Excellent.Magnificent.Addictive

Ok so authentication was a massive ballache. I had bought the game about 2pm and was stuck authenticating till about 7 at which point I gave up and went to the pub. Once I got in I thought I would see if the servers were up and running. Instead the game simply loaded up and away I went. I didn't sleep till 5am because frankly this game is IMMENSE. After the demo I was resigned to the 3d not working and frankly wasn't that bothered but have now completly come around. I am much more immersed in an actual game day and the press conferences definitely add to that. In previous versions my fun has come from transfer policy and getting players to fit a tactic i never changed. I'm hugely immpressed with the game and I really do believe the addictive qualities of CM97-02 are back and i'm ecstatic about it.

During the palava someone put up and article from the guardian about the players that became greats on champ man. And looking at the 8 pages of comments from the deranged obsessives we are was wonderful. Seeing people talk about Cherno, Michael Twiss aka. God and my Favourite Rangers signing Tieme Klompe was great and I really think this game is a return to those days. I'm really excited about the next 10 months on this game and it really was worth the pain of "14/11".

I agree with you that the addictiveness factor is back. I thik it's partly down to the 3D engine. Even though the graphics are shambolic, and the hoardings thing gets on my nerves, it adds to the matchday atmosphere.

However the DRM activation thing is not sometihng that should be repeated. It's caused a lot of aggro and I think in the coming months SI will see it doesn't really affect how many pirated copies are circulated.

The 3D engine actually lets me see where my problems are within the team. It's fantastic.