Football Manager 2012 (PC & Mac)

The game has gone to new levels in terms of detail and player interraction. You can now talk to your players more "calmly", "passionately", "assertively", etc which gets a relevant response from your players. Before the options could be taken either way by the players. The player profile screen is an inprovement and the visuals in-game are also improved. The only downside that I can see, so far, is that the game HAS to be played through Steam. I.E, it cannot be played off-line. Also, the Steam code can only be used once (not sure if you can purchase new codes) so the disc has no resale value. The fact that you can buy the game for the same price through Steam beggers the question: "why bother selling the disc in the first place?". So, in summary, game as good as ever but beware that Steam code can only be used once, meaning the disc has no resale value

Unfortunately Steam has ruined my favourite game, it really isn't worth the effort. I am not exagerating when i say it took two days from buying the disc and installing it to be able to play the game. When i finally get it downloaded Steam will randomly decide "the game is unavailable, please try again later." Not worth the effort anymore. Steam is awful.

After taking a few years to establish itself the Football Manager (previously Championship Manager) series has continued its gradual evolution into what is now the most detailed and realistic soccer management game by far. Anyone that has played any of the previous entries in the series over the last decade will know what to expect whilst less experienced players will find FM2012 the most accessible yet with better tutorials than ever before.

All the usual features are still present and correct and as ever a few new ones have been added. Firstly it is now possible to switch leagues on and off once you have started the game. As a result anyone that fancies managing in more than one country during their career can do so without having to run too many leagues simultaneously thus slowing their game to a crawl on an average PC.

Team meetings are also now more useful with staff members now explaining why particular players are unhappy with training etc rather than, as was the case with FM2011, leaving you to guess what the problem might be. Their scouting recommendations are however still usually awful with coaches often suggesting you look at players that are never going to make the grade at your club.

During matches themselves the player is now given the option of choosing the tone (aggressive, passionate, calm etc) of how they deliver half-time team talks and other instructions reducing the occasions when players would mis-read what you were trying to tell them and get upset. The 3D highlights have also had a slight overhaul and the option to watch via a more dynamic 'TV style' camera is now available for those that want it.

In the end, despite the improved tutorial, Football Manager 2012 is unlikely to win the series many new fans but anyone that has enjoyed previous entries in the series will find this to be the most realistic (gone are the days of inexplicable runs of results) and detailed yet and will be sure to get many hours of enjoyment from it.

*Access to Steam is required to install the game and, even though there is a way to play offline, there have been occasions where I have been unable to load up my game due to Steam connection issues. This is only a very rare occurrence however and should in no way put you off the game*

After taking a few years to establish itself the Football Manager (previously Championship Manager) series has continued its gradual evolution into what is now the most detailed and realistic soccer management game by far. Anyone that has played any of the previous entries in the series over the last decade will know what to expect whilst less experienced players will find FM2012 the most accessible yet with better tutorials than ever before.

All the usual features are still present and correct and as ever a few new ones have been added. Firstly it is now possible to switch leagues on and off once you have started the game. As a result anyone that fancies managing in more than one country during their career can do so without having to run too many leagues simultaneously thus slowing their game to a crawl on an average PC.

Team meetings are also now more useful with staff members now explaining why particular players are unhappy with training etc rather than, as was the case with FM2011, leaving you to guess what the problem might be. Their scouting recommendations are however still usually awful with coaches often suggesting you look at players that are never going to make the grade at your club.

During matches themselves the player is now given the option of choosing the tone (aggressive, passionate, calm etc) of how they deliver half-time team talks and other instructions reducing the occasions when players would mis-read what you were trying to tell them and get upset. The 3D highlights have also had a slight overhaul and the option to watch via a more dynamic 'TV style' camera is now available for those that want it.

In the end, despite the improved tutorial, Football Manager 2012 is unlikely to win the series many new fans but anyone that has enjoyed previous entries in the series will find this to be the most realistic (gone are the days of inexplicable runs of results) and detailed yet and will be sure to get many hours of enjoyment from it.

*Access to Steam is required to install the game and, even though there is a way to play offline, there have been occasions where I have been unable to load up my game due to Steam connection issues. This is only a very rare occurrence however and should in no way put you off the game*

Someone said that he won the fa cup with kettering and by only playing 2 defenders. I some how doubt that.

Like with every new realise it takes a bit of getting used to but after a month or so of playing you realise that the game just gets better and better.

My biggest problem with this game is that in the past you had the choice to download via steam or from the disc. I always chose the disc as it was quicker and you had the game editor downloaded as well. But on this version you have no choice and you have to download via steam. It didn't take me 2 days to play the game like one reviewer on here but it did take an hour or 2 longer to download and i hated the fact that i have to download the editor seperatly. This is the reason i haven't given it 5 stars because i don't really like using steam, i have never had the problems that some people have with it saying that the game is offline and try again later but i just don't like having to download via steam when you should be allowed to download via the disc as with previous options.