Aladuchar - Defending Redcliffe Village

I cannot believe how tired I am. And yet I must carry on.

Our motley crew arrived in Redcliffe Village to face several surprises. First of all, it appears Alistair carries noble blood within his veins! I can scarce believe it but the fool claims to be the bastard son of the King! The King in question being King Maric and not that fool Cailan obviously. Being an unwanted son, Alistair had been taken in by Arl Eamon before joining the templars.

Well, at least it explains why the Arl would take him into his household.

Regardless, the noble blood in his veins must be thin. Much as I like the man, he clearly has no aptitude for leadership and it was just lucky happenstance that I joined the Grey Wardens when I did.

The second surprise was that we found the road to the Arls castle blocked by some peasant villagers. They took us to Bann Teagan who told us that the village was under attack by undead creatures coming from the castle. It was a good thing the Bann was there otherwise I would have taken the story to be some superstitious nonsense of the local peasants.

The problem the Bann finds himself in is that the village is under siege but he has only a handful of knights to help defend the village with. It appears that the Arl is suffering some kind of sickness that none of their herbalists have been able to heal. The affliction struck down the Arl suddenly and the Arlessa suspected poison which is why most of the knights have been sent out on a fools errand to find the ashes of Andraste (apparently, even a pinch of Andraste's ashes can cure any poison).

Since the knights left, some other affliction has hit the castle. Not long after, the villagers lost contact with the castle and at night, they have been attacked by the undead horde which I just mentioned. With night rapidly approaching, I decided to stay and see this horde for myself. Good thing too as sure enough, upon nightfall, the gates to the castle opened and an army of undead swarmed out of the gates.


The undead horde descends on Redcliffe Village

However, with our assistance, the Village was well poised to defend itself. Together with Ser Perth, one of Arl Eamons knights, and his troop of well armed knights, we formed a defensive line at the entrance to the village. Together, we held firm as countless numbers of undead crashed against the barriers we erected. It was a mighty battle as the horde crashed against our makeshift barriers and despite what the horde threw at us, we managed to hold firm!


Holding the line!

Alas, the horde may be undead but it was not without intelligence. Although we were able to hold the line, a group of undead had attacked the village directly by approaching from the lake! If a runner from the village hadn't alerted us, we would never have known.

Leaving Ser Perth to defend the front line, I took my group and charged back down to the village.


The village is attacked from the lake!

Unfortunately, the attack had caught the villagers completely by surprise. Instead of holding a defensive line, the stupid mudwalkers had joined in a mad melee in the village square. Fools!

I charged into the frey and for a while, I have to admit it was touch and go. There were moments where we were completely surrounded by the horde and all we could do was keep swinging and pray for the morning. There was no respite in the fighting as the horde just kept coming. To stop, or even slow down, would have meant death. Even so, even my arms were tiring by the time the last of the undead had been cut down.


Our "successful" defence of Redcliffe Village

In the end, we managed to keep the horde out of the Chantry where the older villagers and children had holed up. Unfortunately, none of the defending militia survived.


The heroes of Redcliffe Village

Despite the losses, the village was saved. Bann Teagan and the surviving villagers were grateful enough as well for our help.


hehe - this pretty young lass was particularly grateful to me for saving her and her brother

Our next stop will be to assault Redcliffe Castle itself. Bann Teagan has promised us aid in this endeavor, and well he should for it is his brother that we go to save. Although the group is tired from the battle and really needs a day to rest, I have decided that we shall set off immediately. Morrigan in particular was vocal about her opinion of my decision. Her beauty may be enchanting but I will have to keep an eye on her to make sure her dissent goes no further. The woman clearly needs to learn her place.

Regardless, I stand by my decision. While on the road, I have heard rumors that Orzammar has been closed to visitors due to King Endrin having fallen sick. I doubt these rumors be true for father was always as strong as an ox. Still, a part of me is worried none the less. I need to wrap up matters here quickly so that I can travel to Orzammar and see for myself what has happened.

Aladuchar - Passing through Lothering

We are on the road to Redcliffe Castle to seek the aid of Arl Eamon. "We" being the operative word in this case as my traveling party has expanded considerably.

The first addition to our party was Morrigan, the daughter of Flemeth. Her addition was as much a surprise to her as it was to me. Flemeth offered her daughter to us like a piece of meat and although Morrigan made a show about objecting, she nevertheless joined our party readily enough.

I ought to be grateful to Flemeth. After all, if it hadn't been for her timely assistance, I would have perished back in Ostagar. Also, Morrigan seems to be a highly capable witch and her spells will be a welcome addition to our party. Nevertheless, I can't shake the feeling that Flemeth has an ulterior motive. How far can I trust Morrigan? I have to admit that she was genuinely surprised when Flemeth offered Morrigan's assistance to us. Still, I shall have to keep an eye on her while she travels with us.


Morrigan, and her lovely back, joins us in our quest

Our first stop on the road to Redcliffe was Lothering, a small village on the outskirts of the Korcari Wilds. I wouldn't even have known about this village if it hadn't been for Morrigan. She had been there before and suggested that it would be an ideal place to get some supplies for our journey to Redcliffe, particularly as it was on the same route.

Unfortunately, with the recent battle in Ostagar, the village was flooded with refugees fleeing the Blight. And with so many people in the village, supplies were at an all time low. In the end though, we were able to get some supplies but were charged an obscene amount for them by an unscrupulous merchant.

Even more troublesome though are the lies being spread by that lowlife commoner, Loghain. That low piece of turd pie is claiming that King Cailan was betrayed by the Grey Wardens! We tried to keep a low profile but unfortunately, there were a couple of soldiers from Loghain's army in the tavern who recognised us. They immediately caused a scene and even the intervention of a Chantry sister didn't help. In the end, I had to bleed them before they saw sense.


Sister Leliana tries in vain to prevent bloodshed

Although I would have liked nothing better than to slaughter them like the pigs they are, this probably wouldn't have been a good idea with so many witnesses around. In the end, I sent them packing with a warning to Loghain that I knew he was the one who betrayed King Cailan. I made sure to speak this loud and clear so that all the patrons in the tavern heard. It may not help, but a peasant revolt against the Grey Wardens is the last thing I want to deal with right now.

Leliana, the Chantry sister, aided us in the fight against Loghain's soldiers and she proved surprisingly capable. Turns out that she is a bard from Orlais who was told by the Maker to assist the Grey Wardens in turning back the Darkspawn.

Yeah. Not much more I can say to that. Anyway, the bard is also joining us.


