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Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006

	Author: Mike Dorn Article Type: PC Game Review Publication Date: 12/1/2005 Developer: Sports Interactive Publisher: SEGA Related Categories: Single-Player, Simulation

Introduction

Sports Interactive (with Sega) continue to add to a legendary line of soccer management with the release of Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006. While Worldwide Soccer Manager 2005 wasn’t a giant leap forward, it provided a solid base for the continuing series to build on. Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006 is an impressive improvement on last year’s edition and there is much to recommend it as a worthy addition to the series.

Installation

There were no problems or glitches installing Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006. It is available in both a downloadable purchase version and a regular boxed version. If at all interested in the game, the boxed version is probably preferable, as I ran into problems with the game asking for a CD after it was patched. There is already a patch available for the game and discussion is ongoing on what improvements will be made with the next patch in the Sports Interactive forums.

Documentation

The CD size booklet included with the boxed version does a very good job of covering all the basics of the interface and the available preference options. It also offers a succinct summary of tactics, player instructions, staff, player transfers/sales, media interaction and manager options. Highly recommended as an addition to this information is the ‘Hints and Tips Guide’ available for free at the Sports Interactive website. This guide was compiled by Marc Vaughan and Nick Habershon (both SI staffers) and provides some excellent insight into areas only lightly covered in the manual. 

A superb addition in Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006 is the inclusion of a tutorial. This is something new to the series and allows inexperienced players hands-on information about both the interface and some of the underlying management aspects of the game. A simple press of the F1 button will bring up the relevant tutorial information for most areas in the game.

Graphics and Sound

Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006 is not an arcade game and certainly reflects its approach to thoughtful management as its underlying attraction. It looks have improved a bit over last year’s edition, but this is still not a game designed to attract on its looks. The 2D match engine has improved, but the players remain only numbers on the field. The 2D match does offer more information on the players this time - there is less guessing to done as slightly injured players are indicated on the pitch, as well as those who are sporting yellow cards for fouls. I personally found little use for the sound and quickly turned that feature off.

The game does include many player pictures and club crests, both of which add a bit more flavor to play if the player decides to use them. 

Interface

The most marked improvement offered by Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006 over last year’s version is the excellent changes made to the interface. Player’s now have a ‘snapshot’ page where they can see at least summary information on most aspects of their club. This one-stop page helps immensely in eliminating some screen hopping to try and gather a complete picture of how the club is doing. The game still revolves around a spreadsheet presentation to reflect the management elements, but it continues to grow more refined with each edition.

A quick overview of the club at a glance.

Any aspect of the club view is sortable by the elements included. An example is when looking at the contract screen, it is easy to sort by which players are close to the end of their contracts, which are the highest paid and which have special considerations included with their contracts. The player screens allow you to quickly determine who are the fastest players on the club or highlight all the player’s skills in the areas they are rated.

The field that shows the play during the 2D matches still seems a bit pinched, but it certainly allows the player to more fully understand what is occurring in the match. The match presentation can be tailored to player preferences, as it can be viewed full screen (Alt+F11), or with other information in a split screen mode.

Full Screen view of the match is a enjoyable way to see it.

A rolling ticker across the bottom of the screen updates the major happenings in both the league the club is in and specific National and International news. This ticker also updates league scores while a club is playing a match, so it is fairly easy to keep up to date on other important matches being played in the club’s league.