Is this a case of too many features and not enough perfection?
If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you’ll know that I’m not a huge fan of football manager games…I just don’t get the appeal, the effort put into them, the dropdown menus and lack of control have always been a serious issue for me…I prefer to play a game of football instead of making decisions like extending contracts and how much I money the club should be making.
Despite my own personal feelings about the genre, it’s obviously very popular with quite a few games taking it on. FIFA Manager, Championship Manager and Football Manager have been battling it out over the years and while I haven’t played any of the latter two games this year, it’s pretty clear that FIFA Manager 10 needs to do something pretty special to maintain its crown.
Unfortunately, it seems like the team has tried to do too many things instead of getting them to work in unison. It’s a simple case of “too many cooks spoil the broth” and the game suffers because of it. I’ve been looking at feedback for the game so far and the majority of it has been fairly negative. It’s a shame, I was hoping that this year I may finally start enjoying the genre…but it seems it’s not meant to be.
It always confuses me as to why EA Sports never brings the series to consoles or handhelds; I think FIFA Manager would work brilliantly on the DS. Confining itself to the PC while Football Manager moves onto the PSP makes the series appear dated from the outside.
It’s good to see that the series finally makes the jump online, but it feels like a missed opportunity. It’s not a bad thing, but it seems that the single player has suffered because of the extra focus on this feature. I was expecting the single player to be much better, but instead it disappoints from the start.
The visuals are good, but could have been so much better and with the advances in PC graphics over the years, you’d expect them to do so…but instead, they are still using DX9. Music is a mixed bag as always, sound effects are decent…but the whole presentation leaves a lot to be desired. I found myself looking at the game and becoming incredibly frustrated and bored quickly…is that what anyone wants from a game? I know it’s supposed to be a simulator, but I’d expect some excitement. But, it never materialises.
The Verdict
FIFA Manager 10 tries to do too much and fails because of it. They simply haven’t perfected the new features and neglected the offline experience before of it. It’s still a decent simulator, just don’t go expecting it to blow you away.
