Customer Reviews

World Wide Soccer Manager 2009

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

One of the biggest time traps of all time. This game will suck you in and spit you out hours later, you will jump for joy as you draw Man U at home and then cry next week when you lose to a relegation team. 09's AI is extremely intelligent and gone are the days where one uses the same formation and tactic through an entire season, now you literally have to make changes almost every 15 minutes. With plenty of new features and a flawless game engine, this game is the best [........] you will ever spend.

Ok, this game is like crack for soccer fans, play it at your own risk. When you find yourself playing all night without feeling tired, and finally force yourself to go to bed at five because the morning starts creeping through your window, you'll probably be thinking of what you'll be doing next, another transfer, play this young brazilian winger more often to improve his stats, change to a more aggressive formation for the next game or chose to play long balls to your anchor man ... really, there should be a little sticker on top of that box, a friendly warning just to let you know what you're getting into.

This game is absolutely fantastic but whatever you do, do not use Valve's steam, the application is buggy, you won't be able to play when you want because the server is unavailable, and their support is either non existant or impossible to reach : dead email accounts, no phone numbers, nada, I can't even log into my own account on their support page ... literally, a waste of money.

Very simple, if you loved 2008 then buy this one, the updated game graphics (3d) alone are completly worth it. Also, the fact that your player rankings are in decimal (ie, 6.5) makes a subtle but very importance difference for you being able to tell who is performing and who is not. The rest of the game mostly looks and feels the same. They say the scouting and transfer engine have been re-written, I will take their word for it, most of it looks the same up front, though the intelligence is supposed to be better.

Wow, ...... I've been plaing it for a week and have spend more time on the PC then on anything else including sleeping.

Start with a team with lower expectation, it will take you a season to get into it. I agree, the AI is very sharp.
This game is joy to play !!! Hard and rewarding.

The only problem is that whan I try to check for updates it displays a SEGA web page in browser with error message.
There are updates available for "Worldwide Footbal manager" but not for "Worldwide Soccer manager" :(
Since I want to play with the latest transfers I'd like to update but I am not sure if that is the wise thing to do since the update is for the european market.
?


HIGHLY RECOMENDED !!!

This game is just so....soo involving. You can actually make so many subtle adjustments that you badly wanted in the FIFA series. Respond to the press, give pep talk to team/players, interact with players.
And lo...you make one shoddy statement, say that a player is performing well when he's actually not, and some might even get back at you thorugh the press!

Here is how it goes....you start off as a new manager of any club you like, (almost....they even have clubs and players from India). Then everything is in your hands. Transfers, payroll, training, critical changes in match, motivating team(down to individual playes at times...wow!) and a host of other features. And wondeful part is that you almost get a real time feedback on your actions.
The AI is also pretty strong, so do not take the low ranked teams lightly, else upset wins/ draws are not uncommon.
Defintely a market leader in terms of offering you control.

However, be warned, that actual match would need much lesser attention, the game's not how good you with the controls, it completely handsoff. You just get to manage the games, not play them. You cannot hear any sound other than in the match mode. Also the match visual is badly done, a shock if you are coming from FIFA series! It dates back to mario stage.
And yes, it does crashes every now and then, so remember to keep on saving after you've won an imp match or made a great transfer. All this cons make me give it a 4 star.

Summary, if you are looking for actual gameplay of football, i'd say this one is more for the behind the scene strategists! Coming from the FIFA series, I miss playing the game, but the rest keeps me glued for hours at a stretch!

Updated on 2 Feb 09:
I had a problem with this game, when my laptop shut down abruptly. The save game file got corrupted. The tech support from Sega was amazing. Although they did not hit the solution right away, the replies were prompt, and they finally got it resolved in a week. It left a feel-good factor. Thumbs up Sega!

The database is great and I love the player ratings, but if you get this game, be prepared to endure more frustration than any real-life soccer manager would ever have. You'll be toying with tactics (and sliders) that Sir Alex Ferguson never heard of, and would never use. You'll watch 1,000 different silly ways your team will lose a game, i.e. goalies dribbling out of the box and getting skinned over and over again, defenders who are rated with no pace out-sprinting your fastest strikers all over the field. You will rarely win on the road unless you crawl into a defensive shell, and teams that have players with the poorest ratings might beat you because you said one thing wrong in your press conference. Your players will get injured so often you'll be afraid to play them. And the game was released with so many problems they didn't test for, they've already released 2 full patches. The game has become a bit farcical and removed from reality. Yet, it's almost definitely the most realistic simulation out there. Your move.

WSM 2009 is a fascinating simulation of managing a professional soccer team. As manager it seems you have many of the same decisions to make as do the real managers. Dealing with the board, choosing the players who will play, deciding on formations and making tactical decisions, and answering questions at the press briefings before and after the match (and your responses can affect the morale of players on your team). All this and much more is included in WSM. It's not an easy simulation to master. It has a fairly steep learning curve - in five matches at the English League Two level I've had 2 draws and 3 losses. But I now watch soccer matches on TV with a very different perspective.

There are a few things I think could be improved. It can be difficult learning to find your way between different screen displays. The team's financial information is very sparse. And the player's manual is set in type so small it looks like the small print on an insurance form. And WSM is somewhat addicting. Like with any good game, once you begin a playing session it's difficult to stop. Unless, of course, the opposing team has just scored the winning goal in the last 30 seconds of injury time.

I've been playing this series for the last 10 years and its definitely the most addictive game ever! The AI engine is the best ever. This is not for those who prefer graphics over game simulation.

Bug: I've been playing the WSM 2009 this last week and the game starts hanging with "Array Index out of Bounds" when I switch to TV view. This has happened about 2 times today and its really frustrating to play a few games all over again. I have rated it 3 stars till they get this fixed.

great game for those of you who have plenty of time. that is only downfall in my opinion, because now that i actually have a job and coach, i can only dedicate maybe 30-45 minutes a day on this game. other than that, it includes everything you ever wanted to do as a manager of a football team. btw, if the game does not load, turn off the 3d match engine and everything will work smoothly.

I play this game way too much. Thankfully I can pace myself between playing and doing my work and reading at school.