FIFA Manager 09

FIFA Manager 09

Developer(s) Bright Future
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Series FIFA Manager
Platform(s) Windows
Release date(s)
  • PAL 30 October 2008
Genre(s) Sports Management

FIFA Manager 09 is the 2009 successor to the FIFA Manager series from EA's sports brand, EA Sports. It is a follow up on FIFA Manager 08. FIFA Manager 09 was developed by Bright Future and published by EA Sports. It was released on 30 October 2008. On 29 October 2008, the first database update was released, including the first division of Cyprus and the necessary adjustments. The game gives players the chance to control a wide range of features from discussing tactics with individual players to creating monster stadiums to house fans.

Featured Leagues

As a mainstay of the series from the Total Club Manager years, FIFA Manager 09 has a massive and comprehensive database of teams and players (not all of them licensed, however). Although information on teams and players from all over the world can be seen, players must choose their team from those available in 65 leagues in 39 countries across the world.

New Features

Match Engine

The match engine features more sounds, new pitch textures and new player faces, most of these taken from FIFA 09. It also sports a new interface during the match.

The game has a new improved text mode, with new commentary with internet ticker style scores of other games taking place. A text mode editor is planned but no release date has been given.

Tactics

This edition treats tactics a little differently, in that it replaces the 5x5 grid (which had on/off ball movement), with available tactical options like:

Merchandising

The merchandising section of the game has been re-written from scratch, and rather than selling items, a player sells by category. This version also acknowledges holidays with new categories. In addition, signings from abroad provide players with the opportunity to sell scarves of that player's nation. To further capitalise on this, it is possible to open up shops in different countries to boost sales. It is also possible to market merchandising through an agency, which will lead to increased sales.

Staff Categories

Staff have categories they fit into the recruitment screen to reduce the amount of items in the dropdown lists. For example, there is a "management" category with the likes of assistant manager. There are new staff positions such as fitness coach, lawyer and psychologist.

Scouting

The scouting is very similar to the previous year's installment: it has a few new tweaks with filters and such, but the game now has a scouting difficulty option when creating a new game, the exact effect of this is still not known.

Dressing Room Chemistry

This option provides new conversation options with players, a gamer can tell players to "be stronger" and try to improve quickly, they can be told which areas of the game they need to improve in, and the option to advise a player to look after a new signing as long as they speak the same language. Manager trust now plays a part in player morale–if a player has no trust in his manager he may get unhappy and request to leave.

Transfer System

The transfer system has been improved quite a lot since the previous edition, the main issue people had was with swap deals being too easy, and this has become a lot harder. When negotiating a new contract there are new options, for example, a release clause if the team doesn't qualify for European competitions. The strengths/weaknesses section has also been expanded with new items. This can help choose the best player in a more advanced search. There is also the option to pick players that one is interested in, but leaving the assistant manager in charge of all negotiations.

Youth Players

It is now possible to offer other team's youth players contracts, as long as they're 16 years old or over.

Talent System

In previous installments, a 5-star system has been used with a 6-star added for legendary players. In this edition, it has been turned into a 10-star system, although when 5-stars are shown, the number is dictated by colours; an empty star counts as one, a gold star counts as two. For example, four gold stars and one empty star would equal a talent rating of nine.

The game only features four 10-star players in the default database. According to the official website, 11-star players are possible.

Story of the season

The newest feature is the story of the season, after certain events a "cutscene" will show. This will happen after getting a job, winning a competition, and after transfer windows. But this particular feature tends to give players a frustrating experience due to its rather repetitive nature.

There were too many bugs in the unpatched release of the game that made it almost unplayable. But updates that followed fixed some of the bugs that were in the unpatched version, so it is playable if one has the original version.

Reception

FIFA Manager 09 received mixed reviews from Metacritic, with an average of 69%. Scores ranged from a dire 30% (Total PC Gaming) up to a more than respectable 85% (GameStar). Most reviews commented on the level of depth and realism involved in the game, while noting that it might well be too much for some. Play.tm called it "more a lifestyle than a game", observing that "a season, if played thoroughly, will take as long as most full games these days".[1] IT Reviews commented that, "it may still feel like you're awash with a tsunami of statistics but FIFA manager 09 has injected a number of new features to appeal to micromanagement fans".[2]

Update 1

The first update was already planned after a few game-breaking bugs were found. The main bug involved a complete crash when creating a player's own club. Update 1 included 200 new player pictures, the option to be unsackable when managing a national team, and a new data update. Update 1 was deemed to be unsuccessful as many bugs continued to exist and resulted in Update 2.

Update 4

Update 4 has been made available through many download servers around the internet, and Update 3 was released as well. In Update 3, the most important feature is that one can now go to many other training camps that were not in the original, unpatched game, and that it contains all the winter transfers that were completed.

References

  1. ↑ http://play.tm/review/22324/fifa-manager-09 Play.tm
  2. ↑ http://www.itreviews.co.uk/games/g519.htm IT Reviews

External links