Review: Football Manager 14

It’s 2am. You have a 9am lecture but cannot drag yourself away from your screen. ‘Just one more game!’ you tell yourself; but who are you kidding, you’ve been telling yourself that for the past two hours.

This situation will become a reality for students across the country this week with the release of Football Manger 14, a gripping management simulation that consumes both your time whilst playing and your thoughts when away from your virtual office.

Sports Interactive always encourage fan feedback, even offering those who pre-ordered the game the chance to test drive it for two weeks before release, suggesting changes and pointing out bugs. This offers a consistently more realistic and engaging experience each year, with FM 14 the pinnacle of the sports simulation genre.

The biggest change in this year’s game comes in the form of the revamped tactical system. Previous tactical preparation meant finding the strengths of your players and setting up the team to make the most of their skills, regardless of opposition instructions. The improved AI, however, means that in this year’s version it is more important than ever to read scouting reports on how opposition teams will line up, along with watching for changes to their instructions during a game, creating a real battle of the clipboards between you and your opposite number. New player positions also add depth, giving you the option to play with a Spanish false 9, or have your attacking midfielder play off a front man as a shadow striker.

Little details make huge differences in Football Manager. Assigning instructions to individual players rather than a position on the tactics screen automatically changes the way in which you play based solely on your line-up, saving constant pausing and tinkering every time you bring a target man on to replace your nippy poacher. The transfer system is subject to similar tweaks, with clubs no longer waiting days to respond to offers, instead rejecting or countering immediately in a more real time manner.

Match engine’s graphics improvements are very significant.

The match engine has seen major visual improvements to player animations, lighting and the stadium crowd. Matchday feels more immersive than ever with a clear distinction in atmosphere between a World Cup final and a rainy Tuesday night away game at Plymouth.

Another small addition is the increased depth of player, media and board conversations. Whilst press conferences are still dry, with you likely leaving your assistant to talk for you, it is interesting to see the media approach you over failed transfers and publish stories when your players publicly criticise your methods. Players will be brutally honest at team meetings, telling you exactly what they think of what you say, whilst you can attempt to coax older pros out of retirement or ask your captain to have a word depending on their influence. These changes seem small but add a nice level of realism within your potentially hundreds of hours long career.

Board interaction has also had a makeover in several regards. Being summoned to board meetings to explain your team’s poor run of form is a scary experience, but gives you the chance to claw your way back from chopping board by accepting a points target to reach over the next few games in order to save your job.

The new ‘interviews’ feature.

Additionally, instead of being offered a job and blindly accepting it, clubs will now call candidates in for interview. This gives you a chance to meet your potential chairman and discuss philosophy. Winning games is great, but if your effective long ball game does not match the board’s wish for a quick passing style then, like Tony Pulis, you might soon be touting yourself out for media work instead of taking your seat in the dugout.

Whilst small features add a lot to the FM experience, little issues can pull you out of the normally immersive world. Being called for interview by a club and quizzed on your hopes and ambitions is a nice touch, but failing to ask why you should be taken on following back to back relegations in your previous job is frustrating if relieving. Visual glitches within the match engine also occasionally crop up.

Classic mode, the stripped down version for those who play in pyjamas rather than opting for a suit on match day, returns with a new layout allowing players to absorb the relevant information in a fast and engaging manner. Added Playstation Vita support also allows users to take their classic save on the go via the cloud save system.

Football Manger 2014 continues to set the standard when it comes to realism in simulation games. Niggles with repetitive press conferences and lack of challenging interview questions are mere irritations in what is a superbly engaging experience offering players hundreds of hours of fun. The main issue with the game is how it affects your priorities, convincing you that winning the cup final might just be more important than getting that essay in on time.

 

 

Will Brookes

The Trixter Xdream Challenge: Games vs. Sport

A Games Editor’s experience:

Gamers, we stand before the ultimate gaming workout machine. Forget about the Kinect and the Wii Fit, because the Trixter is the mister. The biggest sports personalities train with them, and thanks to the £6.5 million investment on the Russell Seal Fitness Centre, now members of the campus gym can also use the Trixter Xdream machines.

How does the Trixter Xdream work? Well, put simple, it is a pressure-sensitive cycling machine which emulates and simulates the experience of riding a bike on an exterior track. It emulates the functions of cycling, breaking, gearing, turning and standing on an on-screen simulation of a track with varying slope and curve angles. Everything you do affects the simulation, and everything that appears on the simulation affects what you do.

When I saw these machines during an induction of the centre, I instinctively had the idea of reviewing them as an Exeposé Games editor. As I approached the idea, I stepped back from it and thought it would be an even better idea to use the Trixter Xdream’s multiplayer capabilities to face a mighty opponent; Matt Bugler, Sport editor.

Hernán (right) and Matt (left) getting ready to take the challenge.

And so it happened. Matt vs. Hernán, Sport vs. Games: the ultimate showdown. The aim? Demonstrate that a gamer and a sportsman have a balanced advantage…or not.

We started by creating our accounts, through which we could input our sex, height and weight to calculate the calories burnt during the races. We thought it would be good to try each of the four tracks, so the winner would be the best out of four.

Before we raced each other, Matt went on saying “I’ve got football after this,” already giving a go at intimidating me. I responded by typing in my details on the Trixter with speed and precision to show off my special abilities; too many high scores that I’ve had to register…(not really, though).

