That said, Football Manager 2011 isn’t without its developments – there’s plenty to discuss as we approach the November release date. With the developers kind enough to grant us access to a full preview build, we begun the challenge of becoming the next Mourinho. Whether you take control of a Premier League juggernaut or a lower league Mexican minnow, the premise is simple: mould your team into winners to take the world of football by storm.
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| Wright way, wrong ball |
So let’s jump straight in – the first change you’ll notice is the News /Email screens. Previously, the information was split across two separate interfaces, but due to the repetitive nature of the industry news items (x and x has been sold to), the industry section was often overlooked. Unless you were after a specific player, the masses of updates (even with helpful subscriptions tailoring the feeds) was just too time-consuming to check every game day. This resulted in the player being adrift from what's happening in the game world.
In Football Manager 2011, the two information sources have been combined to ensure the player receives the relevant updates and memos. The result is a much more streamlined experience that lacks any fluff and it’s a welcome overhaul for one of 2010’s biggest gripes.
On a side note, also worth mentioning are press conferences – rather than having to irritatingly confirm your answers (which considering the repetitive nature of conferences is a good thing), you simply click through them. It’s another example of where quicker interaction has sped up the repetitive parts of the game.
Up next, and perhaps the most requested feature, is training. Sports Interactive have finally listened to their loyal community and overhauled the training system. In the past, managers were given rudimentary control over their players’ development. It was a case of selecting the best coaches available and tailoring the training schemes to each player.
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| The new contract system in the works |
It was hit-and-miss whether they would actually blend together. You could train your players into world class individuals but you had little control over whether they’d gel together as a team. Now it’s all changed – you have the option to prepare for every match with three tactical choices. The more you play and train in a 4-4-2, the better your players get at it. It’s more realistic and mimics the real world of football. The option to train three different tactics at the same time means you’re not restricted to one choice – need a counter-attacking formation or a long-ball setup? – it’s possible for your team to be adept in both, ready for deployment when the situation requires.
It seems to remove the lottery that was purchasing players and getting them to fit your tactics. However, it doesn’t mean that once you’ve reached a high level of squad harmony you’re invincible – this is football after all and anything can happen in a match.
Concerning the matches, the biggest announcement in past years was the introduction of the 3D engine. Not keen to rest on their laurels, the developers have now brought the match engine alive. The tiny players have been given an injection of personality as they celebrate their goals in realistic fashion while becoming stroppy when a decision goes against them. Player movement is more fluid and there’s an apparent increase in intelligence with the odd behaviour of defenders being brought into check.
Getting hold of the players has also seen work with the alterations bringing it more in line with the reality of football. Contract negotiations are now a live discussion where you sit down with the player reacting to their dynamic demands. It’s a far way from to-and-froing via email that we’re used to. It’s yet another example of how the game is removing the unrealistic parts of the game while simultaneously bringing it into the 21st century.
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| Training and tactics merge together |
Finally we have the creation of dynamic leagues. Before in FM games, despite your success, if your team was in a less respected league, nothing could change that. Now, if you and your league’s counterparts begin to win large tournaments, you’ll find it easier to attract world class players. This in turn leads to the stature of your league increasing - think of the rise of the Premier League and La Liga as Serie A declined in prominence. For fans that play long into the future, it’s a fascinating concept especially when you consider the question of who, in fifty years time, will be the biggest league in the world? It’s great seeing current giants move towards relegation (Liverpool in reality is one such example) and it’ll be fascinating to the same happen to whole leagues.
Football Manager has always been about the ‘what ifs’ and due out the 5th November, we can hardly wait to find out what’s in store. Partners, beware – Football Manager 2011 is coming and it looks to be the best year yet. Expect our full review when the game lands.
Most Anticipated Feature: Being able to train teams to set formations
