Recent reviews by Aston

Pokemon, but you can kill AND capture people.

TLDR: Solid 8/10. FM24: a refined version of FM23. Small but significant step in the right direction.

This year’s iteration is the final of the series before the upcoming major overhaul next year. Whilst changes are deemed “small”, they have had significant positive impact on the general feel of the game. The new set-piece routines are also a great plus for anyone that loves getting hands on with tactical set ups (one I am enjoying!).

Match Engine: A large improvement, fluid and succinct. Don't confuse yourself, this is and will never be FIFA.

By far a long, long overdue upgrade to the match engine, but the look, feel and visuals around it are a huge step up. Well done. Definitely not perfect nor AAA grade quality, but a big step up from previous years. If you are looking for FIFA level graphics, turn your attention elsewhere, this is a purely management simulator (and still far cleaner than any competitor products in its category).

• Players underlap/overlap appropriately (no more FB running into Wingers)
• Players understand spacing and no longer bunch up in the past
• Ball movement are more realistic (touches, bouces and dribbling)
• The defender shot blocking issues are resolved (less wild blocking, more penetration)
• Movement looks more natural.
• Flow of movement is very fluid
• Feels more realistic.

A very long due (more than) incremental match engine upgrade. Not graphics, but actual AI decisions, variable movements and more.

*Keep in mind, FM25 (or whatever it will be called) will bring in Unity, so expect any groundbreaking overhauls to occur next year. (But its SI, so don't fall prey to overexpectations)

Although some minor tweaks are required:
• You can still find out if VAR ruling before its announced by player celebrations (a premature anti-climax)
• Keeper movement looks a little lacklustre/delayed at times, but this is experienced in other football games as well, so I guess it’s a common difficulty.

It’s a finally good update to the series. and it only took up to its final iteration. Match engine and tactics to me are a great upgrade, no UI changes. But things feel smoother and more refined.

Despite some people stating large issues, I’ve personally not experienced anything on a new FM24 save.
• I've not had any injury issues
• I've not had "50 shots 0 goals" issues
• Game has run completely smooth for me.

For those saying the ME is terrible and they can’t seem to score. Instead of blaming the match engine when majority of others are satisfied with it, maybe look into your own tactical structures, training methods, and team cohesion. The silent majority seem to be fine, and I’ve not had any severe ME issues since FM21. The odd bogey team (Bournemouth and damn Solanke for me) does occur, but nonetheless, everything has been a significant step up this year in the ME.

Been playing since fm12, and fm24 is the best one since pre-2020.

I'm a sucker for FM and have always loved the game and continue buying it. It’s an amazing time killer. Particularly when you don't need to be glued to your screen to play it.

Could I have just downloaded a database update from the workshop for FM23? Yes. I could have also done that for FM19,20,21,22. But I love the game and franchise, no matter how much people claims it stagnated. It has killed thousands of hours for me (this doesn't even include the versions before Steam! or the Offline hours I had on previous iterations).

Is it worth the money? It’s definitely a yes for me. 8/10.

Sells: Maguire, Lindelof, Fred, VDB, Martial, Henderson, Elanga & Jones
Buys: Porro, Bellingham, Skrinar & Gakpo

-> Wins the league and FA Cup.
-> Beat City home & away
-> Liverpool didn't make top 4
-> Nunez still ♥♥♥♥♥
-> Ronaldo didn't throw a tantrum
-> Rashford can finish
-> Coach shortlist still relevant from the last 3 iterations
-> Actually have a good youth intake

10/10, at least I get to escape reality for a bit.

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Okay. Being honest, its the same as always. Updated squads, re-skinned areas, "a few engine tweaks", tiny feature updates. I'm a sucker for FM, and have always loved the game and continue buying it. Its an amazing time killer. Particularly when you don't need to be glued to your screen to play it.

Could I have just downloaded a database update from the workshop for FM22? Yes. I could have also done that for FM19,20,21. But I love the game and franchise, no matter how much people claims it stagnated. It has killed thousands of hours for me (this doesn't even include the versions before Steam! or the Offline hours I had on previous iterations).

