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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
Page:
Quite a nice read, your opening joke was stolen from a Jim Davidson stand up show though :-P
I cannot bring myself to enjoy things like championship manager really because it is just a bunch of spreadsheets with number in. It is like playing binary scrabble or something. However your views made it a post worth reading.
I cannot bring myself to enjoy things like championship manager really because it is just a bunch of spreadsheets with number in. It is like playing binary scrabble or something. However your views made it a post worth reading.
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
Page: