Football Manager 2012

Don't see a thread for this, so I figured I would make one. The game most definitley deserves its own thread. The demo for the newest edition of the greatest sports sim in the history of video games is out, and the full game will be available later this month.

For those who are not familiar with the game, the "Football" in question is European football. So, soccer to some. Its a management simulation game - you run the club, buy and sell players, set line-ups and tactics, but you don't literally control the players like you can on a game like Madden. The depth and realism of FM is simply unmatched. There are hundreds of thousands of players availabe in the database, several hundred playable clubs in dozens of leagues. You can manage the biggest clubs in the world or third division sides in Moldova.

I have only had a bit of a chance to play with the demo so far, but I am liking the new layout. Played one match and the 3-D match engine looked fantastic on my PC (admittedly, quite powerful). I am honestly loathe to get involved in the demo since the full game (and inevitable patches) will be coming soon.

I used to play a game similar to this years ago and I loved the attention to detail. I rarely play video games anymore, but I may have to make an exception and check this one out, particularly if it comes so highly recommended from my Big Papa!

Originally Posted by Fuji Vice

I used to play a game similar to this years ago and I loved the attention to detail. I rarely play video games anymore, but I may have to make an exception and check this one out, particularly if it comes so highly recommended from my Big Papa!

Very highly-recommend, Fuji.

The version of the game released in North America by SI Games was Worldwide Soccer Manager. And FM used to be called Championship Manager a few years ago (which still exists but its a lesser game, in my opinion). If you played either of those, it was basically an earlier version of this.

I've played pretty much every text sport sim out there, I believe. Titles like Front Office Football (NFL) and Out of the Park Baseball are really solid games, but they both fall a step behind FM. It also helps that the world of soccer/football is so geared toward making a game like this work, at least when the game has the depth and detail that FM does. The variety of games you can play on FM is simply huge. Its also not really a true text sim anymore - we've gone from lines of text to little dots moving around the screen to some real quality graphics of the game-play.

Yep, I am pretty sure it was called Championship Manager, so if this is better than that then I will definitely be checking it out. Thanks again buddy.

I still use the dots. Hate the 3D version of the game.

Not sure if I want to get this or not as I'm doing pretty damn good in my Ireland save and am just about to start the Euro's. If I get this, that will be forgotten about.

Originally Posted by Fuji Vice

Yep, I am pretty sure it was called Championship Manager, so if this is better than that then I will definitely be checking it out. Thanks again buddy.

One word of warning... if you're not a big soccer geek, playing FM can turn you into one. Its awfully effective in that regard, I've found.

Originally Posted by God

I still use the dots. Hate the 3D version of the game.

Not sure if I want to get this or not as I'm doing pretty damn good in my Ireland save and am just about to start the Euro's. If I get this, that will be forgotten about.

I doubt you're the only one still on dots. I never much liked the 3-D either, but that was partly due to my laptop not really being able to deal with it. Once I built the new PC in the spring and tried FM11, it was a revelation.

Its actually not the worst idea to wait, at least for a bit. Waiting until about December, when they typically do the second patch, will see a lot of the major issues taken care of.

Football Manager is the crack cocaine of video games, I don't think I've ever played something so addictive.

I'm immensely looking forward to the game coming out and I've got it on pre-order. Got a few ideas about who I want to manage first, tossing up between turning around Arsenal's fortunes, leading England to penalty heartbreak at the Euro's or doing what I always set out to do, but never quite achieve, lead a league 2 side to the premier league. One team I won't be is West Brom, I never enjoying playing as my beloved baggies for some reason.

Needless to say when it does arrive through my letterbox, I may be conspicuous by my absence on WC.

Damn, I have an addictive personality too. Maybe I shouldn't be playing this after all?

Originally Posted by Ed

Football Manager is the crack cocaine of video games, I don't think I've ever played something so addictive.

I'm immensely looking forward to the game coming out and I've got it on pre-order. Got a few ideas about who I want to manage first, tossing up between turning around Arsenal's fortunes, leading England to penalty heartbreak at the Euro's or doing what I always set out to do, but never quite achieve, lead a league 2 side to the premier league. One team I won't be is West Brom, I never enjoying playing as my beloved baggies for some reason.

Needless to say when it does arrive through my letterbox, I may be conspicuous by my absence on WC.

That's a pretty apt description, Ed. I should have just put that "Crack in Video Game Form".

Its funny - I don't enjoy playing as Arsenal. I don't think I've ever managed to have a game of any real length with them in the 7 years I've played this game. The problem is always finding a balance between fantasy and reality. If I have fun with the club and spend big, it immediately feels unrealistic. If I stick to the Wenger approach, it feels realistic but loses the fun aspect. I can never seem to get them to balance so I end up leaving it.

I think the first game will probably be with Ajax. They have less talent than in previous versions so it will be a bit more of a challenge. I want to try to make it a couple of seasons with them, as I usually lose interest after a half season or so. The idea of bringing them back to glory is somehow always greater than the actual process.

I usually stay away from lower league management but I might give it a go this time around. I always enjoy playing as the Bristol Rovers on FIFA, so I might give them a try.

I can play as Arsenal no problem but the games dont last as long. A year, maybe two unless everything just clicks.

I usually do one of the following:

Ireland (Andrews and Whelan are usually shown the door pretty quickly and replaced by people who actually know how to play football)
Shamrock Rovers (After the first season I tend to dominate. Qualified for the Europa League three years running including an epic victory against Man United in the group stages at Old Trafford!!!!!!)
Barnet (League two to Champions League. Never done it but did get to the Championship and even made the play off's several times in one game but never actually got promoted)