izigame.me

I'll start in the obligatory way for all FM players' by telling you that I've been playing the series for years (I'm no newbie - heaven forbid!), since 1994 with CM Italia 93/94, so I immediately know what I'm talking about and know everything there is to know about FM and you should shut up and immediately take notice of everything I say! :D
Truth is I have been playing FM/CM for a long time, buying probably every other release in the series steadily since 1999 as I have always been very satisfied and happy playing most releases for at least two seasons (more sometimes!), as more often than not, SI usually hit the back of the net with their award winning management series.
I was going to give FM18 a miss actually and not buy it after being massively disappointed with FM17 due to all the bugs and just "blurgh" game play and feel. The game felt stale and just didn't feel like it belonged on the same team sheet as it's quality predecessors in the series.
However, because of the December Steam sale and being off work with nothing else to play, I was once more tempted back to my favourite game series of all time and decided to give it a try.
After having a quick read through the Steam reviews whilst downloading and installing, I almost regretted my decision seeing the many negative reviews. Had so many of them not been so irrelevant, discussing older features or just generally unreadable, I may have even stopped in my tracks and asked for a refund. I decided to push on and try for myself.
I'm pleased to report I have been playing pretty much constantly since then I am very confident in saying that this game has put the series back on track after a disappointing predecessor, in my opinion. I strongly feel this game will steal much of my gaming time from now until, probably FM20, when I will probably be ready for some new features and updates!
Football has changed over the last decade or so - it's changed massively even in the last two seasons with these huge transfer fees and player power being so strong now I'd say. It's not just about the weekend match and winning stuff anymore and this is something FM has always struggled to emulate.
Traditionally we all loved the core principals of FM, taking charge of our favourite club, turning around it's fortunes with a mix of solid tactical changes and drills, clearing out the dead wood and buying our own, hand picked stars (often exciting unknown talent from abroad!) and flooding our youth teams with wonderkids and watching them develop over the following seasons.
This is a steadfast formula that FM has followed since, well since CM2 really. Yes, all the new features, match engine tweaks and 2D & 3D graphics are nice and add some new elements to the game play, but as long as the core elements of the game remained the same we've loved the game.
I think over the last couple of releases though FM has felt a bit stale and not been able to fully immerse players in the current football world, despite SI's best efforts to do so, introducing a few new systems and features.
Finally in FM18 these features, such as social networks, player power, dressing room dynamics, enhanced AI behaviors, increased attributes, scouting networks etc. have all started to come together and make FM "feel" like a an immersive simulation of the modern game, and not at the cost of sacrificing the core elements of what we all play the game for. These new elements do present a more challenging and rewarding environment and give you a lot more to thing about and juggle within your careers. I get the impression this game is no longer the scripted game you master after a few "test" careers, learning which are the best players to sign, who are the best coaches to employ etc.
The game employs circumstance, no two clubs are the same and there's a much more dynamic feel to how a season plays out. Don't get me wrong, SI have not perfected this yet and there's still a long way to go, but the whole game feels a lot less robotic than any previous version.
The new Scouting network features are fantastic and really have made the process of identifying, scouting and trying to sign players a lot more how I imagine it would be for clubs. The squad dynamics feature is also very interesting and adds a new layer of complexity to managing and mentoring your squad. It's a nice step forward from the previous versions, where player management just seemed to be players constantly getting pissed off at you if you pressed anything but the correct multi-choice answer. Now player mentalities, personalities and dressing room hierarchy seem to play more of a role help to take the irritation out of this side of the game.
One of the biggest complaints I read about of this game though was the decision to drop the 2D match engine - which I myself thought would be a big deal too, as I only ever really used this view after reluctantly adopting it from the text based game. However, after some slight improvements the 3D match engine quickly grows on you and is just as good for identifying issues with tactics. It's smooth and easy to watch and doesn't feel as rigid as previous versions but there's still huge leaps needed in this area though! Longer term it would be fantastic to see Fifa style graphics and commentary to make you feel more like you're watching Sky Sports, but I'm sure SI are working towards that long term :)
In fact the graphics area still leaves a lot to be desired, with the creating your own manager still looking awkward and unconvincing, but at least it's on the SI radar and is something they are slowly chipping away at and to be fair this is just a novelty feature anyway, and not crucial to the gameplay.
Crucially though, game play is a lot more intuitive though. The game is relatively easy to pick up and play around with now, without too much information overload. The graphical features to try and simplify all the complex attributes and tactical elements help, but it's mostly the development of the advice screens and interface that have helped this.The mountains of information available have been streamlined nicely, again not perfectly, but miles better than before.
For me, this game is the easiest to pick up and play and the most enjoyable since FM13 or FM14. It's more about gameplay and submersion than box ticking, slider pulling and rigid player rituals. Oh, and the new music at the loading and menu screen is a nice touch too!
While the game still has areas to improve in and continue development, this version will keep you occupied until another more polished version is released!
Really pleased with my purchase and enjoying the game!