing this, I really don't see any new benefits that warrant £30 of my money? It's slower, and wow! I can now talk in a tone? It's just a gimmick. You now spend far too much time farting around with how you think you sound rather than working on the things that matter, your tactics, training, and scouting & buying players. Media may get repetitive, but I get passed that by inputting and adding to the answers with my own quotes in the comment section.

So apart from a database and date update (which if you scour the internet you'll find a new database for the 2011 release), tone, more stuff on the screen (more of exactly the same stuff as last year I may add),and oh a new camera angle, there really is nothing to warrant spending £30 'IF' you already have 2011. Unless your just keeping up with the Jones's and need the newest of everything. Even the layout, skin and fonts are the same.

Please save your money. I played the demo, and played the full version at a mates, and I wanted to love it, I really did, but at best its just a patch. A patch which they charge you a lot of money for. They can't even be bothered to print a manual, instead they have just updated last years and stuck it on the internet. When you spend £30 on a game, its about the presentation, the packaging, the extra touches, like a nice manual. I know it sounds silly but its a lot of money, and its all part of what you buy into.

It annoys me that they market it as a brand new game in it's own right, when it just isn't. I mean really how much can be done in 7 months? (You need the other 4 or 5 months at least for testing) They would be better off releasing a new one every 2 years, one with substantial updates, and a full game in its own right. But they won't, because the don't care about the product or the consumer, but the money. Me? I'm sticking with last years, and will take a look again next year. I suggest others with 2011 do the same. However if you don't have 2011, its worth a look.

Back with it's latest installment of the long running series (I include the Championship Managers that were designed by Sports Interactive), this for me is more of an evolution on the previous game.

The plus's are the intuitive links that make life much simpler. The information icon against a player lets you see their attributes and the right click options make interactions with players so much simpler. The tweaks to the youth system are good and give more options for those that like to develop players from within. As a side note, the information upgrades from the coaching staff really help with this. The bringing together of all of the transfer items in one area is also much welcomed.

On the downside the linking with Steam is more inhibiting than it is freeing. Whilst you could play across many computers, you have to be internet linked for the achievements to be logged and then you are captive to the issues that sometimes arise when updates are happening. I had a difficult few minutes trying to understand why my game was suddenly found to be busy (had to verify integrity of the game cache). Another downside is one of the new features, you can now talk to people with six different moods from Aggressive to Reluctant. Whilst this is more realistic it does make player interactions a really lottery initially until you can work out what way to talk to them. Finally someone in licensing didn't do their job so there are a few fake names and leagues (Germany) which is disappointing.

Overall, I still like it. You can win and winning streaks seem more organic. Of course this means that losing streaks can gather speed, but then that is one of the realities of true football management. Good game still, despite the issues.

No comments about Steam - everythings been said......
From 1986 onwards I have played Football and Footie manager games from Kevin Toms legendary original to the original giant leap forward in management, Championship Manager and Football manager its evolutionary successor.
Sadly these days my fantasy career is no more. For the sake of realism the game is so anal as to be beyond belief.
A season lasts like a real season.
To do pre match and post match I may as well write off an hour per match.
The fundamentals of the game are great (database, scouting etc)
However I dont want or desire to faff about with agents, 'tones' and endless media rubbish.
I want the game to be more modular, allow me to set-up the game with or without these features - NOT letting my virtual assistant manager deal with it and mucking up my season.
I want to get get on with the fantasy in my head of my team marching up the table and onto glory.
PLEASE SI make the next versions scalable and customisable to appeal to all types of players - fantasists - reality freaks and the somewhere in betweens.
THIS is the way forward to bring lost souls back into the Football Manager dreamworld.
Don't make the game as dreary and drudgable as the jobs most of us have to do!
Better effort next season lads.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Far to complicated
I guess the fact I find it too complicated is a testament to how far these types of games have come on of late but I just didn't find it enjoyable at all. Read more

Published 7 hours ago by Scott Harrower

1.0 out of 5 stars Utter Rubbish!
As stated utter rubbish and a waste of money. I used to love the FM franchise but I will now stay well away. STEAM is tonk! Read more

Published 21 hours ago by Chris Archer

5.0 out of 5 stars good game
keeps the lad quiet and gets the old gray matter working, next job will be kenny's replacement at least thats what he tells me. 10/10

Published 1 day ago by haggisbob

1.0 out of 5 stars Long time player, first time returned!
Thankfully, I noticed the very small font message on the back of the box which informed me I HAD to install Steam in order to play the game. Read more

Published 1 day ago by NMc7

1.0 out of 5 stars 1 Star
How could this possibly warrant more than 1 star? How?

Essentially what we have here is EXACTLY the same game as its predecessor albeit with a few very minor tweaks... Read more

Published 3 days ago by J. Bowden

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
Great game from SEGA, as usual.
No significant new features but entertainer and addictive as always.
Alexandre Matias from Portugal

Published 3 days ago by Matias

3.0 out of 5 stars Should be a good game
But isn't for me.

I love footie manager games. The ones I already own are straight forward. Read more

Published 5 days ago by Ryan

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Game Great Price
A new improvement on the last footie manager. Lots to look at and use to decide tactics would recommend to anyone. Well worth a purchase.

Published 7 days ago by Rushy

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but slow
As stated by many, it's really a good game. The different tones do make a difference.

The only problem is that the game is slow, since I've never used "Steam" I don't... Read more

Published 8 days ago by Fossa

3.0 out of 5 stars Good fun
easily becomes addictive at times when you go on a run of wins or in my case losses!!
Can be slow in play at times with my players seaming to run on the spot!

Published 9 days ago by K. Tucker

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