LMA Manager 2002
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Review of LMA Manager 2002
This is a soccer management game that allows you to sample the pleasures and pressures associated with running a real name soccer club from any of the 16 divisions in the 6 major football nations; England, Scotland, Italy, France, Germany and Spain. Simply pick and manage the team of your choice or take on full responsibilities for hiring staff, balancing finances, expanding the stadium facilities, team selection, player coaching, game tactics, negotiating player contracts, transfers and sales. There are also 8 short-term challenges to enjoy.
I’ll not dawdle on the visual side of things because I’m sure you’ll all be aware that management games are predominantly about ‘number bustin’ gameplay. That is, can your 170-point dual-strike force prize their way past two 78-point defenders and an 80-point goalkeeper? However it’s worth mentioning that in recent years match coverage has moved on leaps and bounds since those early days of scrolling text commentary.
On view within LMA Manager 2002 is the option to choose between live animated actions, interactive TV highlights… or both. The live action allows for more of a ‘hands on’ approach, because play can be frozen at any time for a tactical change, substitution or even an alteration in formation. The interactive TV highlights are similar to watching Match of The Day, where the game has already finished (too late to do anything about the result) and the best bits are shown on television. Graphically there are a few differences between the two. The live action won’t be the most detailed soccer game you’ve seen but does include an option to show squad numbers or player names above their head making it much easier to spot who is playing well and who isn’t, whereas the TV highlights look fairly similar to a replay view of your modern FIFA or ISS soccer games. Both are ideally suited for their purpose.
Once again there is little to comment on the LMA Manager 2002 sound effects as most of the game is played in stone silence, which is preferable when studying attributes. However, Gary Lineker and Alan Hansen feature throughout the Interactive TV highlights, adding their customary brand of wit and humor to the TV-style presentation.
Management games succeed or fail purely on the balance of gameplay. If they don’t allow you to become too involved then the task will quickly become boring, but neither should it take a mathematician to simply select your strongest team. LMA appears to have enough options to satisfy the hunger of most gamers needs with the initial choices to play alone or with a mate, pick and choose your own backroom staff or begin with a full/half complement of work colleagues (leaving you free to run the team and transfer system), make your daily decisions against the clock or ponder as long as you want, and finally play out a full ongoing game (that can last multiple seasons) or take on one of the quick challenges that can usually be completed within an hour or two.
Another stumbling block with these types of games is the ease in using the menu system. LMA is virtually idiot-proof with shoulder buttons configured to scroll the pages and face buttons used to dig deeper into each option. Within no time most gamers will be zipping from building a new stadium to negotiating a high-profile transfer deal by a twitch of the finger.
Most stages of a season can be skipped if required. For example pre-season friendlies may be hand picked or randomly chosen. Cup draws can be watched step-by-step as they unfold or skipped to the full listing. Training may be hands on or left to your hired staff. A full results service can be watched on TV, texed during a game as they happen or ignored and filed.
When a match kicks off play may be frozen at any stage to make alterations, but for the full managerial experience quick formation changes can also be made by pressing the shoulder buttons during play accompanied by the managers voice shouting out his new instructions (“all out attack!” “keep ball!“ “defense!” and “long ball!”).
As far as the transfer market goes LMA Manager 2002 includes an in-depth database recording current form and details of over 17,000 European players. Searching can be achieved by defining the position you wish to strengthen, side of the pitch, division, country, rating, price or simply putting one of your scouts on a particular players tail for up to three matches.
Should you want to become completely embroiled in your management role then multiple daily email messages arrive on the laptop keeping you right up to date on every single aspect of running the club such as injuries, transfer movement, finances and players morale.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'LMA Manager 2002' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Martin © Absolute PlayStation
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