I don't talk about bad game reviews very often. Lets face it, in most cases, it is almost impossible to say that a review is bad. After all, whether you like a game or not can often come down to personal preferences.
However, every once in a while, you see a review that you can actually objectively call bad, by any definition of the word. And I recently came across such a review for Football Manager 2009. Or rather, Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 as the review was from an american.
First up, in the interest of being upfront - I should say that I am a fan of the Football Manager franchise from SI games. Secondly, I have never played FM2009 (in fact, I'm still playing FM2006!). Despite this, from reading the criticisms leveled against FM09, it is clear that this is a bad review.
Too many players
You know you are in for a bad review when the first criticism against the game is that the game has over 350,000 real life players. Apparently, the reviewer found the task of finding new talent to be overwhelming. WTF?!?!?!
At this point, I already know the reviewer has never played a modern football management sim before. You aren't supposed to trawl through 350,000 players - what do you think your scouts are for?
No fans
Another of his complaints is that the graphics engine doesn't show any fans. I can actually sympathise with this complaint. After all, how am I going to simulate being banned to the stand (or a karate kick on the fans) amidst all the plebs if the plebby fans aren't actually present? Shocking, I know. Clearly, SI Games have no concept of what wannabe football managers are actually looking for.
Actually, to be fair, this is part of his broader complaint against the graphics of the game. And again, to be fair, the graphics in the FM franchise have always been either poor or non-existent. The sad thing is that the reviewer has completely missed the reality that when you are trying to simulate the life of a football manager, graphics really aren't the priority.
No sound
The reviewer also complains that the only sound available is the sound of fans on matchday (which the reviewer apparently finds very strange as there aren't actually any fans watching based on his observation that he doesn't see any fans being rendered by the game engine). I'm guessing the reviewer was disappointed by the lack of licensed music in the games menu's.
Gameplay
The reviewer also finds traditional gameplay to be non-existent as all you do is click on menu buttons. I'm guessing he was disappointed that he didn't get to control each player and pass the ball around before scoring - In fact, the reviewer goes on to say "I couldn’t imagine why anybody would prefer Worldwide Soccer Manager to FIFA 09 or Pro Evolution Soccer 2009"....
Valid comment
The reviewer mentions that the game isn't targeted at casual fans and that if you have never played a game in the FM franchise before, you will have a steep learning curve to struggle through. And for once, the reviewer is right.
SI Games are striving to create the most accurate simulation of a football manager possible in a computer game. The downside to their success in meeting their vision is that the game does become incredibly difficult for casual gamers to enjoy. There is no easy difficulty. There are no handicaps or options that you can tick to make it easier. There is only the reality that if you buy this game, you are buying the most detailed and accurate simulation of being a football manager available today.
Summary
Despite the bad review, I really don't blame the reviewer as the fault (in my opinion) clearly lies with IGN. This reviewer should never have been given this game to review.
It is painfully clear that the reviewer has never played a football management sim before in his life. Not only that, but the reviewer was clearly expecting something similar to your normal footy action game (it was literally painful to hear him compare the game to FIFA09 and PES). The sad thing is that he compared it to action games instead of to other football management simulations. If he was expecting an action game, then no wonder he didn't "get it" and hated the game.
I really don't mind that he didn't like the game. The FM franchise has always been niche and targeted at hardcore football fans (which is why the IGN UK review score for FM09 is so high while the IGN US review score is so low - lets face it, most americans aren't exactly football fans, never mind hardcore football fans) and there are several other options for people who aren't so hardcore. However, IGN really need to sort themselves out - the review is frankly embarrassing coming from a large organisation like them.
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