Worldwide Soccer Manager 2007

"Watch your life fade away"

Every weekend from the Premiership to the local park, 22 people from all walks of life join together to play the beautiful game all around the word. Many of those players have the dreams of managing their favourite club but unfortunately for many the nearest they will get is the latest football manager game.

Sports Interactive are back with the newest instalment in the proud franchise and have yet again produced an excellent game. The menu screens are fluid and easy to work through and you can now set up custom shortcuts to make navigation every bit easier. The whole skin is very easy on the eye and numbers have never looked more attractive! Unfortunately, the game is yet to include the feature of 3d matches but the 2d view functions well and in a way is more useful as you can get a much wider scope of players positioning.

Sound is not present as you pass through the menus but the silence has to be an improvement over some dreary music. A custom track feature would be a nice addition but until then you will need another method to get some music while you work through the menus.

During a game, sound is just varying volume crowd cheers. While these serve most of the chants at a match it would be nice to have some more of the cleaner chants included.

Management games are never based on these two areas however and this series has never focused on this area. Instead Football Manager spoils the armchair fan with a wealth of leagues and clubs to find glory with. From the Copa Libertadores to the Conference South everything is faithfully recreated so 99% of you will be able to find your club.

When in charge of your team, you may need to make improvements and with a new scouting system this could not be easier. Now scouts skills are determined not only by ability but by local knowledge. Sending the right man to the right area is an tricky skill to master at first as scouts with wide knowledge are rare but once mastered you will be uncovering gems.

Everyone needs to train and this is where another new feature comes in. The once confusing and hard to understand training section has been changed to make it far easier to use and now with a little bit of work big rewards can be gained. There is no better feeling then seeing a bargain pickup you have nurtured for a few seasons becoming a starter for your team and then selling him for a fortune!

A key part of managing is the interaction you have with your players and Football Manager has this perfectly. Younger players can be tutored with those with more experience and players will all interact with each other. Team chemistry plays a big part in the game, for example if your strike partnership falls out then you will see a reduction in passes between them.

A clever feature lets you ask players about recruitment. You can ask about national or club level and players or coaches and you can hear from the horses mouth about players they really rate expanding transfer possibilities.

These new aspect expand the games great gameplay which remains as brilliant as ever. The whole experience is perfect and my only gripe is once the game has grabbed you, you are tied in. What seems like a few minutes becomes an hour and soon you'll be saying just one more week!

Football Manager just does not get stale. Even when you think you have reached the pinnacle, all trophies in the cabinet. It can just take one outspoken player to come out and it can all collapse. There is always a challenge up for grabs be it a relegation battle or a late promotion push so you wont get bored of the constant as it is very hard to get there.

Football Manager 2007 is the perfect game for every fan that knows best on the way back from the game with incredible depth and a simply easy to use design which can make anyone The Special one! The game runs on most Pcs if you sacrifice database size so there is no excuse for you to not head out and buy this game!

Pros:
Great engine
Easy to navigate design
Always a challenge

Cons:
Sound could be developed
Only a small amount of players have pictures

Quick Review:

Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 9
Lifespan: 10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/07