Total Club Manager 2005 - PC

Appearing in the same week as Codemasters' uber-powerful Professional edition of LMA Manager, the battle of the PC footy management titles kicks off in earnest on a level playing field. The EA Sports machine is always in high gear, whether churning out barely discernible sequels to already yawnsome ice hockey games or doing something unusual like 'urbanising' the all-conquering FIFA series by taking it to the streets. Well, you'll be thrilled to hear that Total Club Manager 2005 (TCM2005) delivers big time. There's two discs-worth of football stats goodness in this package - your partner/girlfriend/wife is probably already headed out the door.

Budding managers don't have to limit themselves to clubs already in the game, although heaven knows there must be a team for everyone here. As well as the huge database of ready-made clubs, TCM2005 includes over 40,000 towns and cities from England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, so you can create a team from your hometown, or beyond. Design your own club badge, kit and stadium and take on the biggest names in Europe. Or the likes of Widzew Lodz and FC Jazz. TCM2005 has a massive database culled from over 20 fully licensed national leagues. As well as their on-the-field skills, each player has an expanded range of character traits, including leadership, temperament and the will to win. With a wealth of tactical options available to the wannabe manager, players are ultra-responsive to every tweak and change, no matter how subtle, and react to your every instruction. Managers can create dozens of different formations with the tactics editor and save them for future use. You can control your team from the touchline by studying vital match information without interrupting the game. TCM2005 lets you adjust tactics with the click of a mouse button, and there is a huge range of player calls to make to influence the outcome of the games you manage in. Throughout the individual matches - as well as through the whole season - you can monitor player fitness, ratings and territorial possession, all without pausing the game.

Football Fusion makes a welcome reappearance too: those familiar with the 2004 version of Total Club Manager will already know that this is where you can import your team into FIFA Football 2005 and take on the teams therein. The new TV-style highlights package lets managers watch the key moments from the games, view match facts and listen to commentary, in a similar vein to that seen in the LMA Manager series. It's all very familiar, but somehow new, and definitely worth a look if you missed out last time around. Better warn your nearest and dearest about your intention to get involved with TCM2005 though... more