The Job Interview...
Complete with new skins, a side bar that helps to keep the screen looking tidy, numerous fresh menu shortcuts and sliders to adjust training routines, Championship Manager 2007 interface is simple, intuitive to use and once again full to brim with more options than you could possibly ever have time to mess around with – do managers really have to deal with all this crap? There’s still not as many leagues or options that Football Manager boasts, but there’s more than enough tasks to be getting on with and enough to give you a feeling of what it must be like to step into the sheepskin coat of a manager.
Stat heavy menus are complete with training routines and complete player attributes. Players are assigned over 40 different skills from dribbling ability to acceleration which plays its part in helping you to pick the right players for your team and transfer market. The developers have listened to the fans and have finally included an International management option (which can be accessed immediately), allowing you to coach your team through the World cup with pride and hopefully bring the coveted trophy back to where it belongs.
Click for larger imageThe first major noticeable change from Champ Manager ’06 is the way the game begins. After answering 6 multiple choice questions on your footballing knowledge you’ll receive a coaching badge based on your result. The grade that you earn apparently influences your board, players and coaching staff. To what extent I don’t really know, but I’d assume that players will have far less confidence in your abilities if you don’t know what the offside rule is! Shame on you if you get that answer wrong!
Click for larger imageIt’s then a matter of choosing your club and deciding on whether you wish to start the game with a wad of cash from a benefactor or cope with the measly sum that you’ll receive if you don’t, meaning that you’ll probably have to spend pre-season selling a few players to raise some cash for some decent ones (especially if you choose one of the lower division clubs). Next up is a cosy chat with the company chairman where he grills you on your reasons for joining the club and ambitions for the future. This whole process does make you feel as if you’ve just been interviewed for the job and gives the game a personal touch. Then, it’s time to get your head around contracts, training, the transfer market and the dozens of dilemmas that you face when choosing your squads, captains, formations, game styles on match day and much more. To the newbie all the options may be daunting at first, but once you spend the first couple of hours (and you will) familiarising yourself with the day to day task of running a club, it’s an absorbing experience where minutes can quite easily turn into hours. Whenever I play a football sim my brain whizzes around at a 100 miles an hour as it tries to cope with planning and remembering all the things I want to do and Champ ’07, despite it being less involving than Football Manager, is no different.