Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Just a bad game, 21 May 2004
By A Customer
Having been a CM fanatic for many years, i first played the game on the amiga many years ago, i couldnt wait for this game. I queued up for a good hour in my lunch break to buy it on the release date, then had to wait till i finished work to play it. When i did load it and start, i couldnt believe my eyes. First are the graphics. The previous games are all a simple design and very familar set outs, but this one changes all the good points of the other ones and basically starts again. Not the best idea when you have a best selling game title which most people own and are used to. The next thing i noticed was how painfully slow the game is. You could easily complete a season in a days playing, so addictive were the other games, but you would be lucky to finish 10 games in the same time now. This is partly due to the setting out of everthing, which will become easier after time, but mainly due to the loading time after you click continue. It seems to go through every fixtures score of every team in every country, which is displayed at the bottom of the screen. A long time. Then there is the training. Its just so complicated it is stupid. I cant say more because i didnt even attempt to try it. There are some great additions to this game, like the option to offer players to interested clubs rather then wait to see if they bid, and to offer clubs the chance to loan your players even if they show no interest. Also there are improved transfer options. Now you can enquiry after a player and get a price if they want to sell, or just get told where to go. This is an excellent idea. Saying that, you cant really afford to buy anyone as if you enquire you normally get an answer that they want £20-30 million, and you only get a 'healthy'(not my words,the games) £10 million to spend. And this was as arsenal. Then theres the wage cap you get. Good idea, but the thing i liked about the other games were the fact you could do whatever you wanted with the money. If you wanted 20 world class players on £80,000 a week then you could, now you can have 3 key players and 5 important first team players and thats as good as it gets. The final point i noticed was the fact you cant tell whos interested in coming to you in the transfer list. The older games you could filter out uninterested players and know you could get all other players, now you can only ask your assistant to filter out unrealistic targets, which leaves you with about 3 players. Overall the game is just a huge disappointment
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Beginning of the End for Champiano, 6 May 2003
For those of you who are completely new to the world of Championship Manager, (you are a minority - and shame on you) CM4 might seem like a decent footy management sim. But for die-hard fans who have spent countless nights pursiung succesful seasons with our favourite clubs in Champiano 01/02 (thats the name on the street), CM4 will be a huge disappointment.
Its a real let-down and a shame really, after waiting for so long.Well, what exactly is wrong with the game? Its actually very difficult to know where to start. Firstly, the most obvious negative point is the speed of the game. CM4 is TERRIBLY slow, especially during a match when commentary is supposed to be running at a 'very fast speed' but doesn't really go very quick at all. Then there's the pathetic looking 2D option which looks like watching pool balls hit a very tiny white cue ball.
Secondly, there are consistent bugs in the game. For instance, a die-hard fan I know recently started a game with Arsenal. He qualified from phase 1 of the Champions League, but on the news screen it proclaimed "Arsenal have been knocked out of the Champions League". This has happened more than once, which is rather embarassing for a reputable company such as Eidos.
Thirdly, why bring it out (with bugs included) at the end of the season when the stats will be out-of-date within months? Another minor point which displeases me about CM4 is the fact that I feel as though whatever I do during a match will not affect the outcome of the result, i.e. substitutions, tactical changes etc. make little difference.
The few plus points are - loads of leagues, players, teams and statistics. Thats about it. In conclusion, it is not worth buying CM4 if you are any sort of a fan. If you are that curious, then buy CM 2001/2002 and download the updated stats for last season. Or buy the best football game ever - Pro Evo 2 on the playstation. AVOID CM4!!
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Champ Man 4, 19 Oct 2003
As a lifelong customer to the Championship Manager franchise, I eargerly awaited this newest addition, much like I eagerly waited for all the previous versions. Version 04, unlike all the others, dissapointed me wholly. Why? The first, and most important reason is hard to define, but Champ Man fans who have played this and the previous installments will know what I mean...the feel of the game. Champ Man has always improved on itself year by year, and every version always feels good. They had a winning formulae, but decided to completely change it for version 04...why? No idea. Ok, so you've said that the feel of the game isnt good, but I dont really know what you mean....you only gave it 1 star...what's wrong with the game? Many things.
Speed - The game plays out so slowly. During matches, there are sluggish pauses when there is a break in play (corners etc.), and the commentary is generally slower than previous games. And unless you have a behemoth of a computer, I would give up ever using the new in game '3d' match screen (which is awful and slow).
Transfers - Well, this is a huge part of the game, so fittingly the developers have tried alot of new features to impress, though sadly none work. The new 'enquiry' option, which aims to give you an impression of a clubs valuation of a player, works something like this: You make an enquiry about a player. Now, one of two things happen. If the player is someone who is obviously for sale (ie - listed, awful stats....) you will be told they are worth what you can see they are worth from their information. If the player is half decent, you will be told he is not for sale at any price, despite the fact most players are fpr sale at the right price.
This sums up Champ Man...so many new features...but why change the winning formulae. Selling players is nigh on impossible, even when clubs have expressed an interested in them, and you then offer the player away. In a full season, I couldnt manage to sell Zidane or Figo, at their suggested prices.
Signing players is equally pathetic. It's hit and miss. Eg - I signed Mendieta in his prime, with a long time still to go on his contract for 12 million, whist 36 million was Diego Tristan's asking price. They've aimed for realism....and maybe they've got it, but is that really what we want? Championship Manager is a GAME....not a tutorial for budding managers. THIS ISNT FUN. Trust me, dont buy this, get Champ Manager 3, the 01/02 update. That game is fantastic and 04 pales in comparison. To summarize.
Version 04 is ambitious, but all the realism that has been introduced has drowned out all the fun of the previous versions. What a dissapointment.
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