Football Manager has always been the premier name in football management simulation gaming. Each year without fail, the brand has released new iterations of its product, becoming more in-depth and sophisticated year upon year. Thus, FM 2012 is the result of 19 years worth of expansion and creativity by the SI development team, and being released in the run-up to Christmas, I’m here to offer my advice as to whether you should go and purchase this year’s installment, perhaps as a gift or, for yourself.

Visual Enhancement Upon loading, its user interface (UI) is instantly clearly different to previous versions. Now any statistics you ever wished you had known about that hidden gem in the Brazilian 2nd division are right before your eyes. This is a welcome addition, but verges on overbearing. Counter-acting this overcluttering, if you wish, is the ability to customise the UI and include only what you are interested in, in terms of players and general news.

Personally, I find the more professional, geometric design of the UI to have been a successful alteration, but it depends on personal opinion. The game engine itself now boasts impressive 2D-cum-3D graphics, bringing a great sense of realism and excitement to the game. In my eyes, this is something that has been long needed and, let’s just say, we’ve sure come a long way from the solitary text commentary of bygone editions.

Interaction Aspects of the game such as the transfer market, contract negotiations, team talks and one-to-one discussions with players have all undergone a facelift courtesy of SI Studio Director Miles Jacobson. Boasting over 800 new or altered features, genuine interaction with your squad is perhaps the most crucial tweak yet. In the past, half-time and post-match team talks looked good on paper, but were ultimately obsolete. Now, you can convey different emotions in your messages, such as passion and aggression. I’ve found that carefully chosen words at the right time can make a world of difference to team performance. At last, this isn’t just a feature that merely looks good. Unfortunately, press conferences are still arduous. Being almost identical to last year’s effort, they are still far from slick.

To Buy or Not to Buy? In all, Football Manager 2012 gets many more things right than it does wrong. The 800-plus alterations are vast improvements, and a mixture of nice-touches and vital fixes. Yes, many of them are so subtle that you’ll never even know about them, but the game truly feels more in-depth and unpredictable than ever before, something I’m sure these changes have contributed toward.

In particular, a welcome, long-desired change is the new ability to enable and play in a separate league within a save game. Previously, you could only play leagues that were selected during the initial set-up, so causing many players to rue their choices for the duration of their game-time. Aesthetically, there’s been a compromise between content and style, which may very well deter some seasoned users. This being said, I feel it will greater benefit the true Football Manager fans, willing to be in it for the long haul, and requiring various types of knowledge at their fingertips.

Viewing the highlights, due to the 3D match engine, is now akin to watching Match of the Day – not graphically – but in the realistic match play that ensues without fail. The players genuinely look like footballers in their actions, and your tactical decisions bear more responsibility on the final result.

So in conclusion, if you are an experienced FM fan looking to carry on your annual ritual of settling down in front of the screen to take on the role of your favourite manager, or someone looking to enter this famous, time-evading world, I say by all means go out and get it – it may be the last time you leave your computer for a while!

Click here to view Football Manager at Amazon

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