Thursday, September 23, 2004
Gaming entry #1
(WARNING: PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE JUZ BROWSING THROUGH MY BLOG SHOULD JUST SHUN THIS ENTRY NOW. THIS ENTRY IS KIND OF LIKE A PERSONAL DEBATE WITH MYSELF SPECULATING BOUT THE FUTURE OF MANAGEMENT SIMS AND PROBABLY NO ONE WILL UNDERSTAND ALL THE JARGON I'M SPEWING HERE)
Even though i wanna talk bout my opinion on bio and mr yeo, i'd leave it till some other day cos i dun feel exactly like criticising pple now. so 4 now, let's have an entry dedicated to the something which have stolen so much of my life: football management sims.
i have never hid my luv 4 cm, and i doubt many can play til seasons 2030+ like this big, big fan of the series. however, this time round, 3 contenders for my time will be coming out in late october and early november (talk bout prep 4 the o levels... wonder if i can put off my greatest luv for a month...) and i have no idea which one would emerge triumphant.
first up we have championship manager 5. while no management game came close to cm in the past, they had always been under the stewardship of sports interactive. however, now that si had fallen out with eidos and a new, unproven developer (beautiful games izit?) is now at the helm. this make me really wonder if cm5 can continue with the true successor of cm03/04, the game i'm still hooked on after more than a year (now that's replayability and value 4 money). the screenshots look gd, and i liked what i saw 4 the tactics and training areas (though the match engine kinda disappointed a li'l), so all that's left is the gameplay, 100% the most important component of a game like this. will it be able to keep my attention, or will it juz shun me after a season or two? i really have no idea whether i'd be willing to invest my 50 dollars or so into the game.
next up is football manager 2005, sigame's work. and so far, i have the most confidence in it cos it will definitely rock (only a matter of whether other games will rock more). it is very much like cm 03/04 (and hence, quite like cm5 as well based on the screenshots), and the major improvement seem to be the media. as much as cm have gone from strength to strength in terms of media, it still lacks quite a far bit and a lot stems from my own imagination in making it so interesting (mayb that's the reason for it being so gripping). so, hopefully, this improvement will juz be that bit needed for enhancing the experience. as again, it'd definitely be gd, but will it be gd enuf?
last is lma manager 2005, making its debut on the pc after yrs of success on consoles. i still remember trying out the 2002 version on the psx (too bad i couldn't afford it then) and from what i've experienced it's a gd game. it take a different approach from cm, but it still works wonders as well. however, i've not been exposed to the 3d match engine for long so it will remain to be seen whether it can last a year of play without getting old. also, there's the transition to the pc which might pose some problems in terms of bugs, etc.
well, there's still total club mangager, but i can't forsee it ever reaching out to hardcore management fans. it's more like a game for players who like arcadey fifa and want to have more management options along with it. now, gotta wonder how i'd juggle my time between 3 differnt games which might all be quality. i would have to eventually stick to one and fulfil all my fantasies with it, but which one? i dun wanna spend bout $150 juz to confirm to myself the game i truly one. should i turn to piracy as a test be4 really purchasing my fave? it's great to have some quality competition and seeing which one will be the best, but this will pose a problem for financially limited consumers like me. may the best succeed and the game turn out to be as good as cm 03/04 where i can spend upwards of 350h (no exaggeration) on.
Even though i wanna talk bout my opinion on bio and mr yeo, i'd leave it till some other day cos i dun feel exactly like criticising pple now. so 4 now, let's have an entry dedicated to the something which have stolen so much of my life: football management sims.
i have never hid my luv 4 cm, and i doubt many can play til seasons 2030+ like this big, big fan of the series. however, this time round, 3 contenders for my time will be coming out in late october and early november (talk bout prep 4 the o levels... wonder if i can put off my greatest luv for a month...) and i have no idea which one would emerge triumphant.
first up we have championship manager 5. while no management game came close to cm in the past, they had always been under the stewardship of sports interactive. however, now that si had fallen out with eidos and a new, unproven developer (beautiful games izit?) is now at the helm. this make me really wonder if cm5 can continue with the true successor of cm03/04, the game i'm still hooked on after more than a year (now that's replayability and value 4 money). the screenshots look gd, and i liked what i saw 4 the tactics and training areas (though the match engine kinda disappointed a li'l), so all that's left is the gameplay, 100% the most important component of a game like this. will it be able to keep my attention, or will it juz shun me after a season or two? i really have no idea whether i'd be willing to invest my 50 dollars or so into the game.
next up is football manager 2005, sigame's work. and so far, i have the most confidence in it cos it will definitely rock (only a matter of whether other games will rock more). it is very much like cm 03/04 (and hence, quite like cm5 as well based on the screenshots), and the major improvement seem to be the media. as much as cm have gone from strength to strength in terms of media, it still lacks quite a far bit and a lot stems from my own imagination in making it so interesting (mayb that's the reason for it being so gripping). so, hopefully, this improvement will juz be that bit needed for enhancing the experience. as again, it'd definitely be gd, but will it be gd enuf?
last is lma manager 2005, making its debut on the pc after yrs of success on consoles. i still remember trying out the 2002 version on the psx (too bad i couldn't afford it then) and from what i've experienced it's a gd game. it take a different approach from cm, but it still works wonders as well. however, i've not been exposed to the 3d match engine for long so it will remain to be seen whether it can last a year of play without getting old. also, there's the transition to the pc which might pose some problems in terms of bugs, etc.
well, there's still total club mangager, but i can't forsee it ever reaching out to hardcore management fans. it's more like a game for players who like arcadey fifa and want to have more management options along with it. now, gotta wonder how i'd juggle my time between 3 differnt games which might all be quality. i would have to eventually stick to one and fulfil all my fantasies with it, but which one? i dun wanna spend bout $150 juz to confirm to myself the game i truly one. should i turn to piracy as a test be4 really purchasing my fave? it's great to have some quality competition and seeing which one will be the best, but this will pose a problem for financially limited consumers like me. may the best succeed and the game turn out to be as good as cm 03/04 where i can spend upwards of 350h (no exaggeration) on.
