Worldwide Soccer Manager 2007

"Makes Hours Seem Like Minutes"

Introduction:
Football Manager 2007 is the third game in the Football Manager series, which itself is a continuation of Sports Interactive's old series, Championship Manager, which is now made by a different company and is Football Managers main competitor in the football management genre. Football Manager 2007 is a football management sim, allowing you to become a manager of a football team, with this manager job, you can control just about everything about the club. It builds on the success of last years edition, Football Manager 2006, by adding several new features, like feeder clubs, scouting networks and pre-match team talks, but are these new features enough to ensure Football Manager's superiority over Championship Manager for another year, we'll see.

Requirements:
Football Manager 2007 isn't a high-tech game, and will run on the majority of PC's.

Graphics:
There isn't a lot in the way of graphics, seeing as most of the game is text-based, the only element of the game that isn't text-based is the match engine, which is 2D and is played out with circles rather than players, it's not exactly good, but it doesn't ruin the game. As I've already said, the rest of the game is text-based, you navigate various menus and screens, each with their own functions and purposes, these menus and screens look nice with a good layout, though you can change the skin if it's not to your taste. All in all, there's not much you can comment about in the graphics department.

Sound:
Another area that can't really be commented on, the only sound in the game comes from the match engine, and the only sounds heard there are repetitive crowd noises and the odd whistle from the referee...

Gameplay:
This is where the game makes it's mark, the gameplay is superb. The menus and screens are easy to use and navigate, whilst hints and tutorials are available to those who are stuck. The controls are simple, you use only the mouse to play the game, though the keyboard is used when you search for things. Now we move on to the game itself, you become a manager at a club of your choice, and then its up to you to control everything about the team in an effort to complete the teams objectives, whether it be winning a cup or surviving in a league, it's very addictive, once you start playing, it's hard to stop, you become immersed in the game, controlling everything from your teams starting lineup and tactics to interacting with other managers, sending your scouts to the other side of the world and criticising referees, not bad at all.

Lifespan:
Quite possibly endless, you can continue playing this game for as long as you want, as you are never able to complete it, even if you reach the year 2099 in game time. The only thing stopping you from playing this game forever is boredom, some people get bored after a few seasons, whilst others keep playing and playing, it's all down to how much you enjoy the game, and you can always come back later and start a new game with a different team.

Extras:
An editor comes with the game, so you can add yourself and your friends as players, change your favourite team or even change the abilities of any player in the game!

Final Recommendation:
If football is your sport, then this game is a good investment, you'll have endless fun with it, from building the team of your dreams to criticising those managers you hate in real-life (Jose Mourinho, anybody?). The game is miles better than any of its competitors (Championship Manager 2007 is still catching up with last years edition of Football Manager) and will keep you going until next years version comes out.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/06, Updated 12/04/07

Game Release: Football Manager 2007 (EU, 10/20/06)