Football Manager 2010

Football Manager 2010 was recently cut to half price during one of Steam's big sales. Being such a big fan of the sigames developed footie management series, I naturally fell for the bait and upgraded my old FM06 to FM10. I'm still early in the season so its hard to give any real conclusions on this game but from what I've seen so far, its incredible how much has changed.

Anyway, being a Liverpool fan, I obviously chose Liverpool as my club and, despite a few dodgy results, I'm doing okay so far. Anyway, below is a brief analysis of Liverpool as at the start of FM2010.

Finances
The first thing I want to mention is the financial situation. In real life, Liverpool is currently riddled with debt and, despite comments to the contrary from the owners, there has been very little net transfer spending from the club in the last few seasons.

Unfortunately, this appears to have been modeled in the game as well. I started off with debt of around GBP240 million and monthly interest payments of GBP2.5 million. More importantly, my transfer kitty is a measly GBP6 million (probably due to the club having acquired several players over the summer before I joined).

Squad
You can see my starting squad from the screenshot below. Again, in copying real life, Agger, Skrtel, Aurelio and Aquilani started the game injured (although Aurelio is back on light training by the time the season is ready to start). One big difference from real life is that I start the season with Maxi Rodriguez which is a good thing as he is easily the best right winger in the squad.



It won't be any surprise to learn that key players in the squad are Torres, Gerrard, Mascherano, Carragher (although he is valued quite low due to his age), Glen Johnson and Reina. Based on his value, Aquilani looks like he could be an important player once he returns from injury.

My biggest concern is with squad depth. My first team is pretty good (not great) but I'm just not convinced that I have decent cover. In particular, I'm worried about who is going to score goals if Torres isn't in the team. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to judge my squads readiness during the off season as we only had friendlies against second rate opposition.

With a transfer kitty of only GBP6 million, I likely won't be able to buy any new players to shore up my squad. Instead, I intend to spend that GBP6 million on young players in the hope that they can join my first team in a couple of years (assuming I haven't been sacked!).

Tactics
In general, I will probably play a straight up 4-4-2 as my main formation. This is the main tactic which I used in FM2006 with so much success. The key difference though is that my squad in FM2006 was comprised of world class players in every position and I will need to change the way I play until I can replicate this in FM2010.

To help act as a bridge between my strikers and my midfield, Kuyt will be set to "Deep Lying Forward" so that he will drop back to pick up the ball. In addition, Gerrard will be set to "Advanced Playmaker" and told to shoot often as he has a long shot stat of 18.
:)

Unfortunately, my wingers can't cross the ball to save themselves. The best crosser I have is Riera with a crossing score of 15. Every other winger is in the 12-13 range so I'm going to have to ask them to limit their crosses and focus on cutting inside before passing the ball into the box. Probably not a huge deal as I don't have a traditional target man (with good jumping and heading stats) in the final third anyway.


One big worry is that my defenders are worryingly slow. The fastest defender I have is Glen Johnson with pace of 15 and acceleration of 15. My fastest central defender is Agger with pace of 14 and acceleration of 12. To combat this, I'm going to have to play a deep defensive line with my 2 CBs set to "Limited Defender" otherwise a simple ball over the top is going to split my defence wide open. With Reina set to play as a "Sweeper Keeper", this should limit the number of chances that the opposition will get although I may also have to limit Johnson to defensive duties on occasion if the opposing team has a fast striker.

Some alternative tactics which I may use depending on the situation are detailed below.


I primarily intend to use this formation if I believe I am going to struggle in the match or if I'm trying to protect the lead. As you can see, both Mascherano and Lucas have been set with defensive duties. Their role will be to get the ball and then lay it off to someone else (possibly Gerrard). With only 1 striker, scoring could well be a problem so I will probably only start with this formation if Torres is fit.


The good old 4-4-2 diamond. I will probably use this when I am playing against weaker teams who will likely sit back and defend. Having Gerrard that far upfront will help to create chances for my strikers. It also allows me to safely restrict Kuyt to a "Poacher" role so he can focus on scoring goals. Both of the full backs have been set as "Wing Backs" and told to get forward and attack. Meanwhile, having Mascherano set as an "Anchor Man" will help deal with any counter-attacks.


This formation will primarily be used on narrow pitches where my wingers wouldn't have sufficient space to do their thing. This formation may also be useful against teams which I would be expected to beat but which are still good enough to be a threat against me. In this formation, both Mascherano and Lucas are set as "Ball Winning Midfielder" to help deal with attacks. Meanwhile, Johnson and Insua are set as "Wing Backs" to help provide a little width in my attack. The key concern with this tactic is whether having one striker will be enough to score goals so, as with above, I may only use it if Torres is fit to start.

Portal

As you are no doubt already aware, Portal was recently made free for a limited time by Valve in celebration of the launch of Steam on the Mac. Which is a great deal as this is really a fantastic game.

