Championship Manager 5

[nigelt]

Review here.

Has anyone played it? I'd like some other opinions before I get it.

[Nastrodamus]

I have it. Its ok. Will lend it to ya.

[nigelt]

Cool. Thanks. How much would you give it on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best?

[Ryurule]

This game ranks about 6.5

[nigelt]

The match engine sucks. I got Football Manager 5 as well, much better game.

[Nastrodamus]

The match engine sucks.

Yup... Not much fun either but it can play. I haven't played Football Manager yet.

[Greatis]

Give us a review for Football Manager as compare to Championship Management Pls Nigelt.

[nigelt]

Give us a review for Football Manager as compare to Championship Management Pls Nigelt.

From what I've read, it appears that Championship Manager was the original game. However, there was some "bangarang" and Sports Interactive left and started their own thing. They didn't have the rights to the name though, hence the new name Football Manager.

The two games are practically identical. You choose to manage virtually any football team (or teams) you can think of , whether it be an international team trying to win the World Cup, an English Premiereship side battling relegation, or a unknown Spanish League team trying to get to the UEFA Champions Cup.

As manager, you control literally every aspect of your team, from press releases praising or criticizing players or rival managers to negotiating contracts of players and coaches and scouts to deciding the training regimen you want your first team, or reserves, or under 18 team to follow, and the coaches you want to train them.

You command a veritable army of scouts, whom you can dispatch to observe a player and advise you whether the player is good enough for your team. Of course, you then have to offer enough money to the club before you get permission to even start talking.

So you've built up your side, all your players are fit and happy (if they don't get enough playing time they'll complain, sometimes to you, sometimes to the media) and you're ready to play a big side. You don't control players' movements in either game. You watch the match from an overhead view. That said, you decide the game plan which your team is going to follow. Not just attacking or defending, but how EACH player tackles, where they cross from, where they aim their cross, if they make forward runs, if they run with the ball, if they'll play agressively, how hard they'll tackle, their passing style, if they'll hold up the ball, and how much creative freedom they have. (Side note: don't EVER set your goalkeeper to aggressive, I learned that the hard way when he ran out of goal to join the rest of my team in the opposing penalty box and the other team scored with a shot from their half).

The differences I've found between Football Manager and Championship Manager are:

1. The match engine in Champioship Manager is HORRIBLE. Players don't respond properly, and this results in the ball rolling around until the AI figures out that a player should go for it a lot. It's extremely frustrating to watch your midfielder let a ball go rolling by only to be picked up by Thierry Henry and blasted past your goalkeeper (damn you Arsenal!!!).

2. Football Manager has longer load times than Championship Manager.

Personally, I'd take the longer load times over the sucky match engine, it's that bad.

If you're looking for a FIFA '05 or Winning Eleven 8, then these games are not for you. If you fancy yourself a better coach than Jose Mourinho and want to get immersed in a football world where you control more than just the shot power of a player, then get Football Manager.

To be honest, I didn't think I'd like it at first, but once I started playing Football Manager it sucked me in. I really don't miss controlling the players, there's too much other stuff to do.

There's also a network mode where you can pit your superstar-studded eleven against someone else's, but I have not tried this feature out as yet.

I would give Championship Manager a 3 out of 5. It loses two stars for that match engine. Football Manager gets a 4 out of 5, losing one star for the long load times.

[Greatis]

Seems like a game I would play.

[Greatis]

Football manager that is.