| Introduction
With the World Cup currently in full swing it seems
fitting that we should review a soccer related title.
Exient, who recently released the excellent Steven Gerrard's
Total Soccer also on the GBA, brings Alex Ferguson's
Player Manager 2002 to us. Playing and managing are
worlds apart though and as this is co-produced by veterans
of this type of game, ANCO, we're naturally hoping for
something a little special. Less chat then and on with
the game...
GamePlay
Before you get into anything resembling gameplay
you need to choose which path you're going to take and
exactly how in depth you want your management simulation
to be. There are two choices here - Full Manager and
Player Manager. I'd strongly advise the latter as this
not only allows you to manage your team but also play
the actual matches. I could explain in detail about
the football games but as it uses the same engine as
Steven Gerrard's Total Soccer simply swing over to the
Reviews section and you'll be up to speed in no time.
In addition to playing the games there's obviously
a whole host of management responsibilities too and
you'll be amazed by just how much you can alter in this
title. First and foremost there's your team and how
you use them. This ranges from simple training to positioning,
game tactics and even buying and selling players. All
of which leads neatly to finance, another equally important
aspect, as raising funds to improve your prospects is
in some respects more difficult than the football itself.
Again your leadership is far reaching so while raising
ticket prices may bring in more revenue you don't want
to risk annoying the fans. The same thought needs to
be applied to merchandise and food, which you also have
power over.
Football fans will be pleased to find that you can
choose your team from the top two divisions from ix
European countries. This gives the game a great sense
of realism and you'll spend hours with your management
responsibilities entering various tournaments to win
as many trophies as possible. Saving is fortunately
one of the simpler aspects of the game as everything
is sorted out courtesy of a battery backup and not one
of those terrible ten digit password systems.
Controls
Your interface here mostly deals with menu systems
and everything is clear and easy to navigate with 'A'
being select and 'B' backwards. This is mostly due to
the well-implemented design where good use of both text
and icons navigates the player with ease through what
could be a reasonably tricky process. The actual soccer
game is a little more complicated but everything's very
responsive so you should never lose a match through
bad control more likely because you're not actually
very good.
Graphics
Titles of this nature rely on the clarity of the
overall visual presentation and fortunately even on
the GBA's tiny screen everything is clear and legible.
Anyone who's already played Steven Gerrard's Total Soccer
will know exactly what to expect and a lot of the interface
and even the matches are very similar. Overall the graphics
are more functional than anything but fine for a title
of this genre.
Sound & Music
If you can forgive the 80's style techno music that
accompanies the intro then you'll find everything else
in the audio department works very well. It's by no
means outstanding but it does its job and overall is
perfectly suited to this type of the title. You do have
the roar of the crowd when you're playing a match but
remember this is a management title and as a result
the most common sound you'll hear is a simple beep indicating
you've actually chosen an option.
Final Comments
There are so many features in this title that this
review could have easily been twice the length but if
you get around to actually buying this game you'll no
doubt discover all this for yourself. This is not a
quick pick up and play game though so anyone looking
for a quick soccer fix really should look elsewhere.
If however, you've ever wondered what it's like to run
a football team here you have a fully featured, not
to mention, detailed and engrossing management simulator.
This is an incredibly competent and complex title and
Exient should be applauded for taking such a risk and,
what's more, producing a real winner.
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