I won't talk too much about the game here as, to be honest, there's not much point in doing so. Considering how famous this game is, if you don't know about the gameplay by now, then its probably something you wouldn't be interested in.

Anyway, I was actually over at my brothers place when we found out that it was free for download. We immediately fired up Steam to verify (my bro, being the cynical git that he is was convinced that it was only free to play for the weekend) and then downloaded it. We managed to get to around testchamber 18 (out of 19) while I was there but I promptly finished off the game after I got home.

As already noted in reviews, the game is incredibly short (although a bit longer than the 19 testchambers which I thought it initially consisted of). However, considering the type of game it is, the length is probably just right. The short length gives you just enough time to get familiar with the gameplay elements and then apply that knowledge in a variety of fiendishly designed levels.

But what makes this game stand out is the superb level of humour prevalent throughout the game. From the moment you wake up in the very first chamber through to the end of the game, you are accompanied by the disembodied voice of GLaDOS. Her various comments throughout the game fit the mood perfectly as you try and puzzle your way out of the various rooms and traps and is topped off with a fantastic song during the end credits.

PS if you liked the song Still Alive, then you should also check out Re Your Brains (also by Jonathon Coulton).

Once again, EA loses the plot

It's a real shame. For a while, I really thought that EA finally got it. That they finally realised how to properly combat piracy (non-invasive DRM) and second hand sales (offer incentives for new buyers). Unfortunately, their approach to the new Tiger Woods game shows that I was wrong and that EA are still very much experimenting. Unfortunately, their efforts are going in a very bad direction.

In brief, in order to encourage new sales, you will only be able to play Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 online if you have an Online Pass. New copies of the game will include a one time code for the Online Pass and if you buy used, then you will need to buy the Online Pass separately if you want to play online. Which is bollocks.

I don't mind EA including extra DLC for those who purchased new. The key distinction is that the extra DLC should be just that - extra. For example, new buyers of ME2 would get the Cerberus Network which would get you some free downloadable content. Naturally, people will argue that all this means is that content was kept out of the game for inclusion as day one DLC. I can't comment on whether this is the case. All I can do is look at the game without the DLC and decide if that game is worth it.

However, what EA have done with the new Tiger Woods game is to remove a core element of the game and make it available only to people who buy the game new or pay extra for the privilege. Granted, opinions will differ on this but it seems to me that multiplayer in a sports game is not a value added extra. In the modern era of console gaming, multiplayer is not the exception - it is the norm.

Also, factor in the fact that people are already paying money to Microsoft for an Xbox live gold subscription in order to play online in the first place. The net result of this is that it feels like a double dip from EA.

Hopefully, this is just a one-off experiment from EA and doesn't expand to other games. Unfortunately, the cynic in me knows that EA won't see any backlash in sales as a result of this decision as most of the buying public just don't care enough about these issues.

I also can't help but wonder if this is a more general move in the market. I know that publishers have long looked at how they can monetize the multiplayer crowd (particularly those who buy a game and then play for 200+ hours online) and the idea of charging for singleplayer and multiplayer separately has been raised before. I just hope this doesn't happen.

Speaking for myself, I enjoy multiplayer games as well but do find that most of my time is spent on singleplayer. If the multiplayer portion of a game is charged separately, what will likely happen is that I cut multiplayer out altogether and stick to singleplayer. Which would be a shame.

Aladuchar - Fall of the Paragons

The plan worked!

Kardol attacked with his forces and, although they took a heavy beating, they were able to keep the Darkspawn engaged while my smaller group sneaked across. Making our way deeper into the Dead Trenches, we came across Hespith, formerly of the House of Branka. The poor woman appears to have lost her sanity. If the tale she told us has any truth, then I can scarce blame her.

The good news we got from Hespith was that Branka was still alive. However, if her ravings are to be believed, the bad news may also be that Branka is still alive.

Could it be true - did Branka really allow members of her House to become a Broodmother? Is Branka breeding Darkspawn?


Brankas Broodmother

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Well, it turned out that Hespith did indeed speak the truth. After killing the broodmother, we finally found Branka. Or rather, she found us. The bitch almost dropped half a mountain on our head in closing off the passage behind us. Somehow, she had found her way to a ridge up above us and when we challenged her, we finally found out the reason for her actions.


Branka tries to justify her actions

She is trying to find the Anvil of the Void and recreate the Golem army. Unfortunately, Caridin had protected the Anvil with so many traps that she needed more bodies to run the Guantlet set by Caridin so many years ago. While I understand her desire to find the Anvil and bring back the glory days of the Dwarven empire, she has clearly lost all sense of perspective.

Dwarves fight the Darkspawn - we do not breed them. For a paragon to lose sight of this is unthinkable. And yet this is what I must deal with. How can I take her back to the Assembly now?

Regardless, I do not need to decide yet. With Branka sealing the passage behind us, we have no choice but to run Caridin's Gauntlet ourselves.


Facing one of Caridin's numerous traps

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By the Stone, I wish I had never come back to Orzammar. My actions have now seen the death of the only two living Paragons.