Leliana joins our troupe

While in Lothering, we also came across a Qunari locked up in a cage. I don't know much about the Qunari as a race other than that they are a culture of warriors. Apparently, Sten, as this particular Qunari is called, slaughtered some farmers and was captured and locked up as a result.

I would have left him there to rot but Leliana pleaded his case. Sten also seemed willing to pledge his allegiance to my cause so I figured why not? I mean, I already have a menagerie consisting of a Grey Warden who can't make decisions, a witch with uncertain intentions and a spoony bard. Why not add a sullen berserker to the mix?


Sten joins Aladuchar's Amazing Circus

Aladuchar - Battle for Ostagar

That son of a peasant!

That low born peasant Loghain set us all up. He has betrayed us all and now everyone is dead. I can scarce believe it but everyone is dead. Duncan. King Cailan. They are all dead.

I will rip out his heart and feed it to him raw for what he has done!

*************************************************

It is now several days after the battle at Ostagar. Battle? More like massacre. And all because Loghain betrayed us.

King Cailan's plan was simple. He would stand, together with Duncan and the Grey Wardens, and draw the Darkspawn horde to him. Once the battle was joined, we would light the signal fire at the Tower of Ishal which would signal the Loghain to join the battle with his army. The horde would be caught and crushed between the two human armies.

A simple plan but even from the start, it seemed doomed to failure.

As I was still a little groggy from the Joining , I was sent with Alistair to ensure that the signal atop the Tower of Ishal was lit at the right time. Unfortunately, neither Daveth nor Jory survived the Joining (I would say more but this is not my secret to tell) which is a shame as we could have used their help as the Tower was already under attack by the Darkspawn when Alistair and I arrived.

Nonetheless, we enlisted the help of a circle mage and fought our way to the top of the Tower where we came across an ogre. It was a mighty battle. Even I, with my prowess, was pushed to my limits against that foul beast. In the end though, I proved superior.


Things aren't looking too good for me ...


... but in the end, even the ogre is no match for my skill!

With the ogre defeated, we lit the signal. Alas, instead of attacking, that traitor Loghain pulled his forces from the battlefield. Instead of the darkspawn being crushed between the two armies, they overran King Cailan's position and slaughtered everyone. Even Duncan and the Grey Wardens were unable to escape.


This was the last time we saw Duncan

Only Alistair and myself survived and this was only due to the timely rescue by Flemeth. Yes, it turns out that the old hag we met before was indeed Flemeth. After lighting the signal fire, the darkspawn attacked us in force and if it hadn't been for Flemeth, we would surely have perished atop the Tower of Ishal. As it is, we have been recovering from our injuries in Flemeth's hut but Alistair and I will leave for Redcliffe come dawn.


Recuperating in Flemeth's hut

I have my doubts, but Alistair believes that we can enlist the aid of Arl Eamon. Apparently, the Arl took him in and raised him as a child after his mother died. It seems more likely that he is the bastard son of the Arl but Alistair denies this strenously.

Whatever. With the Blight is advancing into Ferelden and Loghain and his army stacked against us, I will take any aid that I can get. Particularly now that Alistair and myself are the only remaining Grey Wardens in Ferelden.

Aladuchar - Joining the Grey Wardens

I don't have much time as I am about to formally become a Grey Warden so this will, by necessity, be a quick entry.

After leaving Orzammar, I followed the Grey Wardens to Ostagar. We ran into a few darkspawn stragglers on the way and I saw firsthand the fighting prowess of Duncan and his Grey Wardens. Although they were formidable warriors, none of them can match my own prowess.

We were greeted by King Cailan upon our arrival in Ostagar. He talked of charging into a glorious battle to end the blight in one swift blow. The man is clearly a fool and glory hunter with little comprehension of tactics or honour. Nonetheless, I kept a civil tongue. The man may be a fool but he could be a useful ally - and I will need allies if I am to have my revenge on Bhelen.


Duncan introduces me to King Cailan (far right)

Another potential ally is Teyrn Loghain. Can you believe this commoner actually talked to me like an equal! If I didn't need allies, I would surely give this peasant the hiding he deserves. Alas, he commands a sizeable force so once again, I am forced to keep a civil tongue. Bhelen - I will rip out your black heart for the indignities I am suffering!


Teyrn Loghain (middle) - a commoner but commander of a sizeable army

Our first task in Ostagar was to prepare for the Joining - the ritual to become a Grey Warden. Together with Daveth and Jory, the other potential recruits, I followed one of the Grey Wardens (a warrior with the unlikely name of Alistair) into the Korkari Wilds and gathered 3 vials of darkspawn blood. Although Duncan tells us the blood will be needed for the ritual, I suspect this is simply a test of ability for potential recruits. A test which I easily passed of course.


More than just darkspawn inhabit the Wilds

The only encounter of note in the Wilds was with an old woman and her daughter. I have no idea what they were doing in the Wilds but she was clearly addled. The old hag actually claimed to be Flemeth, the legendary witch of the Wilds! Hah! If she hadn't helped me by recovering some documents which Duncan had been looking for, I would have taught her how to be properly respectful to a Dwarven Lord!


This old hag claims to be Flemeth? What a joke!


Although I have to admit that her daughter is a fair looking wench.

Anyway, the hour of the Joining approaches and I should hurry for the battle for Ostagar will commence shortly after. I will show these humans how a true warrior fights!

Aladuchar - Origins

Betrayed.

Betrayed by my treacherous cur of a brother. My honour and rank have been stripped from me. All my efforts, all that toadying to the assembly - wasted. And yet, I can't help but admire Bhelen's skill in out-playing both my older brother and myself. Truely a stroke of genius.

But I get ahead of myself.

I ran across Trian and Bhelen on the way to the Proving Grounds yesterday. Trian has always believed himself better than me simply by virtue of being the eldest of fathers three children. Today proved no different as he gave me a lecture on "responsibility" and "duty" to our father and how I should be at the feast entertaining our Grey Warden guests before their quest into the Deep Roads. Bah - as if that stuck up pig would know anything about honour.

Trian (far left) lectures me while Bhelen (second left) watches on

After he left, Bhelen delivered a warning to me. He had overheard Trian plotting my assassination!

At first, I could scarce believe it. But then, Trian had always feared my growing honour and glory among the Assembly, always feared that father would make me next in line despite Trian being the eldest. Would he really assassinate me to ensure that father named him next in line? Yes, he would try - and he would fail. My fighting prowess is legendary and I have proven myself in the Proving Grounds on numerous occassions.

And so it was that I ventured into the Deep Roads with my man, Ser Gorim, at my side. Our squad was to venture into the nearby thaig and retrieve the legendary Shield of Aeducan. A simple enough task for a dwarf of my talents. And it was on our return when I found out the true extent of Bhelen's treachery.

