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Football Manager is a good example of a game that proves that even without graphics, a game can do well if the gameplay is good enough to keep you intrigued and immersed. Since the Championship Manager days, the game has relied on text and 2d engine to woo its fans and it has been hugely successful till date. This time Football Manager 2009 returns and brings 3D match engine along with it. The introduction of the 3D match engine is the biggest change that your are going to see in the latest installment.

But don’t expect a 3D engine having Fifa like graphics and gameplay. Instead you will witness an empty stadium and wooden stick type players moving around for the ball. But don’t get me wrong, the player animations used a smooth and will not disappoint you much. It is the first time Sega has implemented the 3D engine, from the next installment, we can expect much better. At least, it looks like a soccer game now.  And you have the option of going back to your old 2D engine if you want. There is also a new 2D mode but it is a lot similar to the old one. The game is still complex and detailed enough and you need to get involved in all functions such as training, finances, contracts, pitch dimensions and what note. One good feature added is the “Assistant Manager Feedback”. The Assistant Manager will now offer you valuable tips on which players to close down or which players should be substituted. And he also updates this information every 15 minutes to keep you updated.

The new “Transfer Rumors” system is pretty real life. Now if you want to pursue a player, you can declare interest in trying to unsettle him. A screen will also display which clubs are interested in which players. And sometimes the rumors turn out to be true also. You will be asked to attend press conferences where you will be asked such questions. You can always stay safe by sending in your assistant to those conferences. Big Clubs will also poach upon your star players more. In the game which i played, Real Madrid made there mind to sign Nani, and they openly declared there interest, kept increasing there bids from 22 million to 50 million. Eventually, Nani also wanted to join them and i had no option but to sell him. Such things will be quite common.

The game has now become more hard tactically. In earlier versions, when you started with a big club such as Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal etc, you could have got good results without even looking at the tactics. But this is not the case here, I started playing with Manchester United, kept the default tactics and saw the team passing the ball aimlessly and getting bad results against much much lower teams. The Assistant Advice can be important in these cases. So unless you get the strategy right, you cannot get the best out of your team or your players. This makes the game much more realistic and evenly distributed.

You can also give your players certain guidelines on what he should do and the player will train accordingly. The scouting and loan system is improved in the game. Even the Club’s Managing Board will set realistic targets. This time Manchester United Board told me that League Cup and Community Shield didn’t matter to them. In earlier versions, if I lost in league cup, they would get disappointed and all. The new TV view is pretty cool. You can add widgets to that view allowing you to keep track of several things at once. You can always go back in time ( but can’t change anything ) to see some particular moment thanks to the new timeline.

Even with the addition of the new 3D engine, it is still your old Football Manager and will give you headaches on deciding which player to buy for that Holding Midfield role or which player should be a long term replacement for an older player. It still is the same and has the same addictedness with it. Enjoy the Game.

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