Little help or some suggestions please?

May 31, 2005 | 8 Comments

Given that we’re in the beginning of the silly season and have little else to talk about besides wild unsubstantiated transfer rumors, I thought I might submit a miniscule (and admittedly way off-topic) problem to all of the illustrious minds here at ArseAm.

The problem is this:
About 10 years ago I purchased a football manager sim (on PC) for my aunt. For the better part of a year and a half, she was absolutely hooked on it, but lost her copy of the game shortly before her system melted.

Since then, she’s gone through extended phases with other (some might say “easier” sim programs: Civ 1, 2 & 3, etc…) , but has never recaptured the enjoyment she had with the manager sim.

Unfortunately, I can’t remember what the name of that original sim was (since it was all text and tables, and comparing my memory of the game to descriptions I’ve read on ebay, I’m suspecting it might have been “Championship Manager”).

So, she now has a P3/500 and I thought it might be nice to get her a new(er) football manager sim (off of ebay probably). Unfortunately, I have no idea which, of the four or five titles available, is generally thought of now as the best manager sim.

Which one would you avid game players suggest (and please don’t mention that she should upgrade her system, as that goes without saying, but is impractical for the near future)?

Secondly, if I bought a game from England would it be playable here (or at least playable without having to change the system preferences, installing a slew of drivers and the like)?

Thanks in advance.

Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Chelsea Advance in Europe – Barely (Video Game)

April 17, 2005 | 12 Comments

So, my gutty little NAC Breda take on big, bad Chelsea in the Champions League (this is an update from last week’s post regarding my EA FIFA gaming).

In the first leg I go to Stamford bridge and fall behind 1-0, only to fight back to take a 2-1 lead. In the second half they get the equaliser, but I’m feeling pretty good about the draw and two away goals. I played a 4-3-1-2 formation and for the most part it worked.
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Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Your Chance to Stop Mourinho

April 11, 2005 | 18 Comments

Ok hotshots, you think you know so much about football, well, we’ll see about that.

I’m currently playing FIFA 2005 on my Xbox and I’ve got an epic Champions League matchup against Chelsea coming up. First, a bit of background.

EA’s FIFA games are just about the only games I’m play. They always look and play great. So, I playing in career mode. In this mode you are the manager (I’ve called myself Arsene Wenger) and you can’t just start by managing Arsenal or Real Madrid. You have to work your way up. So, in season one I managed Celtic. I won the SPL, going undefeated in the process. Since this is professional football I showed no allegiance to the club that gave me my first shot at managing and instead jumped to NAC Breda of the Dutch league (even after winning the SPL I couldn’t jump to a decent team). First season at Breda I win the Dutch Eredivisie. I made a great purchase during the January transfer window, bringing Kluivert back to Holland.

Now in my second year at Breda I’m in the Champions League (and on top domestically at the halfway point). During the CL Group phase I just grabbed the second spot on goal differential (Monaco won the group).
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Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

FIFA Street video game review

March 23, 2005 | 3 Comments

I’m a big fan of the EA Big Street series. I’m also a huge fan of soccer. I was pumped to play this game. I picked up the XBOX version of FIFA Street.
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Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Arsenal Club Manager Update

December 3, 2003 | 1 Comment

Ok, we sold Lauren. Here’s a new part of the game that I’ve discovered, it’s impossible to grab players!

In last year’s version I was able to grab van der Vaart, Kezman and several other players. This time around, you can bid well above the asking price and still not get your man. So, even though we’ve received huge offers for Pires and Ljungberg, I’m not selling because I don’t think we will be able to bring anybody in. Screw ‘em all, we’ll go with what we’ve got.

Just lost the Community Shield 3-1 to Man United. Pires and Vieira picked up knocks and will miss the start of the season.

New poll, see to the right…

Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Gotta Sell Before We Can Buy

November 25, 2003 | 3 Comments

Ok gang, it appears we only have 10 million in the kitty, so before we make offers on Kluivert and van der Vaart (Mexes isn’t in the game!?!?) we’ll need to sell some folks. Check out the poll to the right. You’ll have plenty of time to vote, I’ll be in Portugal for the Euro 2004 Final Draw. I’ll say hi to Pele for y’all.

Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Arsenal Club Manager 2003-04

November 23, 2003 | 1 Comment

Ok, gang, I’ve received the latest edition of Arsenal Club Manager, thanks to the folks at JustFootball.

You may recall that I loved last year’s version, so I’m very excited to play it this time around.

Not only does the game have our newest players (Lehmann, Clichy, etc.), but when you search for players to buy, you’ll find Rick Liebling! In fact, there are a bunch of Arsenal fans built into the game. Pretty cool.

Anyway, this time I want us to play as a group. So, I will post polls asking for input on decisions such as who should we try to buy or sell; who should play and what formation we should play. Let’s see if we really are better than Le Boss!. So, let’s start with “Who should we buy?” We’ve got more cash available than Wenger did, so let’s go for it. See the poll for your options, I’ll see if we can get the player (sometimes offers are rejected).

The game starts with the Barnet, Peterborough and Old Firm friendlies, I’ll try to catch up to the current time as quickly as I can.

Post comments here and be sure to vote.

Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Be In The Game

July 29, 2003 | Leave a Comment

You’ll recall a couple of months back I got all geeked up over an Arsenal PC video game. I even mentioned they had a ‘Be In The Game’ contest. Here’s the latest from the boys over at Just Football who produce the Arsenal Club Manager game:

Greetings from a wet and windy UK!

The be in the game promotion is still running, we currently have 350 registrations from Arsenal fans, not bad but compare that to 2000 from Chelsea, this is entirely down to Chelsea actually running the news piece on their own website.

We now have a separate opportunity, one I’ll think you’ll love, we are giving the fans the chance to get their picture in the game, they get to star as a fan reporter, we have space for around 300 fans to feature in this way, we are currently staging “be a reporter in the game” days at the clubs, unfortunately we could not arrange such a day with Arsenal.

If you have any fans who would like to feature in the Arsenal game, all we need is a good quality digital image.

Ok, ArseAmers, send in those digital images to andrew@arsenalamerica.com and we’ll send them along.

Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Arsenal – The Official Management Game

May 7, 2003 | 1 Comment

Back in ?97 as I was starting to really get into football, I picked up the FIFA ?97 video game. I thought it was awesome. I grabbed the next couple of games from that series, but in the last year or so I stopped playing. I was aware of the ?management simulation? games, but had never played one. Recently the good folks at Justfootball sent me a copy of ?Arsenal ? The Official Management Game.? I don?t have anything really to judge it against, but I think this game is absolutely fantastic. It?s compelling and addictive and perfect for all us punters who think we know more than Le Boss.

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Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

Get In The Game – Literally

April 24, 2003 | 1 Comment

We seem to have a considerable amount of interest in the new video games section. I’m currently test driving a game, Arsenal – Official Management Game, that is simply awesome. It will be a little while before I have a full review up, but wanted to make you aware of a totally cool feature for NEXT YEAR’S version of the game…

Following up on the success of The Official Management Game series where game players took the role of the club manager, Just Football have listened to the fans and have made significant modifications to include actual fans within the game itself. For next season?s (2003/2004) new and improved version, fans will be able to register via www.justfootball.net/arsenal/bitg.asp and get the chance to be one of the players within the game.
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Posted by Mr Zog | Filed Under VideoGame Reviews 

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