Football Manager 2016 (PC) Review

It's no secret that in recent years, as Football Manager has evolved into the manager sim of unparalleled depth, its fans have been split into two camps: those who revel in the ever expanding tool set, and those who find the endless options far too bloated. Sports Interactive had looked to keep the latter camp happy with the inclusion of Classic Mode, providing a stripped down version of the game, more akin to how Football Manager was during the peak of its popularity. Said mode appears in 2016 under the new tittle: Football Manager Touch.

Just as important as the inclusion of Touch, is the job Sports Interactive has done in cutting of some of the fat from the main game. Certainly, the UI can still be daunting to newcomers, but much of the frustrations of having options hidden away in folders, within folders, has been rearranged into a much cleaner, easier system to navigate. However, good as these refinements may be, players still have a lot on their hands to get to grips with. No longer does a manager's responsibility end with transfers, match, and team tactics. Everything has been bolstered, so that the manager must plan such things as training and scouting. Luckily, the player can choose to hand over the reins to his assistant at any time and alleviate the workload. This is a smart play by Sports interactive, as it provides a friendlier option for those used to the simplicity of Touch, to gradually get to grips with the expansiveness of Football Manager 2016's tool set.

It's fair to say that most players will single out the transfers as one of the core highlights of the franchise. In FM2016, it's just as fun and addictive, whilst also having been bolstered. Managers will now have to engage with a player's agent, who will mirror their real life counterparts and demand every underserved penny of their cut in any deal done. Aside from weekly wages, you will also have to negotiate such factors as appearance bonuses, as well as fees for being an unused sub. Of course, the minutiae of such matters must be given special attention as the budget only stretches so far, and going all-in for a single player will have a knock on effect in regards to dealings with other players and what sort of contracts can be offered to them.

Many of these inclusions are incremental improvements over past iterations; there are, however, more substantial inclusions, making their debuts in FM2016. First of these is the Prozone tool, which displays an abundant amount of stats during loading screens. In fact, this feature can be of great use, when dissecting the finer details of a player's performance. A player's shot accuracy, distance run and other on pitch behaviourisms are liberally presented in bitesize form, allowing the manager greater insight into his team performance.

Less successful, is the new avatar you can create to place on the side-lines, giving the team a good lambasting at your request. It's a shame that in a game where the detail implemented is so evident, the same can't be said for this feature. The presentation is not great and the avatar never looks very detailed at all, which definitely stands out when the overall package of FM2016 is so polished. It is an interesting idea, which definitely has potential and hopefully will be tweaked in the upcoming 2017 to include far more customisation than its current state offers. Similarly, the 3D engine is still available, but it, too, could have done with further visual overhauls, but this is a small sticking point, and one that shouldn't really affect enjoyment of the title overall.