As soon as Chris finished running through the controls, it all kicked off – and how! My virtual representation immediately kicked his head off with his foot when he crashed against a fence, two seconds in the race. The simulation was surprisingly precise, although for 6 grand for one of these bad boys, what can you expect? Instead of the usual effortless turn you might find playing with the Kinect or the Wiimote, in the Trixter you are supposed to really turn that handlebar if you want to get around those sharp bends – which may I say were more than plentiful in all of the tracks we played. The same goes for pedalling and braking – you have to assume that you are actually cycling on the track displayed. It felt really real.

I believe I lost the first race because I relied too much on my gaming experience with racing games, watching out for all the HUD elements, such as the map, the progress bar, and the gear counter. I acted against this habit and played instinctively in the second race, which made me win. I even developed the tactic of standing up on the pedals when turning, which made my turns sharper and made me look cool on the bike (definitely not in a douchey way).

During the third race, I proceeded to show off my extra-experience by placing the camera from third to first person, making it even more realistic. So impressed with the result, I got distracted and fell over countless times, but I managed to regain some terrain, losing to Matt by just a few seconds.

If I won the fourth race, I would equalise the result. I was willing to put every effort into it. For the first part of the race, Matt and I were neck to neck, but I had an ace up my sleeve. I knocked Matt off his bike, which somehow made me turn too much, making me jump out of the track. I managed to get back on the track when I realised I had taken a massive shortcut. I was definitely not cheating, since it was an accident and the Trixter did not complain about it. Leaving Matt far behind, I managed to win the last race, and ending with an overall score of 2-2.

Display showing calories burnt in a set time and distance.

After the last race, we checked the stats and realised that we burnt an impressive 200 calories in less that 20 minutes! We were amazed by the fact that we did not feel that tired whilst we were fighting each other to glory. Nevertheless, as soon as we got off the bikes, we felt the pain, which stopped us from taking one last conclusive race.

I am not sure if I proved the balance in gaming and sports with this challenge, but the hilarity of the experience was beyond what I expected, making it be worth it anyway. Matt was a very good, enthusiastic opponent and definitely made the challenge feel very animated. Maybe next time, we should make the number of races an odd number…

A Sport Editor’s experience:

When a certain Online Games Editor challenged me to a race-off on the Trixter virtual bike, I didn’t really know what to expect. All I knew was that the famous Bugler thighs would take some beating, as my rare gym visits usually end with me dripping with sweat having seen how many kilometres I can cover in an hour.

Post-race stats showing heart rate, speed, cadence and topography.

The Trixter bike is far more advanced than your standard gym bike machine. The handlebars move left and right, there are brakes and 27 gears, and it notices when you stand up on your pedals to create more power on the ascents. After creating a user profile, (which you can use anytime you come back) which takes in your height and weight in order to calculate the calorie burning statistics, I was greeted with the start-up, showing famous athletes including Gareth Bale and Fernando Alonso using the machines.

The single-player experience offers you full details on calories burnt, heart rate, cadence and all the other statistics associated with cycling. However, you also get this all on multiplayer, which is what it’s all about. The two bikes sitting side-by-side are crying out to be used in a race, which is just what Hernán and I did.

There were four different maps ranging from desert to highlands and with varying degrees of difficulty, and as you play more you unlock longer and tougher variations on them. We started on the easiest course, and with some help from the gym instructor Chris, got the race underway. We were both very wobbly at the start, but I began to find my consistency and held on to claim the first win.

The Trixter Xdream handlebar controls.

Everything I’d learnt in that first 5 minutes seemed to vanish in the next race, as I endured a bit of a horror show, blowing an early lead to let Hernán sprint off into the distance. Only at the end did I manage to restore some pride and reduce the gap, showing some promising signs for the next race.

The maps are very hilly, featuring numerous sharp turns and different levels of gradient. It takes time to work your way through a 2 km course, and tactics are just as important as pedal power. Which gear to use on this section? Should I stand up on the pedals on this hill? Should I go faster and break sharply, or consistently swing on the handlebars?

One thing was for certain, the start is important. In the third race I was the epitome of consistency, carefully measuring my attack on Hernán and leading from the front, Sebastian Vettel-esque. Hernán was snapping at my heels throughout, but a flawless performance saw me ride out the stage and win by just 3 seconds.

I led 2-1 going into the final race, but knew that a win was essential to take the overall prize. If the last race was a tactical masterpiece, this one was anything but. A frantic first 500 metres involved us repeatedly overtaking each other and jostling for position in the narrow pathways. Hernán then saw the need to employ some underhand tactics, including taking a big shortcut and knocking me off my bike in order to take the lead. I was rattled by this fierce behaviour and unable to claw my way back; the series ending 2-2.

Overall, it was a very fun experience and I thoroughly recommend this to anyone with a gym pass. The Trixter is definitely more Forza Motorsport than Burnout, and is all the richer for this. I had found my match in competitive spirit in the form of Hernán, and would love to return to take on more challengers.

 

 

 

A special thanks to Chris Belcher, Health and Fitness Manager at the campus Sports Centre, for allowing this to happen.

 

Hernán Romero, Online Games Editor and Matt Bugler, Online Sport Editor