Is it worth the money? Yes if you've not had previous versions. Maybe if you've not played FM22. Probably not if you have FM22. But i'll still buy it and enjoy it anyway.

Clunky and crap.. mechanics of older Fifas felt cleaner and swifter.

TLDR: 7.8/10 - WORTH buying, but NOT a MUST BUY.
___

*UPDATE (20/11/19 125hrs played)* So finished my 5th season with United, I've basically won every trophy this season, however I did get incredibly lucky in the UCL Semis where I beat City on Aggregate 1-0 (with a total of 3shots over 2 games) woops. Did some major changes to my squad, SOLD Pogba, Martial, Maguire, Fred and Costa, to fund my BUYS J Felix, Haaland, Marquinhos, Aouar, R Neves and Donnarumma. Massive changes to structure, but hope things go well in my 6th season. (After this season, i'm starting a fresh save)

Despite my steam hours being limited, trust me, I've collected more than 1,500hrs in each FM that comes out each year(from fm10-19) (Yea probably need a life).

Pros:
+ Development Centre (very interesting)
+ Tactics depth increased
+ Board expectation and happiness depth increase
+ SLIGHTLY improved AI and sims.
+ Staff information slight change, but gives a nice feel
+ Better interactions and fluidity in managing the team
+ ***Expect the same as you've always gotten (more or less)

Cons:
- No game changing updates
- Nothing ground breaking
- Match Engine still far from 'Perfect'
- 3D Rendering of your face is still crap
- PES has ruined Juventus (but just wait for the usual Workshop fixes)
- ***Expect the same as you've always gotten (more or less)

I mean, I buy the game in support of the developers for all the years and hours of fun it's given me. So i've already grown to know what to expect as each year goes by. Its the same game, its just refreshed, squads updated, and some small nice additions. The development center seems to be a very nice addition to the game, however i'm not deep enough into the game to warrant a full conclusion on how it really performs.

This year they've done a decent job in sorting the game out, nothing ground breaking, nothing overzealous, just simple and what you need. Look, this year its again a simple facelift plus some. The addition of a handful of small new features, and the big addition of the development center, its good. Thats it. Expect the game to be as how it always has been.

However I believe there is an issue with one-on-ones at the moment, seem to miss too many or hit them directly at the keeper. Maybe its just my poor forwards, no clue, have to keep monitoring.

POST-BETA Changes, are really minute, match engine tweaks have been a LITTLE BIT better, but still far from perfect. Still dislike the 1-on-1 failures and shooting from impossible acute angles. But its better than the start of BETA.

Verdict:
7.8/10 Its good as always, but nothing that jumps at you as a MUST BUY series. Good game as always nonetheless.

Thanks if you managed to read this far.

Definitely a far improved version of the game. Many problems that occured over the last few versions have been stemmed. Don't expect any GAME CHANGING new features, but expect GAME CHANGING fixes to the game. However training system is a nice new touch. I would easily say, best FM in the last 10 years, unless of course you say FM12.

Overall? - 8/10. Definitely worth it.

TL;DR - Its better than FM16, not groundbreaking, but its good. 8/10

*This is a BETA review, I will continue to update this review as I get further into the game.
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Football Manager 2017. Well where do I start? Honestly I was a little apprehensive when even considering purchasing it, simply because I've been disappointed by the lack of innovation or progression by the past versions, namely 2014 and 2015. Soo did this version manage to finally meet expectations? Yes.

Okay, aside from the standard database updates, there are quite a few things to note about the new series.

Overlay:
I for one can say that this new overlay of FM17, definitely looks significantly crisper and cleaner than its predecessors. The simple white background looks significantly better than the cluttered and messy overlay used in the previous generations. Definitely a plus point.

Also glad they kept the layout of the buttons, though it took time to get used to in the past, it is definitely more streamlined and organised than those of the 2011 and 2012 versions.

