When the Premiership was born back in 1992, it soon became one of the biggest leagues in the world…then all of a sudden, it gave birth, theoretically, to one of the biggest computer games in the world…that being of course, Championship Manager.
Being a student with plenty of time on his hands!! I recently brushed the dirt of this version of the game from the 2001/2002 season from Sports Interactive's Championship Manager series for the PC - argued by many as being one of the best versions, despite it's lack of graphical improvement from the previous season…this time round though the gameplay seems to be better.
First off, and something that affects the game most of all, is that Championship Manager 01/02 implements the new regulated EU transfer system, that comes into play about a month after you begin - meaning basically that contracts can only be a certain length, depending on the player's age
Other 'new features' include Attribute Masking - where you set the game so you only see details of players, that you would only realistically know without using your scouts. You can also compare player stats, send them off for surgery, place appeals on suspended players, request things from the club's board of officials, and the media element is greatly improved.
Of course, those two preceeding paragraphs will mean little or nothing to you if a) you know nothing about football transfers, or b) you know nothing about Championship Manager……but hey, this is a lesson, not just a review…so sit back, you'll learn something!!
Once installed, the game is your oyster. You can choose from a vast number of leagues to take part in or follow - despite the obvious possibilities of following the English and Scottish leagues, you can go as far and obscure as feasible possibly when choosing 'big' national football leagues - such as Turkey, Norway, Finland, South Korea, Australia, Poland…and Wales.
The display is to some extent, fairly aged by today's standards, but at least that ensures navigation is more or less child's play. A list on the left hand side of the screen - Continue Game; Your Manager's Name; Competitions; Nations & Clubs; Find; Game Options - give you the details, with a drop down list appearing from each one, giving you further details, such as when clicking on your name it'll give you options such as viewing your team, the reserve team, board confidence, news, player search, manager stats, job information, go on holiday and even retire.
After that, it's all yours. I can't really say what you can except, as every person's game will be different - that's the magic of it. The realism is spot on. Just because you decide to manage Manchester United or Macclesfield Town, injuries, off-field disputes and transfers ensure that your time at the helm won't always run smoothly, yet when (or if!) you win a trophy, it's a great feeling!
For those not fully interested in football, the gaming may become somewhat tedious after a while, as technically, this game is just clicking a series of buttons - not playing the game itself…something that some people argue makes management games, regardless of the sport, as pointless and dull. Of course, later additions of Champ Man do include a 'live' screen, where you can get slightly closer to the action by watching a birdseye view of proceedings.
Then there's the Editor programme that comes installed with the game, which can turn any team into international superheroes…I did it with Swindon, and lost something stupid like only 3 games in 3 seasons, in all competitions!! Oh, and because your player's can become so good using this sly cheating method, the money you can make on them through transfers is ridiculous…but then again, you can also edit the club's bank balance in the Editor - yes it spoils the authenticness of the game, but every now and again it's bloody good fun!
Criticisms of the game came in the form of 'cheat' players. Portuguese player Tó Madeira, who is not actually a real life player, is available to buy extremely cheaply in the game, but is an excellent player, regardless of the level he plays at. A few others that people can pick up include Maxim Tsigalko from Belarus - but he'll struggle to get a work permit in the first couple of seasons, and a series of "Super Greeks and Swedes", such as Dionis Choitis, Jonas Lunden and Stefan Selakovic…now there's a few hints for people playing the game!
Today, with all the recently released PC's and Laptop's, the requirements for this game, considering it's now 5 years old, are obsolete - as long as you've got Windows 95 or higher, 16Mb RAM, a CD-ROM drive, Pentium 133 Mhz…oh, and a keyboard and mouse, then you'll be able to play the game!!
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