We were fully expecting and ready for Trian to show his face. It would have been the perfect time for an ambush - after we had retrieved the shield but before we had returned to father. And, although Trian was indeed waiting for us, he was waiting with empty eyes and an open bladder. He was already dead by the time we found him.

And then who should show up but little Bhelen dragging father along while claiming that Trian and I were arguing. I was speechless. I knew immediately, of course, that the whole thing was a setup by Bhelen. With Trian dead and me dishonoured, Bhelen would be the next in line.

I pleaded my innocence but it was no use. Bhelen had already paid off the members of my squad who all swore that I attacked and murdered Trian. My man, Ser Gorim, tried to tell the truth but alas, with him being my man, his witness was tainted and none believed him.


My traitorous squad

Poor Gorim. Stripped of his knighthood in the warrior caste, he has been exciled from Orzammar to forever wander the lands as casteless. He deserved better.

But then, my situation is not much better. Stripped of all rank and honour, I have been made to walk the Deep Roads and to fight the Darkspawn until the day I die. Considering that all they gave me was one measly sword and the rags on my back, Bhelen probably expected my death would occur in short order.

No, little brother. I do not die easily. Fighting my way through numerous darkspawn, I eventually managed to find Duncan and his team of Grey Wardens. I have joined with them for now but know this little brother - I will be back.

And I will have my revenge.


I start my lonely walk in the Deep Roads armed with naught but a sword



At last, a decent weapon!


Gordon and the Grey Wardens offer me shelter

Aladuchar Aeducan

As you know, I'm a huge fan of Bioware and absolutely love their role playing games. In fact, my favourite RPG of all time is easily Baldur's Gate 2. So as you can imagine, I purchased Dragon Age:Origins the first chance I got!

Obviously, I haven't played enough of the game to give any meaningful impressions. However, what I wanted to do was keep a running commentary on my character and how he develops. The advantage of this is that it will allow me to keep track of my character's personality that I am roleplaying and how it gets affected by different in game events.

It also goes without saying that these posts will have HUGE spoilers so you should skip if you want to avoid them (although this post will be spoiler free as its mainly an introduction to the character).

Anyway, if you want to avoid spoilers, you can tell if the post is about the game as it will have Aladuchar as the first word in the title.

So without any further ado, let me introduce you to Aladuchar of House Aeducan.

Aladuchar Aeducan
It is said that the dwarven halls of Orzammar run deep. Certainly, despite having lived there all his life, Lord Aladuchar Aeducan has never fully explored the depths of the largest and proudest of the two remaining dwarven cities.



In many ways, Lord Aeducan is a man of contradictions.

The second son of King Endrin Aeducan, Aladuchar has always enjoyed the privileges that his rank entitles him to. He is royalty and makes sure that none forget this. But despite his nobility, or perhaps because of it, he truly is a noble man in many ways who is willing to overlook the minor slights and insults thrown at him by others of lesser station.

But alas, true nobility in the world of Orzammar is a rare beast. For while others merely made the pretense of being noble, Aladuchar was saddled with the difficult task of actually being noble. Such naivete does not last long in the cut-throat world of Dwarven politics.

A genius at Machiavellian plots, Aladuchar weaved his way through the murky world of temporary alliances and shady assassinations. Loved by the Assembly and a favourite of the masses. Or at least, that is what he believes. The reality is that he lacks the cunning and ruthlessness to truly excel in Dwarven politics. His fame and glory arise from the one thing that Aladuchar truly excels at - combat.

And he will need all of his abilities as King Endrin, his father, has just honoured him with a commission in the army. Indeed, the darkspawn will rue the day they attacked Orzammar and all within will praise Aladuchar's glory, fame and honour.

FM 2006 - Season 2031/32 (part deux)

After last weeks mammoth update, this weeks post will be relatively short and primarily just to finish off the events of season 2031/32.

The Off-season - New players
Despite the success of Tom Murray as a backup striker (he was the Players player of the Year!), the reality is that he is now 31 years old and I'm not sure how much longer he can keep playing at the level that he is playing at. To ensure he keeps playing well, I intend to drop him in the reserves and limit his playing time so that he is fresh in the games he does play (similar to what I did for Tom Anderson.



Mauricio Torres - a young 23 year old striker from Werder Bremen who I signed for GBP12.5M to replace Murray as backup striker. My scouts reported him as a useful addition to the squad and I actually think he will be able to do a good job as back up as he has some good heading stats. Together with Darren Barber (who I intend to primarily use as a striker this year), I think I have a pretty good lineup of backup strikers.

Daniel Santos - another young player. I signed Santos for GBP11.5M from Betis and he will slot in as backup RM behind Oliveira. I signed Santos primarily because I needed more cover at RM as I wanted to play Barber in his natural striker position. Although Santos has been scouted as being a potential superstar for the future, he wasn't actually my first choice signing (my first choice was an established player who was looking for guaranteed first team football).

Giuseppe Pellegrino - a 22 year old GK who I signed for GBP2.5M from Man Utd. NeitherVan Dijk nor Orlando are spring chickens and Pellegrino was signed to give me extra cover at the GK position. To be honest, Pellegrino will probably hang around for a couple of years before moving on. Although I signed him for extra cover, the reality is that GKs can play for longer than outfield players and I don't really see Pellegrino being able to break into the first team. Still, I've been wrong before and even if I'm not wrong, he is still a cheap backup GK option.

Players sold
In addition to Carlos Sanchez, I actually sold quite a lot of players this year.

Marcio - the biggest surprise sell was Marcio. Marcio has been a regular in the side (30+ appearances each year) for six years now. Although coming in as a squad player, he was able to become a key part of my MC after Dembele became too old to play MC regularly. However, Marcio is now 32 years old and when an offer came in from Newcastle for GBP10M, it was just too good to refuse especially considering how well Mike Patterson had been doing in the games in which I played him. Anyway, considering I got him as a free transfer, this ended up being a very nice piece of wheelin' n dealin'.

Andrea de Luca - I was disappointed with de Luca's performance this year. Although he played well, he didn't get many assists (only 3 by the end of the year and the first one in March). For a player who broke into the first team on his ability to create chances by crossing into the box, that is a pretty poor return. Despite this, I wasn't actually planning on selling him. However, when an offer of GBP10M came in from Chelsea, I decided to cash in. Michael Parsons, who has done well in the games I played him in will make the step up to first team.

