What sports fan doesn't want to take control of his favorite team and guide it to a championship, or, better yet, a long string of championships? Well, if it means playing Worldwide Soccer Manager, you can count me in that number.
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 gives gamers the chance to manage and coach 5,000 soccer teams from 50 countries around the globe, giving them the chance to manage every aspect of their team's roster, field questions from reporters at their team's press conferences, and coach their teams in real time as each simulated game unfolds. What it doesn't do, more importantly, is provide any compelling reason to keep "playing."
In any great football team, strength comes from stability. Wholesale change doesn't breed success, but incremental improvements usually do. This is also the case for Football Manager--or Worldwide Soccer Manager, as it's known in some regions--as developer Sports Interactive has demonstrated with the continual progress of the franchise since its rebirth in 2004.
The Good:
* TV match view is a godsend for stats lovers
* New assistant-manager features work well
* Huge database and range of teams
* Still incredibly addictive.
The Bad:
* New match engine is visually glitchy
* Still distressingly addictive.
WWSM 2009's big feature, the 3D match engine, is underwhelming, and the barrier of entry for new players might be too steep for some. However, the addition of the assistant manager, a new match time bar that lets you watch any part of a match, a refined transfer system, and an improved UI combine to make Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 a very good game, one that's likely to please fans of the series. Newcomers who are curious about the game but worried that it's too complicated should still give it a look. It's possible the game isn't for you, but you may also discover why so many people love the series and end up hopelessly, happily addicted yourself.
Presentation - 6.5
Graphics - 3.0
Sound - 1.0
Gameplay - 8.5
Lasting Appeal - 9.0
Overall -
This game obviously aims to provide the deepest soccer simulation experience possible for the sport's most passionate and informed fans, but it offers little to nothing that would appeal to a casual fan of the sport or to the average videogame enthusiast. The menus are complex and difficult to navigate, graphics are terrible, the sound is non-existent and there is no traditional gameplay to speak of.
Presentation - 4.0
Graphics - 2.0
Sound - 0.5
Gameplay - 4.0
Lasting Appeal - 2.0
Overall -
I'm hoping this guy gets the boot. It's unacceptable for such shoddy journalism anywhere else in the media, so why here? There are plenty of other journalists out there who would like that job.
