Football Manager Handheld (PSP)

For a while now i've been enjoying football management games and feel im in a good position to comment on 'Football Manager; Handheld' as ive played every franchise's take on the popular game type. Back in the early 90's mention championship manager and most football fans would regard it as the best game on the market. Since of course, we've had Premier manager, LMA, Total club manager and more recently Pro evolution manager. As i'm sure many of you are aware, football manager is made by the guys who made the old championship managers but after contraversially parting from developer eidos they had to change the name. Football manager is the new Championship manager.

What a game it is. We're already 2 versions in on the PC, both are gaming perfection (regardless of how hard it is to get any transfer money whatsoever for Huddersfield Town) So as soon as the PSP version was announced, im guessin a fair few owners thumbs were anticipating the, battery draining, protable debut of this amazing game.

I'm only reviewing the promotional release copy but as far as i know its identical the one set for release later this week, and thats no bad thing. The game just feels right. After i'd tried CM for the psp i was aprehensive but after pulling off half a season in a day my worries were put to rest. There may be a few areas that have been sacrificed from the original but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The suiprisingly quick loading times almost make up for the lack of transfer clauses, match engines and ability to release media stories.

Another suprising bonus was that all teams are accurate from Jan 2006 meaning all the big signings of this year are ready in your teams lineup.

If you listen to one piece of advice all year... go with the better game and not the name. Try football manager before you even consider Championship manager, there's no comparison.

One improvement for next year though, a possible pc/psp link-up would be perfect.

10/10, 100%, 5 Stars, amazing.

If you have never played football manager, you can expect crazy addiction to this bomb of a game! perfectly suited to the psp, the new version of FM has earned rave reviews, and has been complimented for the 'pick up and play' feeling the game offers, umlike the slower PC/MAC version.

Huge databases of players, fun and realistic match-commentry, up to date transfer experiences, and brilliant media simulation prove the quality of this game.

The one problem which is truely imposed by the hame is its late arrival, at the end of the 05/06 season, which is a problem because when the new season starts (with only 3 games of the current season left as i write this review), owners of the game will feel left behind following sales and transfers of players in the summer, thus producing the feeling that they have been cheated out of their money.

I would advise potential buyers to wait a few months for the new game, as it should be released quicker than this one was, as the game has not been successfuly transfered from pc to PSP.

The Football Manager series is notorious for the series of games on the PC made by SI Games, Sports Interactive. For years, they captivated football fans with the superb Championship Manager series, and when they split up with Eidos, carried on with the fantastic Football manager series as you see here today. You may ask 'How can such a big game work on such small technology?'. Honestly, I don't know. But I do know this, and I mean it when I say this to you, SI Games have done a simply superb job in minimising this game into your hands.

FM is a football management simulation game, surprisingly, where you get control of many, many teams to do what you want. You can buy, sell, loan, get sacked, do almost anything that a manager should be able to do. SI Games has gained a solid reputation for the games they have made, winning many awards for the series, and FM:Handheld only boosts this reputation. Built for the far smaller PSP, it still manages to get everything you know of Football Manager and still make it work excellently. To be fair, a few things have been simplified; transfers are far less complex than their PC counterpart, the 2D match engine from the PC series has been taken out due to constraints and replaced with Championship Manager-esque text matches, and tactics won't let you customize with them. But don't let these make you think 'Well, that just sucks!'. This game proves more than you would expect for a PSP, and delivers a massive amount of pleasure to the football fans that enjoy their management sims.

Replay value is incredible - with 354 teams over Europe being controllable in 19 leagues from 7 countries, there is a vast amount you could do everytime you play. Every game is never the same remember, another factor that attracts so many fans. The thing is, I'm sure many people will question how on earth you can control such a complex game on the PSP buttons where the PC uses a mouse. Well, I have great news for you doubters. The game works a dream in getting around the menus - the D-Pad controlling a menu on the side, and you can easy access the information you want. Using the analog means getting straight to the top or bottom of the page, yet another handy addition. There is no mouse in the game, if you are wondering that. Just had to clear that up. Finally, for this paragraph, if you have the PC games, you know about the loading times that can sometimes pop up. Well, I'll just say this right now. It takes over 10 minutes for FM to start a new game on my PC. On my PSP, FM:Handheld takes just over a minute. Continuing the game on the PC usually will be up to a minute, whereas FM:H lasts 5 seconds maximum usually. Take that for what it's worth. The loading is incredible for a MASSIVE game such as this.

So are you a football fan? Do you have a PSP? Do you want to control your club? Well, I strongly suggest purchasing the wonder that is FM:Handheld. Whether it be on the toilet, at school, on a bus, or with a group of friends, FM will always be there for you to control. Now, isn't that a bit better than it being stuck on a PC that requires a lot of power to make it run fast? The football world can be in your pocket, so how will you manage?

Pros

+ A HUGE footballing world right in your pocket

+ Lasts 30 seasons, and can be a long, long time.

+ The sheer size of the game in such a small handheld.

+ The layout works amazingly well

+ Easy to get into

+ Can become very addictive

+ Has the 'Football Manager' feel

Cons:

+ Simplified transfers and uncustomizable tactics

+ Lack of 2D match engine

+ Lack of sounds