John Turner - this is an interesting case. A product of the Liverpool youth system, Turner was never able to break into the first team despite showing early promise. When he turned 24 last year, he started to bitch about being in the reserves all the time at which point I put him on the transfer list. At this point, he started playing like a madman. In fact, he played so well that I ended up playing him in a lot of games this year as a backup M LC (10 starts and 9 subs) - particularly in cup games or against poor opposition. When he got his playing time in the first team, he continued to do really well and I took him off the transfer list. Naturally, at this point, other teams noticed how well he was doing and I ended up selling him for GBP2.2M (which was his market value) when Man City came knocking for him.

Other than the above, I sold off a couple of other reserve players but nobody really worth mentioning.

The new look Liverpool squad below.


Coaches
In the last couple of seasons, I've also completely revamped my coaching system. In the past, when players retired, I would offer them a coaching position if they were good players. I used to do this even if their coaching stats weren't particularly good as I was hoping that their stats would improve over time.

However, I don't think this version of FM supports that as none of my coaches actually showed much improvement. After a fairly long while of waiting in vain, I eventually decided to replace all my average coaches with decent coaches as their contracts ran out.

This process has been completed and you can see my new look coaching system below. The only remaining coach who isn't there on merit is Gerry Cheng, who is also my Ass Man. Unfortunately, I just can't bring myself to sack his sorry ass so I guess I will just have to live with the nepotism.

FM 2006 - Season 2031/32

After the despair of losing the Champions Cup of last season, you may recall that I made some big changes to the squad during the off season. As any manager can tell you, its easy to manage during the good times - the real test of mettle comes when things aren't going well. Could I lead my Liverpool side to new glory? It's times like this that the best managers show what they are made of!

Liverpool - Charity Shield and the early season

We began the season playing Middlesbrough in the Charity Shield. We only just managed to win the Charity Shield thanks in large part to the sale of Galli to Middlesbrough. As I mentioned before, the plonker managed to race clear of my defenders only to blast the ball over the bar. Twat.

At first, I was a little bit worried. In the early season games, it was clear that my team was struggling to score goals again. Was my plan to play Mills and Blake in attack a bad idea or was it simply my new team taking time to adjust to playing with each other? I will be honest and admit that the doubts started to creep slowly in. However, after a couple of games, my team managed to find their form and we really started to play extremely good attacking football - thanks in large part to Carlos Sanchez (more on him below).

The English cup treble

In fact, our team did so well that we easily won the Premiership, the League Cup and the FA Cup! A clean sweep of the English compo's!

Below, you can see the final league table. As you can see, we walked the Premiership again. However, the big difference from last year is that we scored 114 goals - a far cry from the pitiful 89 that we scored last year.



Interestingly enough, despite our trouble scoring last year, we actually had 92 points at the end of last year which is 1 more than the 91 points I picked up this year. The main reason for this is that, although I scored more goals this year, I also leaked a lot of goals as well. I guess its true what they say - defense does win championships (at least, thats what they say in the NFL).

Champions Cup

However, the real test for this year would be the Champions Cup. With Liverpool being knocked out in the quarter finals last year by an Italian team, you can understand that I was more than a little worried when we only managed a draw in the first leg of the final 16 this year (also against an Italian team). Clearly, last year's pitiful showing against Italian opposition was wearing on my players minds as well as on my own.

In the end, we only barely managed to scrape through that tie. However, winning that tough tie really gave my players new hope and they managed to go on to even greater heights. In the following tie aganst AS Roma, we absolutely mauled them 4-0 at Anfield. However, this would turn out to be only the beginning. In the return leg at Roma, we gave them a masterclass in football.



The demolition of Roma put the fear of Liverpool into every other team and we managed to walk the rest of the Champions Cup campaign. Although we never managed to duplicate the results of the Roma tie (unsurprisingly), no other team came even close to beating us after that. In fact, even the loss of Fernandez and Oliveira (due to suspensions) in the final didn't stop us from winning it easily.

And so the Liverpool manager showed why he is the most highly paid manager in the World (GBP110,000 per week!) by winning everything that he could possibly win in 2031/32.

Oh - one more thing. Just to show how completely we owned the Champions Cup, the next screenshot shows the Champions Cup dream team for 2031/32.



When you look at that screen, just bear in mind that Van Dijk is my GK and I normally play Thorpe as LM with Sanchez up front.

Can you see my smirk?
>:)

Liverpool Squad

As usual, some screenshots of my squad at the end of the year.




The biggest surprise will probably be Sanchez. You will recall that I tried to sell him off at the end of last year but failed due to his outrageous wage demands hence I ultimately decided to keep him as a backup striker.

Turns out this was probably the best decision of the off season. Imagine my surprise when, after I played him in a couple of games, he started to bang in goals like Geralt bangs pros (obscure gaming references ftw!). After seeing him play so well, I moved him back up the pecking order above Mills. Naturally, with him playing so well, other clubs started to take notice and I started to get some more transfer bids for him. In the end, I agreed a deal to sell him at the end of the season for just under GBP6M. Considering he will be another year older by then, I really think that was a superb piece of wheelin' and dealin' by yours truly.

Oliveira and Coelho both slotted into the team easily as well which is gratifying. Very often, for new players, they have a couple of games where they struggle to perform before they get used to the Liverpool way. However, both Oliveira and Coelho came in and did well from the start.

In Oliveira's case, I was extremely lucky this was the case as Julien Karlen really struggled at the start of the year. To be fair, Karlen is 33 and I suspected that this was one year too much for him. This was why I promoted Darren Barber to the first team. Barber is actually a wonderkid striker that I signed in 2029/30. Although a natural striker, he is also good enough to play on the wing and I was planning on playing him some more this year anyway. In the end, by conserving Karlen and playing him in less games, he was able to stay fresh and up his game again.

A new name you will see in the squad is Gary Powell, the 18 year old DC. Powell is a product of the Liverpool youth academy and has been doing well in the U18s and reserves for the last couple of years. During the season, Baines had a patch of bad form and I had to play Powell for a couple of games. Powell stepped in and did a fantastic job.

Having said that, I had a real moment of doubt for the Champions Cup final. Fernandez picked up a yellow card in the semi final and had to miss the final because of it. Who would I play in his place? The experienced, but possibly out of form (he had started to play well in the reserves again), Baines or the inexperienced, but in form, Powell? In the end, I decided to keep faith with Powell and he repaid me with another great performance in the final. Having said that, based on his stats so far, I have real doubts about whether he will be good enough to be a first choice DC in the future.

One last thing before I stop. You will notice that John Farrell is no longer around. John Farrell started the year extremely well. He was tackling well, passing well and scoring goals with ease. As you can expect, this attracted the attention of a lot of clubs and several teams came in with attractive transfer offers in the January transfer window. Although my AssMan said that he had the potential to develop into a future star, I decided to sell him off.

