The Future of Football Management Sims?

(Championship Manager is a World Soccer management simulation - as the game is known as "football" beyond the United States, the two terms are interchangeable throughout this review.)

Featuring up to date teams, players and statistics, a restructured training system, real-time set-piece editor and a remarkable 3D match engine, Championship Manager 2010 sets itself up as the ultimate football management sim before a ball is even kicked.

With a 17 year history behind it, Championship Manager is one of the most successful gaming franchises around – but following the split from publishers Eidos by developers Sports Interactive to release Football Manager through Sega, and taking the old game engine with them, it looked as though the Championship Manager franchise was past its best, a feeling only encouraged by the subsequent below-par releases. So is this installment enough to win back our love?

Championship Manager 2010 certainly makes a good case – this is a brand new game with a new interface, new management options, and a new 3D match engine – and it’s fair to say that in this new form the ghost of the past and the competition from Sega can be laid to rest.

A mammoth game, Championship Manager 2010 can be a little daunting to get started in, especially for newcomers to the football management simulator genre. It’s best to throw yourself in however, and respond to whatever the game throws at you.

Once the user profile, leagues and preferred team (domestic and or national) have been chosen, it’s time to accept letters from the club board and supported club, meet the club captain and start investigating the team via the main game interface. There is a lot going on here, from well written and varied on-screen dialogue to the vast number of transfer, contract, and off the ball stories being displayed on the media and news screen. There is strength in depth here; early proof that Eidos have pulled out all the stops for CM 2010.