Any reviews of FM 9.2 from credible people?

I was going to buy the game via Steam, even though I have to buy the stupid Worldwide Soccer Manager version because i'm in the US, but i'm a little apprehensive after reading about all the problems.

However, I recognize that a lot of posters in these threads just vent frustration because they are either bad managers or can't accept the realism. Yes, my username is based off these kinds of posters.

So, if someone could be so kind to either write or link me to a review of FM 9.2 and give your opinion on the match engine, transfers, etc., what you like about the game and what you think is worse now in 9.2 or what's not fixed... I would appreciate it very much.

You are quite likely not to get an unbiased opinion on here, either for good or for bad but FWIW, my 2 cents would be not listen to all the people who, as you put it fairly well, are just venting frustration

The vast majority of people who are playing FM09 are not on here bitching about it day in, day out as they are actually sat playing the game and enjoying it, as I am, except obv I spend too much of my time here also

Yes, there are bugs in the game, as there are in all pieces of software, but the larger percentage of them are either not evident or are not game breaking, the best advice I can offer you is to read the threads posted at the top under the Useful Topics heading, this should help you to form your own ideas about the game and decide once and for all if it is worth paying for it

At the end of the day, it had to be your decision and no one should be able to persuade one way or another but I have to say that I have played the game a lot since buying it and it is a vast improvement on 08

EDIT: Don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier, but have you tried googling for some reviews? There are quite a lot of independent gaming websites out there that can deliver pretty impartial comments and views on games, may be worth a shot

Thank you. I am leaning towards buying it, but was just looking for some support for the game I guess.

Any other thoughts from anyone else would be appreciated.

Did you see the edit I made to my 1st post? That might help

hi FTG87

im in my 5th season of fm09. I really love it its brilliant and for some reason i keep finding wonder kids and signing them for pennies and selling them for millions. Dwight nurse from bohemians for one. but shhhh dont tell anyone!!! The version of the game is buggy as hell, in my opinion the latest patch has made it worse, it was supposed to fix the game freezing after saving thats not happend and the 3d match engine was superb before this patch now its mental with own goals which shudnt be credited as an own goal and players running away from the ball etc...

but aside from that, FM09 is defo the best FM ive played, in terms of the game greezing ive found if you just make a small alterration to the team then resave it or go on holiday for the day it will solve that problem as its usually only when i restart the game. I love the new press feature and the 3d engine is fantastic idea (even tho its buggy but you get used to it).

all in all mate I would recomend this game if your pc can run it and if you love the fm series like i do and can look past the bugs you will have many happy hours playing.

All the best

Alex

Why did you address that post to me? :confused:

this_game_is_unrealistic is the one asking for the reviews mate

Firstly, its worth downloading the demo, patching it and playing it. You can then form your own ideas and decide whether or not to buy it.

In my opinion though, FM2009 is a very big step up on the 2008 version, the match engine is still a bit buggy but bear in mind that there should be another patch out, possibly in february, that should sort out the issues. The 3d is not exactly what you would next gen graphics, but its very helpful in the fact that it is easier to see how your team and tactics are working and you can be safe in the knowledge that this will be getting improved upon year on year.

The transfer system is improved also, its now possible to get rid of the fringe players you dont want. Its still expensive to buy the best players out there, but thats the same as real life i suppose.

There is more information available to the user now also, more stats all throughout the game which generally helps you in your day to day involvement, and if not, at least its a little interesting.

In short, i love the 3d, whilst being sceptical and not liking it to start with i now feel i couldnt move back to the old 2d. There is not really much i dislike about it to be honest, maybe im just easily pleased or maybe every little bug doesnt have a life changing effect on me like it does to others!

As i said, use the demo, thats the best way to help you decide whether to buy or not.

I have always thought that PC Zone were honest with their game reviews. Steve Hill, their FM fanatic, is probably a little biased but he tells it as it is. Click here for the review.

Search around the net and you'll find plenty of professional reviews. Bear in mind that some people reviewing FM09, and not having much of a clue about football, will rate it poorly. Alternatively people who love the game too much won't see the bad from the good. As long as someone can say where a game could be improved then I feel their opinion is warranted. I'm a little unaccepting that bugs are as bad as people make out a lot of the time, but I can see where FM can be improved upon.. Of course, half the time people are too damning of the smallest bug.

If you want my opinion then I'd say that FM09 is bloody good. The 3D pitch may not look spectacular but it does what it is meant to do, i.e. it gives you a broader view of what is going on in the game you are watching. The majority of the new features are good, if occaisonally a little repetitive, (press conferences - can be repetitive, but bloody good for a first time addition) but could easily be improved upon for FM10. The game is still as addictive as it ever has been although it has taken me longer to get into this edition as the tactics are not quite as straightforward as they previously have been. You might say the game is harder than before.

Another place to get a good idea is at Amazon (US/UK or whatever). Click on the customer reviews and see what people have to say. Ignore the damning reviews that don't rate the game but state that Piracy stopping add ons are bad, or that the early authenication issues were appalling. There are plenty of damn good reviews on the UK Amazon.

I can't say you'd go far wrong buying the game. It really is as good as it has ever been, if not better.

After being disappointed about FM08 and starting to look for other leisure time activities, FM09 got me back to playing the game as often as I can.

Of course it's not perfect, but I'm just having lots of fun playing the game.

it's easier to build up enthusiasm to complain when you don't like something. Much harder if you are enjoying yourself. If you like it, you tend to be quiet and play.