Ultimately, Farrell was signed as a fourth string MC. I wanted to develop Sadler and Rogers who were also identified as future stars. In addition to that, Mike Patterson (another potential future superstar) had been doing a marvelous job in the U18s. In the end, I had a surplus of MC talent and felt it was better to accept the inflated transfer offers which I was receiving.

Next up - the off season

Wow - this post is huge and I haven't even gotten to the off season yet. Which is why I will sign off here and save the off season for a smaller post next week (besides, I can only upload 5 images in one post)!

Fifa 10

Just a very quick post this weekend as I'm feeling lazy. If you've been keeping an eye on either my X360 blog or my gamercard, you would know that I have been playing Fifa 10.

The last time I bought a footie game was Fifa 07 and after a hiatus of three years, I figured it was time to check out the progress of EA's premier footie simulation. And I have to say, the difference between Fifa 10 and Fifa 07 is incredible. I'm not going to do a review of the game but I do have to say that EA have done a really good job. With Fifa 10, it really does feel like watching a real footie game at times.

What makes the Fifa games stand out in recent years has been the ball physics. Unlike older footie games, the ball in Fifa does not stick to your feet. This can give rise to some great situations where the ball is bouncing around as several different players are all sticking out their feet and trying to get a tackle in. It also allows for some really lucky rebounds where my shot has been blocked but the ball dropped right in front of my second onrushing striker allowing him to easily blast the ball over the crossbar.

Yeah - unfortunately, I still haven't quite gotten the hang of the game yet as I have trouble scoring even in one-on-one situations. Still, so far, the results have all been very realistic in that games are often decided by 1 to 2 goals.

I also haven't gone online yet as I want to get a bit more practice in before opening myself up to global ridicule as I get hammered 10-0 by teenage kids with acne problems.
:)

FM2006 - Getting ready for 2031/32

Well, the off-season in 2031 has been completed and enough has happened that it warrants an update in itself.

Brazil
During the off-season in 2031, my Brazil side played in the Copa America. Which we promptly managed to win. Below you can see the reaction of the Brazil FA and fans. Although the Copa America only counts as a minor International trophy, it is still good to win something on the international stage - particularly considering the doubts I have over whether my Brazil squad is really World Class or not.




However, just as important as actually winning the competition was seeing how well my side played. In the below screenshot, you can see the average ratings of the squad over the competition. Pretty impressive.

The screenshot below shows the matches we played on the way to winning the Copa America. Overall, I was very happy with the fact that we won every game and only leaked 3 goals. The only possible fly in the ointment is that we never really came up against any world class teams during the competition. The toughest match we had was against Chile in the Final where we really struggled to break them down.

Liverpool
And below is a screenshot of my new look Liverpool side taken just before the start of the season.


Yes - in a supremely funny twist of fate, Andy Rogers is injured. You may recall that last year, I signed Andy Rogers and John Farrell together. The idea was that John Farrell would be my fourth MC while Andy Rogers would get some development time. Things didn't quite work out that way when Farrell picked up an injury during the off-season and I had to play Rogers straight away. Well, after seeing how well Rogers played and deciding to push him into the first team, he promptly gets injured in the off-season which means that Farrell will be starting the season instead. Yeesh!

As promised, I sold Danielle Galli to Middlesbrough and managed to get GBP12.5M for him. Which is a pretty good deal as this was his market value at the time of sale. All in all, it was a good decision to sell him. I came up against Middlesbrough in the Charity Shield and at one point, Galli managed to beat the offside trap and raced clear of all my defenders. However, instead of scoring, the plonker blasted the ball over the bar. I couldn't help but think, "and that is why I sold ya".

I replaced Galli with Oliveira. If the name is familiar, its because Oliveira is in my Brazil squad. In fact, it was his good performances for Brazil which gave me the confidence to buy him. I paid GBP25M for him but I do have high hopes for him in the coming season. I also intend to let Darren Barber get some playing time on the right wing when the occassion permits. Barber is a wonderkid I signed in 2029/30 and has been doing really well in the U18 squad.

Another new name you will see is Coelho. He is an AM L and was brought in to replace Michael Bennett. Bennett was a player who showed a lot of promise as a youngster. Unfortunately, that promise never really materialised despite a couple of seasons in the premiership and so I sold him off to Tottenham for GBP4.9M and replaced him with Coelho who I bought for GBP10.75M plus John Simpson (a decent U21 DC).

You will also note that Sanchez is still around. Literally a day after the season ended, his value dropped to GBP6M which annoyed me in that I was hoping to get GBP10M for him. In any event, I offered him to other clubs for GBP6M. At that price, a couple of other clubs made bids for him. Unfortunately, nobody was able to agree a contract with him. I suspect the greedy twat was asking for GBP80,000 a week which nobody was willing to pay. Ah well, he can be a backup striker for next season.

With the scoring issues I had last year, you may be surprised to find that I didn't add to my strike force. My hope is that Ross Mills will be able to spearhead my attack together with John Blake (Blake is a funny player in that he doesn't score a ton of goals but he does get involved in loads of attacks and passes - kinda like the modern day Rooney). I was very impressed with the number of goals that Mills scored last year and I'm hoping he is now ready to be my first choice striker.

In any event, with Coelho and Carter on the left wing, I can always play Paul Thorpe in attack if Mills bottles it. Although Thorpe has always played as a midfielder for me, he actually plays as a striker in the England team so he should be able to step into the striker role relatively easily. The only other new purchases were potential future stars who went straight into the under 18 team. I signed Mike Patterson (MC) from Watford for GBP375k (fee decided by tribunal) and Michael Parsons (DL) from Tottenham for GBP13M (ouchie!).

And with that, the new season begins!

Assassin's Creed - gameplay example

"Altair?"

I pause as I hear the voice. Turning slightly, I see what appears to be a white robed scholar hobbling over with a noticeable limp. But appearances can be, and often are, deceptive. Even through the robes, it is clear that his body is a bit too honed for just a simple scholar.

"Praise the Master, it is you! You have to help me, my friend."

Even without the words, I can tell this man is in trouble. His eyes hold just a hint of desperation and his robes are stained and have clearly seen better days.

"I am sorry Rafiq. I am on an urgent mission for Al Mualim ..."

With these words, I expect to see disappointment on his face. Instead, he cuts me off from adding anything further.

"Yes, Yes. I know why you are here. And I know how you can gain access to Robert de Sable."

He pauses, looking at me expectantly. I consider beating the information out of him. Would our master forgive me for attacking a brother in this case? Or should I drag him, kicking and screaming, back to Masyaf to personally answer why he is withholding information on such an important mission. But would Robert still be here by the time I returned?

