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So there are these two farmers in a farmhouse. One says to the other "you know, I got one of them Nobel Prizes the other day". "Really?" says the other farmer, "how did that happen?". "I don't know," said the farmer. "I was just out standing in my field."
Always open with a joke, folks. I'm really looking forward to Friday. I've been whipped up into a frenzy, looking at screenshots, posting on a message board, and can't wait for Friday. And the game won't even be released then. The beta demo will be plastered across the internet and on the front of magazines, and I'll be looking to snap it up. Why? Because it's the best PC game around.
Not because it has realistic graphics. There's nothing in the way of hidden extras for completing certain tasks. What you see is what you get. But it will be one of the highest selling games of all time. Why? Because it doesn't mess about. No stupid mini-games or bonus unlockables. It's not a case of jack of all trades, master of none - the makers have picked something, and pulled it off remarkably. And the newest installment will doubtlessly be the finest digital recreation ever. The game I refer to is of course Championship Manager 4. A skinnable interface, smarter AI, all the new rules, all the new transfers, more options, more techniques, more tactics...everything improved, almost everything else added.
Championship Manager is so far ahead of the competition that it's laughable. The likes of Four Four Two: Touchline Passion and LMA Manager try and win you over with flash football action, training screens and bright colours. CM has, up until now, only described the action with text bars. Now we have the option of a top down 2D match as well. The amount of data compiled by dozens of people scattered all over the world is astounding. It's taught me things - I recognised most of the Ajax team that played my beloved Arsenal last week because I had bought them in the game. When Joey Gudjohnssen came to Aston Villa, he told the press that he hoped Gareth Barry was as good in real life as he was in the game. All this fuss over a glorified spreadsheet, as the many detractors describe Champ Man. Well, one thing no-one can argue with is that it remains king of the hill. The best sports management sim ever, possibly the best sports game ever. Never ending. With net play. It is the lord god of coaching from your couch (or wherever your PC or XBOX is).
But that's enough about Championship Manager (I'm got to wait until Friday, dammit!). This is a post not about the game itsself, but its much lauded status. It is head and shoulders above the rest...which is so rare for a game nowadays. In fact, there really aren't that many undisputed champions of the genre, at least so far ahead and so close to perfection. Take Halo, on the Xbox - everyone can agree that it is the best FPS. But it still has its fair shares of flaws, and games like GoldenEye and CounterStrike can still match the fun (in multiplayer, anyway). Gran Turismo is probably the next good example. Project Gotham Racing may be the next best thing, but GT is still the best driving simulation around, with depth, and attention to detail.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 is seen by many as the best (PAL) football game by a long way, but Fifa 2003 has its fair share of plaudits...and the front end is far better than Konami's effort. But what about Tiger Woods 2003? You can make it as arcadey or simulatory as you like, there's loads of courses, players, techniques and unlockables. Is there even anywhere further for the series to go, sans better graphics? That's what games should be, in my opinion. Pick a genre, and 'do' it to the fullest of your abilities. Don't half finish a game, release it and hope to do better next time round. Really strive to make it great. Valve haven't made any games outside of Half-Life, but hey, they've got a pretty good track record. Same with Sports Interactive. See a pattern emerging here?
PES3 shouldn't just be a few more gameplay tweaks and graphical smoothenings. It should be a perfection of a very good game. It's close enough that surely a dedicated team could iron out ALL of the gameplay bugs, could make the menus nicer, add in well needed aspects like replays on demand, and all the other things not in PES2. Then Fifa 2004 will be left in the dust. But then it will probably just be a bit better than the last game. And I'll buy it, because I need those updates. But what about someone who's never played games before? They'll know that Championship Manager is the best football management game, that it's just like real life. So why don't some other companies pull their fingers out and go for gold?
Thanks for reading, thoughts are welcomed.
-El
Always open with a joke, folks. I'm really looking forward to Friday. I've been whipped up into a frenzy, looking at screenshots, posting on a message board, and can't wait for Friday. And the game won't even be released then. The beta demo will be plastered across the internet and on the front of magazines, and I'll be looking to snap it up. Why? Because it's the best PC game around.
Not because it has realistic graphics. There's nothing in the way of hidden extras for completing certain tasks. What you see is what you get. But it will be one of the highest selling games of all time. Why? Because it doesn't mess about. No stupid mini-games or bonus unlockables. It's not a case of jack of all trades, master of none - the makers have picked something, and pulled it off remarkably. And the newest installment will doubtlessly be the finest digital recreation ever. The game I refer to is of course Championship Manager 4. A skinnable interface, smarter AI, all the new rules, all the new transfers, more options, more techniques, more tactics...everything improved, almost everything else added.