We made our way through all the traps set by Caridin until we came across Caridin himself. The old Paragon was still alive! He had turned himself into a Golem and it was through Caridin that we learnt the secret of the Anvil.

The Anvil of the Void does not create Golems. It turns existing dwarves into Golems!


Caridin - cursed with eternal life for his actions

Caridin, after being turned into a Golem himself, could see that the Anvil was too dangerous to use. He saw the danger that the Anvil represented and rightfully sealed off the Anvil from the world. Alas, I had now opened that path. With the Anvil on the cusp of recovery by the Dwarves, I agreed to destroy the Anvil.

Alas Branka, taking the opportunity offered by my clearing all the traps, showed herself at this point. With her mad desire to possess the Anvil, it was no surprise that she was not happy to learn of our decision to destroy the Anvil.

Although it pained me to do so, I had no choice. I raised my arms against a Paragon. Together with Caridin, we defeated Branka. For my help, Caridin has fashioned me a crown to present to the new king of Orzammar and, true to my word, I destroyed the Anvil. Caridin, with no more purpose left in his life, jumped into the lava below and finally ended his own pitiful life.


Branka leaves me no choice but to fight and kill her

There is nothing left to do but return to Orzammar. With both Branka and Caridin dead, the Assembly will not be happy with my return.

Aladuchar - the Deep Roads

Wow - it has been a long time since I had an opportunity to update this journal.

Things have been hectic lately. After our meeting with Lord Harrowmont, we helped to solidify his position in the Assembly by eliminating a group of Dust Town thugs led by a casteless dwarf named Jarvia. That Jarvia even had the temerity to operate outside of Dust Town shows how bad the situation in Orzammar has become. A new king must be appointed soon before my home tears itself apart.

With the elimination of Jarvia and her band of thugs, Harrowmont believed that he had sufficient sway in the Assembly to win the vote. However, I wasn't so sure. In particular, I felt that Lords Odell, Medra and Dace would still vote for Bhelen. With their influence, victory for Harrowmont was not assured and we needed to find another way to sway the Assembly. We were almost at our wits end when a stray comment from Harrowmont gave me an idea.

In a moment of frustration, Harrowmont had called upon the Stone and the Paragons to curse Bhelen (a sentiment I freely share!). A Paragon was exactly what we needed now. A Paragon would be the key decider that would break the deadlock in the Assembly. Unfortunately, the last living Paragon, Branka, had gone into the Deep Roads almost two years ago in search of an ancient artifact and had not been seen since. Everyone presumed her dead after such a long absence. However, Branka had taken her entire House with her. If anything could survive in the Deep Roads for two years, it would be an entire House of Dwarven warriors.

Regardless, we have little choice. We desperately need to find a way to break the deadlock in the Assembly. Hopefully, Branka is still alive. I met her briefly several years ago when she was elevated to Paragon status and I believe I will be able to convince her to join her voice with mine in the Assembly. So it was we ventured once more into the Deep Roads.


Leliana scouts ahead for traps

The Deep Roads themselves seem to be infested with Darkspawn - much more than is usual this close to the city. Alistair says it is because of the Blight. It would appear that the Darkspawn are massing in the tunnels and will soon be ready to invade the surface in force. If so, then our task has become that much more urgent. If we are to stop the Blight, we will need to locate Branka quickly.

One thing is sure. There is no longer any doubt that this is indeed a Blight. We saw the Archdemon. Alas, without an army, we were in no position to fight and had to hide while it passed by.


The Archdemon will have to wait ... for now

We eventually came across a unit from the Legion of the Dead. Kardol, the commander of the unit, confirmed that Branka had come through two years ago. We are on the right track! However, with the increase in Darkspawn numbers, there may be no way for us to push ahead. The Legion of the Dead have been guarding a deep chasm with only one large bridge across. The Darkspawn are massed on the other side but so far, Kardol and his men have been able to hold the bridge and repulse each Darkspawn attack. The problem is that, with the sheer numbers of Darkspawn on the opposite side of the bridge, there is no way for my team to get across.

However, while I doubt our team of four will be able to assist Kardol in any meaningful way, I have hope that he may be able to assist us. Kardol has agreed to attack the Darkspawn and charge across the bridge. With this diversion, Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana and myself may be able to sneak across. Many of his men will perish in this attack but as Kardol himself said - they are already dead.

Anyway, I should hurry - even as I write this, I can see that Kardol has finished briefing his men and we will soon start our push across the bridge.


Defeding the bridge with the Legion of the Dead

Quick postscript.

I am worried about Leliana. Lately, she has seemed a little bloodthirsty and I wonder if she has been tainted with Darkspawn blood. Hopefully, this is not the case. Possibly, she is merely losing herself in the constant combat which we have seen in the Deep Roads. I imagine it also hasn't been easy for her to spend so much time underground.


Leliana beheads a Carta mage


We tried to tell Leliana that the Ogre was dead but I don't think she heard us