It appears I have little choice. "What do you need?"

He smiles with relief, for just a moment, before answering.

"Several days ago, I was tracking one of de Sable's templars. Unfortunately, he spotted me. I managed to elude him but twisted my ankle in the process. I have been hiding from him ever since. If you can help me with my problem, I will help you with yours."

I ponder his request but the reality is that I have little choice. After getting some more details, I head off to the market to find the templar.

***********************************************

I spot my target easily enough. Even discounting that he is the only person wearing plate armour, his shiny white surcoat with red cross and white mantle proudly proclaims his status as a knight templar.

As I watch him from afar, I feel my anger rise. So proud. So arrogant. The templars are welcomed throughout the city for their efforts to bring "peace" to the region. How can these people not see what I see? These templars are false saviours. They are not here to bring peace to the land but to bring the land under their heel. So proud and arrogant. I would love nothing more than to run over and plant my blade in his body - to watch as his pride and arrogance drain out with his blood as his life ebbs away.

I stand in the shadows of a building across the street and watch as he haggles over the price of some plates with a merchant. It would be so easy to just walk over and end his life.

The only problem are the drunken old men. Standing in the middle of the market and yelling obscenities at all and sundry, they would surely accost me, dressed as I am in the robes of a scholar. Attention is the last thing I want. With the guards in the market square closely watching the drunks, it would be all too easy for them to notice the sword strapped underneath my robes if I got into an altercation with the drunks.

So I stand in the shadows. Watching. Waiting.

Eventually, the templar finishes haggling with the merchant and turns to leave. With my hands clasped and raised as if in prayer, nobody notices me as I slip quietly round the outskirts of the market. But then, why would they? I am just another penitent scholar wandering around in a city full of scholars.

I get to the main street leading out of the market square just ahead of the templar and make my way slowly across the street. I track the templar with my peripheral vision as he comes striding up towards me. He doesn't notice me. A lowly scholar crossing the street is beneath his attention.

As he passes me, one step is all it takes for me to slip in behind him. My right arm reaches up and around, clamping down on his mouth and pulling his head back and to the right. A low gurgle is the only sound he makes as the spring mechanism in my left hand plunges the attached blade into his exposed neck.

I am already several paces away by the time his body hits the ground. One of the market guards, more alert than the others, notices the templar slump to the ground. His attention is fixed on the body and he doesn't notice the penitent scholar who brushes past him on his way to investigate the templar. By the time he realises that the templar is dead, I have already rounded the corner and out of view.

They will never know who killed the templar. All they know is that he died from a blade in the crowd.

Assassin's Creed

Wow - my 100th gaming post.
:)

Assassin's Creed is a game I've had my eye on for a while now. It came out a while ago and I didn't buy it at the time primarily because I was playing other games. Unfortunately, after I managed to free up some time, the game had disappeared from the shelves in HK. Despite trolling the various game stores, it just wasn't available.

Luckily for me, Microsoft recently made the game available over Xbox Live as part of its downloadable games service. Furthermore, at a price point of just under $200 bucks, it was cheap enough for me to take the plunge.

The game itself involves you playing Altair who, as you can probably guess from the name of the game, is an hashshashin. Set during the crusades, the Templar's are up to something and its your job to throw a spanner in the works by taking out key members of Templar leadership in the region.

Stuff I liked
Free running - One of the big things about this game is the free running aspect of gameplay. If you don't know what free running (or parkour) is, the best way to find out is by jumping on Youtube and searching for relevant videos as words just don't do it justice.

And the free running is done really well in this game. One minute, you're running down the street being chased by guards. Then, before you know it, you take advantage of several conveniently placed barrels and start jumping across wooden beams suspended in mid air while looking for a way to climb onto the closest rooftop. All the while, your pursuers continue chasing you on the ground.

Pretty exhilarating when it works out well.

Assassinations - Being an assassin, you naturally have a hidden blade to carry out your executions. The blade itself is a spring mounted blade hidden in a leather sheaf on your forearm and all it takes is a button press to reveal the carefully concealed blade.

Assassination itself falls into two types. The first type is a high profile assassination. In this type, you take a running leap at the target before implanting your blade deep into the targets neck. Naturally, everyone and his dog sees this and if there are any guards nearby, you can bet that they will draw their swords and come after you.

The second type of assassination is the silent kill. With the silent kill, all you need to do is get within touching distance of the target without being spotted. At this point, a quick blade into the target later, no one is the wiser as to whats happened leaving you to walk away from the scene of the crime. All a nearby guard will see is the victim falling to the ground. And as they walk over to investigate whats going on, you can serenely saunter past them and lose yourself in the crowd.

As I walk away, I can just imagine a slight smile on Altair's face as he contemplates another successful kill.

Combat - Of course, you have more options than to just run or walk away. Even if you are spotted, it's not always a problem as Altair is a master swordsman. Combat in this game is not only visceral, but it is lethal (for your opponents at any rate).

Killing someone is pretty easy in this game as you have loads of options. If you time your attack combo properly, then that is an instant kill as you bat aside his sword and turn him into a kebab with your own blade. Alternatively, you can wait until your opponent attacks before initiating a spectacularly gruesome counter kill by swaying out of the way of his sword before turning him into a kebab with your blade. Then again, you could grab him and throw him against a wall or onto the ground before quickly switching to your hidden blade and turning his neck into a kebab with your blade.

This may sound like I have some deep seated psychological issues but the combat is gruesome, spectacular and very satisfyingly fun.

Animation - Of course, all of the above would be wasted if the animation and graphics weren't up to scratch. And in this regard, Ubisoft have done a great job. Altair is beautifully animated and moves around with the skill and grace of an Olympic level athlete. All of his runs, jumps, pirouettes, dives, rolls etc etc etc are all captured extremely well and really sells you on the premise that Altair is a master swordsman and athlete...

Stuff I didn't like
Master athlete? - ... which makes it extremely surprising when you find out that our master athlete doesn't know how to swim.

One section of the game has you wandering around the docks. This section is great as you find yourself jumping between boats, wooden beams and poles sticking out of the water. However, its not so great when you accidentally fall into the water and drown even though all you have to do is reach out your hand and grab onto the boat.

Sigh...

Informers - Some of the side missions which you can complete involve helping out some informers. These informers are actually a part of your assassins guild and they have useful information regarding your target that they will impart to you if you help them collect some flags within a set time limit.

Excuse me, but wtf?

I'm on a mission from Al Mualim, the supreme leader of the assassins guild, to stop a nefarious plot by the Templars and the informer, as a member of the same guild, has been ordered to help me. However, this help (and its worth remembering at this point that the only help they give you is information) is only available if I collect some pissant little flags within 3 minutes?