Championship Manager is so far ahead of the competition that it's laughable. The likes of Four Four Two: Touchline Passion and LMA Manager try and win you over with flash football action, training screens and bright colours. CM has, up until now, only described the action with text bars. Now we have the option of a top down 2D match as well. The amount of data compiled by dozens of people scattered all over the world is astounding. It's taught me things - I recognised most of the Ajax team that played my beloved Arsenal last week because I had bought them in the game. When Joey Gudjohnssen came to Aston Villa, he told the press that he hoped Gareth Barry was as good in real life as he was in the game. All this fuss over a glorified spreadsheet, as the many detractors describe Champ Man. Well, one thing no-one can argue with is that it remains king of the hill. The best sports management sim ever, possibly the best sports game ever. Never ending. With net play. It is the lord god of coaching from your couch (or wherever your PC or XBOX is).
But that's enough about Championship Manager (I'm got to wait until Friday, dammit!). This is a post not about the game itsself, but its much lauded status. It is head and shoulders above the rest...which is so rare for a game nowadays. In fact, there really aren't that many undisputed champions of the genre, at least so far ahead and so close to perfection. Take Halo, on the Xbox - everyone can agree that it is the best FPS. But it still has its fair shares of flaws, and games like GoldenEye and CounterStrike can still match the fun (in multiplayer, anyway). Gran Turismo is probably the next good example. Project Gotham Racing may be the next best thing, but GT is still the best driving simulation around, with depth, and attention to detail.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 is seen by many as the best (PAL) football game by a long way, but Fifa 2003 has its fair share of plaudits...and the front end is far better than Konami's effort. But what about Tiger Woods 2003? You can make it as arcadey or simulatory as you like, there's loads of courses, players, techniques and unlockables. Is there even anywhere further for the series to go, sans better graphics? That's what games should be, in my opinion. Pick a genre, and 'do' it to the fullest of your abilities. Don't half finish a game, release it and hope to do better next time round. Really strive to make it great. Valve haven't made any games outside of Half-Life, but hey, they've got a pretty good track record. Same with Sports Interactive. See a pattern emerging here?
PES3 shouldn't just be a few more gameplay tweaks and graphical smoothenings. It should be a perfection of a very good game. It's close enough that surely a dedicated team could iron out ALL of the gameplay bugs, could make the menus nicer, add in well needed aspects like replays on demand, and all the other things not in PES2. Then Fifa 2004 will be left in the dust. But then it will probably just be a bit better than the last game. And I'll buy it, because I need those updates. But what about someone who's never played games before? They'll know that Championship Manager is the best football management game, that it's just like real life. So why don't some other companies pull their fingers out and go for gold?
Thanks for reading, thoughts are welcomed.
-El
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WhiteStripes
> Generally I find it's the average idiot that plays these sorts of
> games. People who only want to play games as realistic to life as
> possible are utter morons, and fail to grasp the point of computer
> games in the first place. I play games to do things that I could never
> do in real life, and see things that would never happen.
Ugh. Does it occur to you that this game DOES let you do things you can't in real life, namely manage a football team, buy and sell players, uncover gems, win trophies etc.?
Does it occur to you that some people think it's fun to play a simulation? Like GT3? Or PES2? Sure you can drive a car or play football, but can you drive on a race track against six other cars? Can you play attractive football, scoring forty yard screamers with 21 other highly skilled players?
> Generally I find it's the average idiot that plays these sorts of
> games. People who only want to play games as realistic to life as
> possible are utter morons, and fail to grasp the point of computer
> games in the first place. I play games to do things that I could never
> do in real life, and see things that would never happen.
Ugh. Does it occur to you that this game DOES let you do things you can't in real life, namely manage a football team, buy and sell players, uncover gems, win trophies etc.?
Does it occur to you that some people think it's fun to play a simulation? Like GT3? Or PES2? Sure you can drive a car or play football, but can you drive on a race track against six other cars? Can you play attractive football, scoring forty yard screamers with 21 other highly skilled players?
King Kong wrote:
> Whitestripes wrote:
> Christ, football management sims are amongst the worst games ever
> conceived.
>
> For the average ignoramous.
Oh I see, so i'm automatically branded an idiot because I hate games that comprise, literally, of just page after page of statistics. And, as a game, it's about on track to rival repeatedly stabbing myself in the foot with a rusty screwdriver in terms of fun.
