FIFA Manager 09

This is the latest update in the FIFA Football Manager series, not to be confused with Championship Manager of course!

As normal you take control of an existing football club, or you can create your own to play with. You can start in any league, but of course the real trick is to stay there and help to club stay afloat. Rather than just being a technical game you have to manage the team, the staff, add parts to the stadium, arrange friendlies, keep the fans happy and much more, you also have to keep any personal relationships that you may have. This adds a completely different dimension to the game!

Of course you can hire assistants that can take some of the pressure off you, if you have the money and the facilities you can automate much of the process by choosing the right coach, manager, etc. However if you are going to play like that then there really isn't much point in playing the game. It does mean though that if you aren't much good or, don't really understand football you can just take on the more commercial roles.

There are some new features, but I think most people won't really notice them much. Probably the most obvious is the 3D match mode which means you can watch the game, and if you are a player manager you can also interact with the game. However for those who want to get straight down to business there is the simpler instant results which just gives you the scores and you can pause at half time to give a team talk!

There is a wide variety of things to do and if you are looking for a manager Sim that allows you to do everything then this is it. However I have noticed that people who play these types of games tend to stick to the one they are most familiar with. However this game is well worth trying out and actually quite fun, even for someone like me who really doesn't like football that much!