I've got a better idea. Why don't I kick the shit out of you before dragging your sorry little ass to our glorious leader so you can explain exactly how much hashish you've been smoking.

To be fair, not all of the informer missions are flag collections but still...


There are a couple of other nitpicky stuff (for example, as with most open world games, a bit more variety would be nice) but overall, this is a quality game with some really nice ideas and a definite thumbs up from the Meister. Having learned from this first game, it will be really interesting to see what Ubisoft do with Assassin's Creed II.

FM 2006 - Season 2030/31

Another season finishes. Unfortunately, these are dark, dark days for Liverpool.

The Problem is identified
I actually knew that I was going to be in trouble as soon as the new season started.

From the very first game, my vaunted Liverpool side, with strikers valued at over GBP60million, had trouble scoring. For some unknown reason, and for the first time in decades, my strikers couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

At first, it didn't prove too big a problem as despite my lack of goal scoring, my defence was doing a marvelous job. No matter what the opposition threw at us, my defence somehow always managed to prevent a goal. Fantastic one on one saves? Check. Last ditch tackle from a defender catching up from behind? Check. Last ditch foul on attacker by the last defender? Check as well, unfortunately - still, we stopped the opposition from scoring and would still manage to either hold on for a draw or a win despite being down to 10 men.

The Problem rears its ugly head
Unfortunately, my defence couldn't keep it up.

To be fair, I knew this would happen sooner or later anyway. In the past, both Van Dijk and Orlando have had patches of bad form during the season. I knew that sooner or later, one or both of them would start playing badly and my Liverpool team would start to leak goals. My only hope was that my strikers would recover their form in time to gloss over any loss in form of my defence.

And so this was the position as we entered late March 2031. Sure enough, my defence started to leak goals. Unfortunately, my strikers didn't up their game. And so for a period of around a month, my Liverpool side became punching bags for every Tom, Dick and Harry who wanted a piece of the "Champions". As they reeled drunkenly from match to match, I desperately tried different ways of motivating my team, all to no avail.

In the end, we got knocked out of both the FA Cup and the Champions League at the quarter final stage (the shame!!!). That's right, my streak of winning consecutive Champions League Cups has finally been broken.

Naturally, it was at this point, after it was too late, that they finally started to play like champions again.
>:(

The Premiership
Anyway, despite my poor showing in the Champions League, I managed to walk away with the Premiership largely thanks to the efforts of my defence. You can see the final league table here:

As you can see from the table, although I walked the Premiership, this was largely due to me not having any real competition. Bolton came second but they only managed to pick up 67 points which is pretty pathetic for second place. Also, no idea what happened to Aston Villa who only got 56 points this year.

As you can see, I only managed 89 goals this year which is pretty poor when you consider that I normally get over 100 (or come very close to getting 100). Just to give you an idea of how bad my strikers were doing initially, 29 of those goals came in the last nine games after I had been knocked out of Europe. Incidentally, I let in six goals over the same period.

This really gives you a measure of how well my defence had been playing. Over the first 29 games of the season, they only let in 10 goals which is a pretty incredible stat.

The Squad
As per usual, you can find the details of my squad below.




As you can see, Massimo Orlando has done a great job this year and really challenged Van Dijk for the GK position. In fact, by the end of the year, they were playing equal amounts of games as I rotated them equally. Van Dijk really didn't like being relegated to a squad player (he was previously a first team player) and grumbled about this which led me to try and offer him and some cash in exchange for Silva (my current Brazil GK who is also a world class shot stopper). Unfortunately, Silva wasn't available for sale. Anyway, Orlando's jump in value is a direct result of his impressive performances.

Fernandez picked up a pretty bad injury this year. This is why Stuart Baines got so much playing time. Baines really stepped up to the plate while Fernandez was injured. This wasn't that big a surprise though, as when he was a kid, he was rated as a hot prospect and he has always tended to play well in the past. Unfortunately, despite playing brilliantly most of the time, he tends to fold a little in the big matches. Incidentally, this is also why he has never been my first choice DC.

John Farrell and Andy Rogers is a funny case. You may recall that I initially signed Andy Rogers as a hot prospect and John Farrell as a forth string CM. Unfortunately, during the preseason, John Farrell picked up an injury which meant that Andy Rogers got a chance to play a lot earlier then I initially planned. Luckily for me, Rogers stepped into my team like a duck to water. In fact, he played so well that Farrell remained in the reserves even after he recovered from his injury. In fact, if it hadn't been for Marcio picking up an injury during the year (and hence not being available as I was getting knocked out of both the FA Cup and the Champions League), Farrell would have gotten a lot less playing time.

My patience with Danielle Galli has also run out. Galli is an annoying player in that he can play brilliantly at times. Unfortunately, most of the time, he is either average (rating of 7) or non-existent (rating of 6). Anyway, I've decided to cash in on his value and sell him while I can still get some good moolah for him.

The biggest disappointment this year has been Sanchez. Although he did manage to score 19 goals (can you believe NONE of my strikers got past the 20 goal mark?), this just isn't good enough considering that I pay him over GBP80,000 per week. Again, I have decided to try and sell him to cash in while he still has some value.

On the plus side, I'm very happy with Ross Mills. Although he only managed an average rating of 7.13, he did manage to score 18 goals. Pretty impressive considering he was only 19 years old by the end of the season.

I'm also very happy with the contribution from Ian Carter. He is 21 now and managed to get a few games during the year. He really impressed during these games (he managed an average rating of 7.47). Granted, a lot of the games he played in were against lesser opposition but considering how well he has done, I think its time to give him a bigger role in the team.


So that's the position with Liverpool as we wrap up season 2030/31. Its going to be a massive off season for us as I try to bring in some new players to galvanise the team and make sure I start winning the Champions League again.

Ghostbusters - Multiplayer impressions

Wow – things have been hectic lately at the weekends (what with training courses, Gerry’s swimming lessons etc) and updates to my gaming blog seems to have taken a bit of a hit as a result! To make up for it, here are my impressions of the multiplayer portion of Ghostbusters on a weekday (this way, it only looks like I skipped one post!!).

The multiplayer itself is generally comprised of you and up to three other ghostbusters bustin' ghosts within a relatively small environment. There are several different game types which you can play. Some of them will simply be your team trying to catch as many ghosts as possible within the timeframe. Others involve you trying to either destroy or protect artifacts from the ghosts. And with the success of Horde mode on Gears of War, its nice to see a survival mode here as well where your team tries to survive waves of ghosts coming after you.

