It's not hard
to see why this
was a 'Number
One Bestseller'
(as the inlay card
so proudly puts it).
Compared to the usual
collection of sluggish number
lists,
Kenny's snazzy graphics
and icons must have been a
wonderful surprise. At heart,
it's a competent management
game (featuring scouts,
transfers, cup competitions,
formation strategy, finance etc)
but with a slinky presentation
that makes all the difference.
One boon is that you dictate
the speed of play. You can
choose to see either the full
results or edited highlights
(which are a sort of updated
version of the
Footy Man
goalmouth sequences), as well
as opting for detailed
information about each team
member or just the bare
bones.
There are also a quite few
good ideas in the game itself,
like the option to replace a
booked or injured player with
anybody else from your team.
My personal favourite though
is the boardroom icon. This is
where you can check up on
the team via the physio and
the coach, ask the scout who's
up for grabs in the player
market, find out from the
accountant how you're doing
financially, beg the bank
manager for a loan, and finally
quail before the chairman as
he demands to know why
you're
still in the 4th division!
There are only two
problems. First, when you're
clicking speedily through the
various icons it can be all too
easy to miss an important
message, such as a player
having been
injured. And
second, no
matter how
badly you do
and how low
the
chairman's
confidence
sinks, at the beginning of each
season it's replenished, so he
never actually fires you. (A
bug?)
But these are only tiny
points. Purists may frown upon
the icons and graphics (and
speed!) but by and large it's
pretty hot poop. Go buy.
| Ratings given by other magazines |
| |
5/10
| |
|
| Info supplied by the SPOT*ON database |