Review :: Football Manager Handheld 2010 (PSP)

The world’s biggest football (soccer for any Americans reading this) management sim, Football Manager, is back! The PSP is the only place you’ll find it besides the PC/Mac this time around and having spent a little time with it, I’m  yet to be convinced the game can work on any other platform.It sounds great doesn’t it, a full football management sim in your pocket. Well, that’s not exactly what FMH2010 is. You see, it’s the basics of the PC/Mac version without any of the added intricacies. For many, that’s what playing FM is all about. Finding new talent from places unknown, watching your youth players rise through the ranks, taking on staff and generally improving the prospects of your club. Pretty much all of what I just said can’t be done here and if it can, I’m yet to find it.

I’ve been playing the game since it was released and have clocked up countless hours managing my favourite club (Manchester United). After all this time I am yet to find anywhere that I can hire new staff or even add players to transfer deals. For FM fans this can’t be good. Ok, this is a portable version you can forgive it for not having EVERYTHING that it’s bigger brother has. However, it’s still not complete.

For a kick off (‘scuse the pun), I don’t have a Reserve team. There is a reserve squad, but it’s comprised of made up players and I’m pretty sure I can’t add any of my first team players to it. I also couldn’t find any trace of a youth team. I was looking forward to watching players like Paul Pogba make it into my first team, but that can’t be done here. Basically, if you want to play FM in full on the go, install it on your laptop.

Despite the amount of missing features, the basic game is still fun and not bad to play on the move. You can still buy and sell players and watch the ones you have develop, it just doesn’t feel as good. Watching your team play is pretty much the same. There’s no 3D match engine, but besides that everything is as it should be.

There’s not much you can say about the game graphically. It’s basically a giant spreadsheet. The menus are a little hard to navigate around at first, but once you get used to where everything is it’s a doddle.

I think SI have made a fine effort to shoehorn their game onto a portable platform, but due to the limitations of the system not everything can be done. This might be alright for those who want a more basic management game, but isn’t going to appease the hardcore Football Manager fans.

7.2/10

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