Reviewed on PlayStation Vita
→ April 11, 2014“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”
I reviewed Football Manager 2014 for PC last year, and as much as I loved it, I have to say that I was I pretty pleased with how I weaned myself off it afterwards. You see, as fellow players know, few other games are this addictive and all-consuming; even when you’re not playing, it can never truly leave you. Now, it never actually has to. The series’ debut on PlayStation Vita, Football Manager Classic 2014 (FMC 2014) is a solid start, not only letting you play the most fully-featured handheld version of FM wherever you go, but the cross-save system means you take your PC progress with you. Dangerous!
It may not bring your Vita to its knees, but I assure you it's all very exciting.
The Classic mode on PC has proven something of a revelation over the last two iterations of FM, providing a less time-intensive alternative to the main career that doesn’t compromise on the fundamental experience. That makes the cut-down career a perfect starting point for Vita, where surprisingly, the online mode and instant results are the only obvious omissions. Challenge mode also makes the welcome journey over from PC. Using the same set of clever scenarios, you’ll strive to perform such miracles as winning silverware with an inexperienced or severely injury-plagued squad, trying to beat relegation, or going an entire season unbeaten. These are fun little asides that have you playing in different ways, and their generally shorter nature makes them a particularly great fit for the Vita.
At a glance, you could even be forgiven for believing that both versions are visually identical, but minor adjustments have been made to help the data-packed screens fit more comfortably. The main menu ribbon that’s usually found at the top of the screen on PC, for example, is hidden on Vita, easily summoned or dismissed by a tap of the right shoulder button. It’s a great illustration of how space on a much smaller screen has been cleverly maximised, although FMC 2014 does misstep in other areas. In keeping most of the screens as close to the PC version as possible, some of the text can be on the small side and while never outright unreadable, swift analysis can be a bit of pain.
Will you interfere with your team's training schedule?
The Vita’s touchscreen does mean that FMC 2014 can be navigated almost identically as it can on PC. You can hit any link directly for further information, scroll through important data easily or, by holding down the left shoulder button, even drag players and items around during tactical changes. Unfortunately, some actions can prove to be a little finicky, especially if you have sausage fingers. FMC 2014 requires a precise touch and I did have more than a few instances where I hit the wrong option as a result of tiny text or buttons.
Despite that, I still found managing the finer elements of my club an enjoyable experience, as mainstay functions like negotiating transfers, tinkering with tactics and guiding your team through the match days all work almost exactly as they do in Classic mode on PC.
The 3D match engine is also present, correct and in impressive form, taking only the slightest of graphical hits. It is prone to a little frame-rate choppiness on certain camera angles occasionally, but it plays the same believable and engrossing game of football as its bigger brother. More remarkably, full functionality is intact; from actionable assistant manager suggestions and the new tactics system to live team changes. All these important new features have been successfully ported to make the portable touchline experience a pleasurable one.
Is that a streaker? Or does the ref just like pink?
As mentioned earlier, FMC 2014 has cross-save functionality with the PC version. Once you’ve performed some very basic setup (enabling Cloud Saves on Steam and allowing your Vita to connect to Steam via API), you’re able to transfer your Classic and Challenge mode saves freely between both platforms via the cloud. The process is incredibly smooth and it took just moments to move my PC save to my handheld for the first time, where I was able to carry on my campaign during my commute the following day and then put it back on PC when at home. Lovely stuff!
More...
→ April 11, 2014“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”
I reviewed Football Manager 2014 for PC last year, and as much as I loved it, I have to say that I was I pretty pleased with how I weaned myself off it afterwards. You see, as fellow players know, few other games are this addictive and all-consuming; even when you’re not playing, it can never truly leave you. Now, it never actually has to. The series’ debut on PlayStation Vita, Football Manager Classic 2014 (FMC 2014) is a solid start, not only letting you play the most fully-featured handheld version of FM wherever you go, but the cross-save system means you take your PC progress with you. Dangerous!
It may not bring your Vita to its knees, but I assure you it's all very exciting.The Classic mode on PC has proven something of a revelation over the last two iterations of FM, providing a less time-intensive alternative to the main career that doesn’t compromise on the fundamental experience. That makes the cut-down career a perfect starting point for Vita, where surprisingly, the online mode and instant results are the only obvious omissions. Challenge mode also makes the welcome journey over from PC. Using the same set of clever scenarios, you’ll strive to perform such miracles as winning silverware with an inexperienced or severely injury-plagued squad, trying to beat relegation, or going an entire season unbeaten. These are fun little asides that have you playing in different ways, and their generally shorter nature makes them a particularly great fit for the Vita.
At a glance, you could even be forgiven for believing that both versions are visually identical, but minor adjustments have been made to help the data-packed screens fit more comfortably. The main menu ribbon that’s usually found at the top of the screen on PC, for example, is hidden on Vita, easily summoned or dismissed by a tap of the right shoulder button. It’s a great illustration of how space on a much smaller screen has been cleverly maximised, although FMC 2014 does misstep in other areas. In keeping most of the screens as close to the PC version as possible, some of the text can be on the small side and while never outright unreadable, swift analysis can be a bit of pain.
Will you interfere with your team's training schedule?The Vita’s touchscreen does mean that FMC 2014 can be navigated almost identically as it can on PC. You can hit any link directly for further information, scroll through important data easily or, by holding down the left shoulder button, even drag players and items around during tactical changes. Unfortunately, some actions can prove to be a little finicky, especially if you have sausage fingers. FMC 2014 requires a precise touch and I did have more than a few instances where I hit the wrong option as a result of tiny text or buttons.
Despite that, I still found managing the finer elements of my club an enjoyable experience, as mainstay functions like negotiating transfers, tinkering with tactics and guiding your team through the match days all work almost exactly as they do in Classic mode on PC.
The 3D match engine is also present, correct and in impressive form, taking only the slightest of graphical hits. It is prone to a little frame-rate choppiness on certain camera angles occasionally, but it plays the same believable and engrossing game of football as its bigger brother. More remarkably, full functionality is intact; from actionable assistant manager suggestions and the new tactics system to live team changes. All these important new features have been successfully ported to make the portable touchline experience a pleasurable one.
Is that a streaker? Or does the ref just like pink?As mentioned earlier, FMC 2014 has cross-save functionality with the PC version. Once you’ve performed some very basic setup (enabling Cloud Saves on Steam and allowing your Vita to connect to Steam via API), you’re able to transfer your Classic and Challenge mode saves freely between both platforms via the cloud. The process is incredibly smooth and it took just moments to move my PC save to my handheld for the first time, where I was able to carry on my campaign during my commute the following day and then put it back on PC when at home. Lovely stuff!
More...