Thanks for the replies.

I did not look at reviews from gaming websites because of the IGN fiasco. I don't think reviewers for professional sites play the game long enough to have a good feel.

My biggest concern is the latest patch. Some people keep saying it has made the game worse and more buggy. Is this accurate?

Thanks for the replies.

I did not look at reviews from gaming websites because of the IGN fiasco. I don't think reviewers for professional sites play the game long enough to have a good feel.

My biggest concern is the latest patch. Some people keep saying it has made the game worse and more buggy. Is this accurate?

Not really, there are still issues of courses but most of the major ones have been sorted. The Bojan bug will probably get done in the next patch along with a few others and a data update.

Thanks for the replies.

I did not look at reviews from gaming websites because of the IGN fiasco. I don't think reviewers for professional sites play the game long enough to have a good feel.

My biggest concern is the latest patch. Some people keep saying it has made the game worse and more buggy. Is this accurate?

Not sure if it's made it worse, but there are some (for me) pretty serious bugs that now appear. The Bojan Bug is well documented, also there's the almost total ineffectiveness of free kicks now, the uselessness of any striker in a one-on-one situation, comedy own goals, (some) players out on loan never returning and the inability of central midfielders to score a rating above a six unless they score or make a goal.

However, I'm optimistic these will be sorted out in 9.03 and then we should have one hell of a game.

The game is one of the worst ever creation. If you watch it in 3d, then you will really get frustrated.

The game is not worth a cent....

As for the 9.3.0 patch I have to see to believe. Si will prob. eat us up with "not enough time" or "working on 2010" as they did with fm 2008. Stick a cheap apology, while in reality they can't repair the game.

Remember, this game is more complex than infinity or aurora engines, or Oblivion, gothic, Nwn....Or Si more incompentent, but judge self mate

There are 2 sites I go to that have links to reviews. I know you said that you don't read the professional reviews, but these cover about all of them so at least it gives you a feel for how the "professionals" like it.

Here are the links directly to FM/WWSM

Gamerankings

Metacritic

As for me, I like it. I haven't had any game breaking bugs, but I have found some of them annoying.

The injury "bug" is better in 9.2, but I have still had runs where it seems like everyone is getting injured. At the same time, I've had periods where no one gets injured. How unrealistic is it, I don't know. It doesn't seem to bad other than to drive me crazy, especially when you compare it to real life teams.

The transfer system does appear to be a tad nuts. The money requested for some players seems outrageous, but when you think about it, maybe not. If you think about it, if it was you and you had a player that you deemed irreplaceable, you would request a lot of money too. The computer is doing it the same as you and saying that basically it doesn't want to sell the player, but it would for a ton of money.

Players do seem to have issues scoring on one on ones, but so do the computer's players, so it balances out. Its annoying, but it works both ways and I'd imagine 9.3 will fix it. Free kicks are also a tad buggy, but again it affects both sides equally.

I initially was against 3d. Then again, I also thought 2d was a stupid idea too. Both have proved me wrong, and I couldn't imagine playing matches without 3d. It also does appear a bit buggy (and the bugs also affect both sides equally) with things like players appearing to just stand there, not running to the ball and sometimes unbelievably running out of bounds. Its also not the most beautiful thing to look at, but it is a great improvement over 2d in terms of displaying the game to you. Its even easier to see how your tactics are working and what exactly the players are doing.

As to the tactics and people complaining that they are too complex or that they don't have any affect or things like that, I don't see it. I've never been good at setting tactics in previous versions, actually a lot of times I'd download other people's tactics and use them. This version does require more work to be put it. I have used the Tactics Framework that was put out and it helps a lot in setting the tactics. I haven't read it fully, but I have scanned the things I was interested in and I have been able to set my tactics appropriately and know what to tweak based on how the match is going. And yes it is unrealistic to use sliders to tell your players how to play since they are supposed to be professionals, but I can't think of a better way to do it and it works effectively. I am able to win consistently and adapt my tactics based on how the other team is playing.

In the end, there are bugs but I don't have anything that has ruined the game. Many affect other teams equally, so while they suck, they are at least balanced. Others may not be considered bugs when compared to real life either. I have faith that they will be patched up in 9.3 as it has been done it all previous versions and this already good game will be even better.

After all of this, here's the most important part. Do I like it? Heck yeah and it is just as addicting as previous versions. I have lost lots of sleep because I'm always thinking "Just one more game".

So that's what it comes down to. The bugs don't matter except to be annoying and I'm finding it just as fun and addicting as previous versions.

The game is one of the worst ever creation. If you watch it in 3d, then you will really get frustrated.

The game is not worth a cent....

As for the 9.3.0 patch I have to see to believe. Si will prob. eat us up with "not enough time" or "working on 2010" as they did with fm 2008. Stick a cheap apology, while in reality they can't repair the game.

Remember, this game is more complex than infinity or aurora engines, or Oblivion, gothic, Nwn....Or Si more incompentent, but judge self mate

dont agree with much that you wrote but I will say watching in 3d will drive you mental / as will 2d - it really highlights how poor the match engine is IMO.

I have lost lots of sleep because I'm always thinking "Just one more game".

The "just one more game" thing has cost me also a lot of sleep, but I have that with all the versions.

To the op:

I find 09 the best version ever but that's a matter of taste I guess.

Sure there are still some problems but nowhere game stopping.

9.3 patch will correct most of them, and unlike what Sethivict thinks, I'm positive it will be made, otherwise they wouldn't be asking for beta testers on these forums.