Generally I find it's the average idiot that plays these sorts of games. People who only want to play games as realistic to life as possible are utter morons, and fail to grasp the point of computer games in the first place. I play games to do things that I could never do in real life, and see things that would never happen.
If I wanted to do accounts I would sit down and work out my tax thankyou very much.
And I haven't even mentioned the other factor, that maybe people who hate football are going to hate a football mangement game? And yet, they could be some of the cleverest people you'll ever know.
> Whitestripes wrote:
> Christ, football management sims are amongst the worst games ever
> conceived.
>
> For the average ignoramous.
Oh I see, so i'm automatically branded an idiot because I hate games that comprise, literally, of just page after page of statistics. And, as a game, it's about on track to rival repeatedly stabbing myself in the foot with a rusty screwdriver in terms of fun.
Generally I find it's the average idiot that plays these sorts of games. People who only want to play games as realistic to life as possible are utter morons, and fail to grasp the point of computer games in the first place. I play games to do things that I could never do in real life, and see things that would never happen.
If I wanted to do accounts I would sit down and work out my tax thankyou very much.
And I haven't even mentioned the other factor, that maybe people who hate football are going to hate a football mangement game? And yet, they could be some of the cleverest people you'll ever know.
King Kong wrote:
> I must admit though I've never understood why my mates go on about
> Champ Man so much, talking about when the next one comes out and all
> that. It's not that good. I prefer management sims that show perfectly
> how the strategy and tactics work to alter the outcome, meaning I
> prefer LMA Manager.
1. I hated LMA Manager, but I suppose it's CM's fault. I hated the interface.
2. CM4 has 2D match action, so you CAN see exactly how it works. For instance, when I say concentrate on long balls down the flanks, I see Henry and Wiltord going wide, and crossing it in for Bergkamp to volley in in the (incredibly buggy and slow but it's a beta so it doesn't matter) demo.
> I must admit though I've never understood why my mates go on about
> Champ Man so much, talking about when the next one comes out and all
> that. It's not that good. I prefer management sims that show perfectly
> how the strategy and tactics work to alter the outcome, meaning I
> prefer LMA Manager.
1. I hated LMA Manager, but I suppose it's CM's fault. I hated the interface.
2. CM4 has 2D match action, so you CAN see exactly how it works. For instance, when I say concentrate on long balls down the flanks, I see Henry and Wiltord going wide, and crossing it in for Bergkamp to volley in in the (incredibly buggy and slow but it's a beta so it doesn't matter) demo.
Whitestripes wrote:
> Christ, football management sims are amongst the worst games ever
> conceived.
For the average ignoramous.
I must admit though I've never understood why my mates go on about Champ Man so much, talking about when the next one comes out and all that. It's not that good. I prefer management sims that show perfectly how the strategy and tactics work to alter the outcome, meaning I prefer LMA Manager.
The creators of Champ Man should really take this up and prove people like Whitestripes wrong.
> Christ, football management sims are amongst the worst games ever
> conceived.
For the average ignoramous.
I must admit though I've never understood why my mates go on about Champ Man so much, talking about when the next one comes out and all that. It's not that good. I prefer management sims that show perfectly how the strategy and tactics work to alter the outcome, meaning I prefer LMA Manager.
The creators of Champ Man should really take this up and prove people like Whitestripes wrong.
I must be real slow today, I don't even begin to get that joke.
*shudders*
*shudders*
Christ, football management sims are amongst the worst games ever conceived.
Not really prime though is it?
Is it?
Is it?
Sausage. As in thanks.
Quite nice.
Nice as in pleasant.
Pleasant as in quite a pleasant post.
Nice as in pleasant.
Pleasant as in quite a pleasant post.
Kyz22 wrote:
> Quite a nice read, your opening joke was stolen from a Jim Davidson
> stand up show though :-P
Stolen from a friend, but he probably got it from there.
> I cannot bring myself to enjoy things like championship manager really
> because it is just a bunch of spreadsheets with number in.
ARGH!!!! ARGH!!! Real men like football and Championship Manaher ;-) thanks for the nice feedback though.
> Quite a nice read, your opening joke was stolen from a Jim Davidson
> stand up show though :-P
Stolen from a friend, but he probably got it from there.
> I cannot bring myself to enjoy things like championship manager really
> because it is just a bunch of spreadsheets with number in.
ARGH!!!! ARGH!!! Real men like football and Championship Manaher ;-) thanks for the nice feedback though.
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