Football Manager 2010 – Review

Sport is never easy to emulate but when it comes to football, Sports Interactive’s series is undoubtedly the best on the market. Each year a new edition arrives, and there’s always that familiar question raised – what can you add to make it unique from the previous version? Unfortunately the answer is never as much as we sometimes hope, but Sports Interactive have once again turned out a game which is the closest gamers will get to calling the big shots in the Premier League or Blue Square South.

The biggest news feature this year hinges on information, as for the first time in the FM series you can see detailed breakdown of how individuals passing, shooting and tackling affect the flow of the game. You can see exactly how each player is performing and where they need to improve. It’s a brilliant addition and you’ll wonder how you managed without it.

The match day experience has also been vastly improved, with stadium designs which change depending on the opposition you’re playing against and fans which react appropriately to the run of play. It’s not rocket science, but having tiny people on the sideline stand up when you attack the opposition’s penalty area will always make you smile. New camera angles have also been added, so you are no longer stuck watching the match from halfway line. The top-down perspective and commentary-only modes return for those who want to play on older machines or laptops.

All of the information has been updated in this year’s version – as you would expect – but some of the objectives of certain clubs do seem a little unrealistic. When we were still expected to challenge for the Championship title, despite our 10 point penalty at the beginning of the season. It’s not a huge problem but you will occasionally run into individual inaccuracies.

The new interface makes navigation much easier than before, and the 3D match engine is a vast improvement over last years with less anomalies to drive you up the wall.

Football Manager 2010 is a solid improvement over last year’s edition, with more statistical analysis, better staff implementation and new features across the board. We aren’t sure if the new features warrant a new purchase for all fans, but if you love the series and want the latest data then you’ll lap it up.

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