One of the things that the developers did right was to make the multiplayer co-operative in nature as you are always fighting ghosts. The only competition comes in the form of you trying to get a higher score than your teammates. This game just wouldn't work in a deathmatch type scenario and thankfully, the developers realized this.

Anyway, you may recall that I really enjoyed the game when I recently gave my impressions on the singleplayer portion of the game. Unfortunately, my thoughts on the multiplayer are much less ambivalent. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I think the multiplayer portion of the game is pretty poor for several reasons.

Feel – One of the things which made the singleplayer game stand out was how well the developers managed to capture the feel of the original ghostbusters movies. A large part of this was the characterization of the various ghostbusters. As I said in my previous post, the characterization is spot on.

However, as you might expect, the multiplayer game doesn't have any of this. Its simply you and three other people running around in a room blasting ghosts. Why is this a problem? In itself, it isn't.

The problem for Ghostbusters is that other games have done multiplayer superbly well. Just as when I was playing Rainbow Six: Vegas multiplayer, a similar situation occurred and I started to wonder – why am I playing this? Although the multiplayer wasn't bad per se, it just wasn't anywhere as good as the multiplayer in other games. Just as with R6:V, the strengths of this game don't match up well to how the multiplayer is structured. As I said before, it's a real shame that Ghostbusters doesn't have a co-op campaign mode.

Lag – The other thing which really bugs me about this game is that it suffers badly from lag. To give you an example, when I first started playing, I was pretty much always in last position and only managed to come 3rd in very rare circumstances. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think much of this at first as I was still learning how the multiplayer game plays and most of the time, the lag isn't visually noticeable (most of the time). However, its noticeable often enough that I decided to setup matches and let people join me instead of me joining them.

I immediately started to come first in pretty much every match I played. I'm pretty honest about my capabilities as a gamer. After years of playing video games, I know I'm not bad at them. I also know that I'm nowhere near good enough to be able to consistently come first when playing ranked matches online unless I have a significant advantage.

Ghostbusters - Singleplayer impressions

Not long ago, I mentioned that I was really looking forward to the new Ghostbusters game. As you can probably guess from the title of this post, I now have the game and if you have been paying attention to my gamerscore, then you will know that I have completed the singleplayer campaign.

In other words, no better time than now to give my impressions of the singleplayer game!

Stuff I liked!
Fan service - This game is probably the ultimate in fan service and is what changes this from an okay action game into a fun experience for ghostbusters fans. The developers have done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit and essence of the movie. At every turn, you find subtle and not-so-subtle pointers to the original movies. The sound of the proton pack charging up, the reappearance of Stay Puft, the use of direct quotes as achievements - I could go on, but I would be here all day!

All of these touches help transport you back 25 years to when the movie was first released. All of the reviews seem to have picked up on this but it really does bear mentioning again - if you are a ghostbusters fan, you will enjoy this game.

Characters - Although linked to the fan service point above, this point is so cool that its worth repeating on its own. The original writers (Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis) were involved in the script and it shows as the characterisation of the ghostbusters is spot on. Venkman is still the smooth talking "game show host" that he is in the movies, Stantz is still spouting off technobabble with boyish eagerness, Spengler is still the verbose scientist and Zeddemore is still the straight talking ordinary Joe. Seeing these characters interact with each other the way that you would expect them to makes a huge difference.

Creepy - One of the things which the developers managed to do was make the game really creepy. There are quite a few areas where you are wandering around with your goggles equipped and your PKE meter out. Naturally, in this kind of situation, you can't fire your proton pack so you are on edge a little bit anyway. Throw in some dark corridors, creepy ghost noises, flying bookshelves and the steadily increasing beep-beep-beep of your PKE meter as you get closer to the ghost and you can easily understand why the game is scary. Naturally, I played in the dark with the lights off as well.

Bustin' ghosts - Some reviews actually dinged the game for the repetitive nature of capturing ghosts which is one of the areas where I disagree with reviewers. In my opinion, the game actually does a good job of mixing up the types of ghosts you face - some of them need to be captured while others need to be obliterated (I believe neutronised is the technical term). In fact, according to the end of game stats, there are actually more ghosts that need to be obliterated than there are ghosts that need to be captured although this number will be skewed slightly by the fact that some of the minor ghosts can be obliterated quite easily.

And this doesn't even take into account the boss fights. In any event, the key point is that I never got bored with grappling ghosts into the trap.

Dislikes!
AI - I know its very easy to bash AI and that all of the reviews have already done so - but its just not possible to comment on this game without mentioning the AI. In short, the AI of your squadmates really is atrociously bad.

There are a couple of areas near the end of the campaign where you literally spend more time running around trying to heal the other ghostbusters than you do shooting at ghosts. In fact, there were a couple of times when all I did was run around healing ghostbusters (eventually the ghosts knocked me down and I had to reload as, without me healing them, everybody else died within 2-3 seconds). This just shouldn't happen - not even if you are playing on the hardest difficulty setting.

PS If you have watched Yahtzee's review of the game, his description of "retard roundup" is absolutely spot on.

Rookie - The other thing I disliked was the fact that you played a nameless mute. Throughout the entire game, you never speak and are only ever referred to as rookie, intern, new guy etc etc. I've heard all the reasons why this was done (eg to not taint the original ghostbusters, to let people be the rookie without breaking their immersion and, based on the end credits, to set up possible game sequels where the "rookie" sets up a new ghostbusters franchise in a different city) but really, what a cop-out. It really made the cutscenes and story feel weaker for having them jump around the 5th mute ghostbuster.

No coop - This isn't really a dislike per se. However, I really think they missed an opportunity here as I think this would have made a great co-op game.


Overall, a thumbs up from the Meister and a recommendation for you to play this game - but only if you can identify who made the below quotes!

"Yes, its true. This man has no dick."
"Listen ... do you smell something?"
"I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought"
"when someone asks you if you're a God, you say YES!"

FM 2006 - Brazil in the North American Gold Cup

You may recall that I took up international management again (specifically, Brazil). During the course of season 2030/31, myBrazil side took part in the North American Gold Cup.

You can see the results below. Hoozah, a tick in the tourney win column for me!

Although I won the tournament though, it wasn't a great performance by any measure. The toughest team I faced was Mexico (not exactly world class) and they almost took me out. In fact, in the end, I only won via penalties.

What was most disappointing was that my team didn't play particularly well. Its one thing to lose to a drug induced GK but its altogether more annoying when your own team doesn't do well.

This ain't an isolated incident either. In some of the friendlies, I've struggled against strong opposition. In fact, I lost the following friendly against Spain (so far, my Brazil team is nil for two against world class opposition in friendlies).

Anyway, my current Brazil squad below: