Football Manager 2009 Demo Hands On Impression
Football Manager series has undergone a lot changes with each release of the game. The Football Management game is ready to come out with its next release with a lot of changes which includes a three dimensional match engine. A demo of the game was recently released and i got a chance to look at all the new features that was there.
The interface of the game is very similar to that of previous one with some minor theme changes. The major enhancement is the 3d match engine which shows the 3d view of the entire match. There is not too much quality in the 3d match engine if you look at the animations. I can see player making the tackles or running but I hardly saw then doing any stepovers and the shooting of all the players were similar. But considering that more than 100 animations will be there in the final version and its the first time they have implemented the 3d engine, these can be ignored. You can always go back to the 2d view or 2d classic view if you like. There is also a time meter using which you can also rewind back to a particular moment.
There is a new “TV Mode” which allows you to have various widgets on the screen as you watch the match. The widgets are related to Match Stats, Player Ratings, Assistant Manager Feedback, Radar, Possession etc. One of the good additions is the “Assistant Manager Feedback” feature. Now in between a match, your Assistant Manager will give you suggestions on whether your tactics are working or not, which players are performing poorly or giving away possession, which players are tired etc. He will also inform you which opposition players should be Closed down or tightly marked. In the end you will also get an idea about how new players are blending into the team. He will also suggest which passing style etc to use based on the opposition tactics. This is a very nice addition to the tactical side of the game.
There is nothing new in the Training Section except a new “Player Interaction” addition. Now you can encourage a player to train for a particular thing like performing stepovers or you can ask a player to shoot from long range, try to beat the defenders, attack from the center, attack from the flank etc. The players will also start training for that particular setting. The player rater now even shows the rating in decimal format like “7.6” or “5.4” so you get a clearer picture of how your players are performing. Now as a manager, you will also be attending press conferences and answering questions from journalists from various newspapers. The answers might come back later to haunt you. The transfer system is also a bit improved.
Apart from these, there hasn’t been many changes. I hope that the 3d engine is improved with a lot of animations in the full version. Till that time, I will prefer the 2D mode.
Popularity: 8% [?]
