Upgraded match engine
I then used the Pro-Zone analysis tool to see whether he had been following the instructions. I clicked on the player, chose shots taken and saw a detailed visual breakdown of where my player had taken his shots from, how far he had hit the ball and at which times during the game he'd taken those shots.From that data - and through further examination - I was able to see that, although the player didn’t score, he did create a goal from a rebound following a long shot he’d taken after he'd ran toward the penalty box. This is just one example of the many times I’ve used the Pro-Zone tool with great success.
The problem is that Pro-Zone also flagged up one of the main irritations I have with Champ Manager 2008. On a few occasions, those individual player tactics that I'd so carefully chosen for each member of the team prior to a match, just didn't seem to play out on the pitch and at times my players didn't always respond to the team tactics I've set them.
Nevertheless, Pro-Zone is an excellent new addition to the series. And, although it can be overwhelming to use due to the abundance of options and the masses of data you need to digest, there’s no doubt that it does, for the most part, help you to improve your side’s performance on match days.
Click for larger imageThe match engine has also received an upgrade, with one of the most obvious additions being that of the funnel-shaped player representations leaning into players, diving and lunging into tackles during matches. I’m also pleased to see that the non-scripted gameplay means that there’s a lot of variation in the matches and that you don’t see the same goals over and over again. You still get the odd freak result, but it’s certainly the most realistic visual representation of the game from the Championship Manager series since Beautiful Game Studios took over the franchise.
In a bid to make things more realistic there’s now a lot more focus on getting the player immersed in the world of football. Champ Manager 2008 now has far more interaction with the press, who approach you for comments during the season and there’s also context sensitive team and player talks. If you’re losing at half-time, for example, you can tell your striker that you’re ‘keeping an eye on him’ or order you midfielders to ‘wind up’ or ‘rough up’ an opponent. There’s a standard set of tactical commands at your fingertips, but Champ Manager does try and inject a sense of humour into the gameplay.