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Football Manager Handheld 2012

Comment: 0 January 5th, 2012

Football fanatics rejoice, as Sega brings the newest instalment of the best way with which to waste precious amounts of time.

Sticking to its annual schedule like a well-oiled clock, the gaming software corporation releases its newest instalment of the highly-successful Football Manager Handheld series.

Although a watered-down version of the Football Manager game for the PC and MAC, this mobile game for iOS devices still brings enough punch to keep any footsy fans occupied for hours (and days) on end.

First off is the more simplified layout that presents a shorter list of options, making gameplay less complicated and definitely easier to go through.  This also makes the entire experience more efficient, allowing you to accomplish more and react more quickly if need be.

With this simpler interface it’s not impossible to breeze through the whole season in less than 2 days (although there’s no reason to try and do so).

The game allows you to pick your team amongst 12 nations and their leagues, including the Blue Square North and South Leagues, plus the Welsh Corbett Sports Welsh Premier Leauge

Aside from the interface upgrades making the game look better than it ever has, a noticeable addition is the Challenge mode that shoves you into any of four different scenarios:

The Saviour Cometh – You attempt to somehow save your squad from the embarrassing and degrading experience of relegation with only half a season remaining.

Injury Crisis – You are tasked to maintain favourable team results despite being plagued with a list of injures that place almost your entire first team out of commission.

Unrest at Home – Work without full club support.  Your appointment as manager did not go down favourably with some of the more senior players.  The challenge is to prove them wrong and live up to the board’s expectations.

The Invincibles – Your squad is riding high with a perfect record.  Maintain this impressive streak and blaze through the rest of the season unbeaten.

FMH2012 presents a more updated roster, based on the summer 2011 lineups.  And in this version, negotiating transfers has become more difficult compared to before, especially when it comes to either aiming for a rival team’s lineup, or a star player.  Try luring Carlos Tevez out of Manchester City, and you’ll see what we mean.

Also there’s the bidding wars that could either see you prevail at the cost of half of your transfer budget, or see you concede to other teams and hope to somehow sidestep their new overprized possession.

If you’re feeling a bit ambitious, you can pick all the leagues in your main country, and also take on the top leagues in three other nations.  This allows you to sit at the managerial chair of a number of teams from a number of countries throughout your 30-year career.

Speaking of managerial career, the game also presents the smaller glories, like being proclaimed manager of the month, should you be worthy of such a title.  If you are, and you cannot help but brag about it, the game allows you to share your success on Facebook or Twitter.

Not much of a change in the actual overall gameplay, which is actually a good thing.  There’s a preseason, a regular season and, if you prove to be good enough, the Champions League.  For those familiar with the game, not much to look forward to, which is not exactly a criticism.

For the uninitiated, however, FMH 2012 could come across as one of the most addicting apps on the iPad.  The animated matches give an added layer of excitement as you watch your strategies succeed or fail miserably.  Shouting ‘GOOOOAL!’ as one of your players scores is a fair expectation.

It’s not without its minor glitches, such as maybe inaccurate commentary.  Also, if anything, perhaps adding crowd noises – cheers, boos, even chants maybe – could make the match simulations more engaging (than they already are).

But even with these small gripes, the game is a pretty decent follow-up to its 2011 predecessor.  And for £6.99, it presents enough entertainment to be worth every shilling.

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