.co.uk Review
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Theres little point beating about the bush, Football Manager
2005 is a staggering achievement and the finest football
management game ever to appear on any format. Its success,
ultimately, is down to the fact that it pulls off a spectacularly
tricky balancing act. On one hand, theres a gigantic database of
teams, players and statistics with staggering depths of detail;
and on the other is an extremely user-friendly interface that
always puts you at the heart of the game, and allows you to
easily and succinctly use the vast reservoirs of tools and
options at your disposal. It might be putting things simply, but
the two have been married up to create a standout game.
But then all this is hardly a surprise. Football Manager 2005
has been created by the team behind the Championship Manager
series, and whilst they no longer have the rights to use the
brand name, the actual games origins are never in question.
Frankly, there are so many improvements, its impossible to
scratch the surface of them.
So well focus on two. The media section really hangs together
properly for arguably the first time, with intriguing options
that allow you to play mind games with other managers for
instance. And the match day segment has come on at speed, with a
smooth and useful highlights option that feels far more natural
and integrated than previously.
Does it have flaws? The odd one or two, which are minor niggles
caused more as a result of extreme ambition on the part of the
developers rather than sloppy work. Yet the real worry is the
a of time the game will sap. Make no mistake, for any
armchair football fan who has ever dreamed of taking their team
to glory, Football Manager 2005 will rob them of months of their
life. In short, its easy-to-use, its desperately challenging,
incredibly addictive and downright unmissable. Accept no
imitations.--Simon Brew
Review
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"Once you accept your first management job, you can bid farewell
to months of free time 5/5" -- The Times
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Manufacturer's Description
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Football Manager 2005 will feature teams from 158 divisions in
51 countries. With the inclusion of reserve and youth teams, the
number of league teams available to players of the game exceeds
5,000, while the international teams (with the senior squads
augmented by their under-19, under-21 and under-23 counterparts)
brings the total to 5,300.
FM 2005's easily exceeds that of Sports Interactive's
previous most comprehensive football management game, which
showcased teams from 42 nations. FM 2005 includes leagues from a
number of countries which have not featured in Sports
Interactive's previous titles, including Belarus, Bulgaria,
Chile, Iceland, Malaysia, Peru, Romania, Slovenia and Uruguay.
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- Master the media spotlight - Take the fight to your rivals off the pitch. Tilt the psychological balance of the football world in your favour.
- Total control - Exercise pinpoint control over your team's game, including their creative freedom, width and tempo.
- Smart, fast gameplay - Optimised data engine enables background calculations to be made whilst you make important managerial decisions.
- Unequalled depth and choice - Work with over 250,000 players and staff, researched by 2,500 people worldwide for unparalleled accuracy. Star players now have individual 'preferred moves'.