LMA Manager 2007

In a blink of an eye the football season has started again, and what with the world cup and the controversy in Italy it felt like it never ended. Ready to greet the new season is Codemasters LMA Manager 2007 for the Xbox 360.

This is set in the 2006/2007 season and allows you to manage teams from over 50 countries.

Any management sim worth the time will allow you to tinker with stats and play with areas like formations and training and you will notice very early on that this game will be taking up a lot of your time. From training, sponsorship agreements, building of new stadiums to the hiring and firing of new staff and players, this game offers it by the bucket. You can pretty much change anything you want to make the team of your choice the best in the league, or in my case bankrupt and fending off relegation.

Though this is set in the 2006/2007 season, LMA offers you a free stats download service where you are able to keep your game up to date with what is happening in the real world of football, keeping in line with transfers and of course the Italian scandal which cost Juventus a –17 point start.

The controls at first are a little daunting as there are so many options to choose from, and if you are new to this sort of game, trying to figure out where to go first is a tough choice. However, you are offered the chance for a few pre-season matches, and by the time you have started the league games you will be flicking through all of your stats in no time. I have not played a football sim for over 15 years and surprisingly I found the controls very intuitive. The bumper and trigger buttons control the two tiers of menus (which are all laid out at the bottom of the screen) and then from there you are able navigate and alter the info on the screen. Could not be any simpler.

The presentation of the interface shows that Codemasters have worked long and hard to make it the best and also the easiest to navigate and gather information from without being a just another stale stats page.

The match sections look as good as any other football game, with the events being played out in front of you. You are able to choose from a variety of camera angles, but for realism, go for the manager’s view and hurl advice at the players as the game progresses. If you are winning a game you are able to shout at the players to pull back and defend, and with a few presses of buttons you will be able to substitute some of your better players to let them have a rest.

Once the game has finished you are taken to the crowning glory of LMA Manager 2007. You are able to watch highlights of your game and also of other games in your division with commentary and news from Gary Linker, Alan Hanson and Barry Davies.

Overall this game has enough depth and new ideas to satisfy any football management fan and it is also designed well enough to make it very easy for new starters to get into what is a very good football management game.