Match Engine:
Okay I know the video that SI posted up looked as though there was absolutely no difference whatsoever in the 3D engine, however rest assured, it is definitely far from it. The movement does look smoother, and yes I do agree the AI is definitely smarter as well (though wish they could be even smarter, sometimes stupid things still happen). Couple of new moves and celebrations have been added, but nothing overall groundbreaking. Just a nicer feel to the overall gameplay experience.

Manager Creator (Designing):
Well this one is a nice touch, but it lacks features, significantly. It's a nice idea, but that's about it. Simple a nice idea. That hasn't been executed that well. Lack of options to customise the character is disappointing. Seems to have no choice in some cases. Personally I think this is a totally pointless feature. But maybe it's still beta soo for all I know maybe there will be more options on full release.

Press Conference:
Same old story. Nothing much to say here. Just some new questions and more ways to answer. Nothing much. (Still gonna skip most press conference unless its a big match).

BREXIT:
Well well who would have thought SI would include this in the game? BIG BIG PLUS POINT. Absolutely love it, it makes things more realistic. Though it runs on the presumption of the regulations that may be put in place its a nice idea. I like it. But it be nice to have an option to disable it for those that don't want it. Nice touch, I like!

Transfer System:
I like the new input of the way in which the agent can speak with you in terms of promises to the player that will be transfered. This gives you greater freedom to see what the player himself wants from joining your club. Also gives you a good idea if you will be able to accomodate him hence further impact on your decision to purchase him. Thumbs up!

Staff:
Okay, soo many of us heard SI banging on about the introduction of "Sport Scientist" etc as staff members, now personally i've left the recruitment side of it to my board members. Hence nothing much to comment about there, though I have signed MANY sport scientists apparently. Anyways, what delights me more is the scouting regime that is in placed. My scouts pick up significantly more players than ever before, finding many and giving much more indepth analysis.

Training:
Well here's the touchy subject. Many people often complain that their team has too many injuries and claim it is the game's problem. Well infact, it's not. If you explored deeper into the game mechanics, you will realise that the way inwhich you do your training (team) affects their overall fitness. Next up the individual trainining regimes you put players on, also affect it as well! If you overwork your player, there is a significantly higher chance of them getting injured! Training is actually quite fun to set up, soo on my part I recommend actually attempting to control the training and not leave it all to your 'Assistant Manager'.

Overall Summary:

Tbc

-BETA REVIEW-

8/10

So for so good, things are going smoothly for me, no real issues to report, Haven't experienced the injury crisis or poor keeping (YET). So on my side seems like an improvement from FM15 for sure! Now with a bit more depth, the interface is very likable once you get used to it. It may look a bit messy at the start, but in fact once you've adapted, you realise how useful the new function and layout really is. Players do quite well according to their stats, though sometimes i am a bit frustrated by random upsets, but i guess it mimics real life right?

Anyway, the game is a good platform so for, BETA has been good, no big issues on my part. Maybe keepers should be a little touch better, but nothing really alarming so far. The players also could be a little more decisive as i notice they are a bit slow to react to situations, but i guess its a game, again not a big issue.

To me, the most critical issue with the game, would be the crazy transfer fees requested by clubs for their players (8/10 of my bids were asking for a fee way above the real life price that they would be sold for). So this one i would like to be fixed. Maybe a bit more reasonable valuation of players as well. Cause for example I in no way can see that Falcao is still worth 35Million Pounds.

Overall, good game, look forward to the full release in 2 weeks.

Cut it short -> I will never play this game again.


Please don't get me wrong, this game is brilliant, i loved every minute of playing it. Fun, yes one click fighting, but a great game, 10/10 love it.

But i cannot comprehand the ending, i just cannot take the ending, i won't spoil it for you, play it, the ending is just the end. I cannot take it. Im sorry for the thumbs down, but there was so many other ways to end the game.. This one really is an attempt to kill us with emotions.

The game is brilliant, stunning, fun, everything you want from the Mad Max story, but my recommendation is to never finish the game. Do not play the final few missions, it's not worth it. Quite simply, i've never had a game made me emotional before.

Well, my favorite part is when I see 'Treyarch' followed by the immediate crash after start up, 10/10 maybe?