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Alex
Ferguson's Player Manager 2001 |
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There’s no point in telling you what a
football management sim does – it lets players manage a football team. And
there’s no point in rehashing what ALEX FERGUSON’S PLAYER MANAGER 2001 is
like to play – it was hailed as the most comprehensive and intuitive game of its type
when it was released on PS1 around this time last year and any wannabe managers will
already have explored its capabilities. But where there is a need to impart knowledge is
with regards to the PS2 version of the game. There are simply so many upgrades,
enhancements and additions that you’ll be hard pressed to recognise it as the same
title that gained so much critical acclaim. For a start there are 12,000 players as opposed to the 3,500 in
the PS1 version. Furthermore, the stats for each player (increased from PS1) are directly
influenced by events during their playing career, such as illness etc, and the PS2 memory
is capable of handling such an enormous amount of information as well as providing faster
and smoother-running gameplay. Such an increase in available players by default also
creates an increase in the featured teams and this figure has risen to an impressive 850
compared to 140 previously. Restrictions about the buying and transferring of players has
also been lifted meaning that every one of those 12,000 can be bought and played, opening
up your chosen side’s potential enormously, and the choice of 2 major European
leagues has been also increased to 6 with the English league now containing a conference
division. Of course with all this talent now available it will mean a hefty
load for your scouts to handle but with the option to now send them out worldwide you
probably won’t hear too many of them complaining. Managers, on the other hand, have
had their workload increased too and, amongst other things, they may find agents
approaching them to offer their services. Deciding what to do in these circumstances is
just one of the decisions vital to the success of the team that can now be made on a daily
basis instead of weekly. Contract negotiations and wage demands are other vital
considerations and there are now 8 clauses to satisfy, many influenced by the
player’s willingness or reluctance to move. As you can imagine with all this information buzzing around the
manager’s office is a pretty busy place and it’s in here where you’ll find
continual statistics about league tables, the hot shots, big
transfers and shock results from every division in the league. Then there are divisional
transfers, managerial trials and triumphs and the movement of International players that
may have some bearing on European Cup fixtures to study but all of the information is well
presented and easily accessed. Lists, charts and tables, however they are displayed, still
remain lists, charts and tables. This factor is immutable and an intrinsic part of
management gameplay. No amount of ‘tarting up’ will make them anything other
than imparters of information and so a considerable proportion of the PS2’s memory
has been diverted to player AI and the ‘watch game’ features. There are three
ways to see your hard work and planning come together: full-length 3D game, a quick watch
or a tactical scanner. Each of these provides players with excellent on-screen graphics
and keen eyes will quickly realise that every single match venue in unique and different. Highly detailed players, realistic stadiums and rousting match
noise are just reward for the hours of behind the scene slogging you’ll need to
endure for success but whether you love football, eat football and sleep football, in ALEX
FERGUSON’S PLAYER MANAGER 2001 for PS2 you’ll actually LIVE football…! Price: £39.99 for PS2. |
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