Football Manager 2000 is a fairly recent release that revolves around the European style of football, also known as soccer. It was both developed and released by Electronics Arts, specifically the United Kingdom faction. This is a fully licensed game that was engineered specifically for the Windows format. It is a management style game, as opposed to sports action.
There are twenty teams available for play from seven different countries. Since the game is fully licensed, all of the teams are actual teams from actual leagues. The user can pick a team any of the domestic leagues, with the goal of leading the team to the Premier League Championship Cup. There are over thirteen thousand fully licensed, realistic statistics-bearing players available. All of the logos, kits and marks for the teams are also featured in Football Manager 2000. The stadiums and pitches also reflect those in the realistic world.
Since this is a management style of game, the user will be in charge of all facets of the team he or she selects. He will have to drag and drop players to the positions he wishes them to play. The team tactics can be accessed through a menu, and the user can designate style of play from aggressive play to penalty takers. The user has to acquire new players and trade away old ones. The user is responsible for scouting and then negotiating contracts for the players he intends to put on the roster. The manager/gamer can also upgrade the stadium by doing things like adding seating, upgrading seating, or changing the drainage situation on the field itself. Ticket pricing is part of the gamer’s responsibility, as is marketing and merchandising. Football Manager 2000 probably focuses more on the non-gaming factors of managing a team than many other games. In fact, it is less realistic because of the amount of say the manager has in these transactions, but it is still more challenging due to this. It is micromanagement at its best.
Graphically speaking, this is also one of the best older games. Most of the renderings of the game play are three dimensional and very well done. The menus and interfaces to access all the management factors are very interesting, colorful and easy to master. This adds to the overall enjoyment of the game. There is enough to deal with in Football Manager 2000 without having to worry about being confused by the interface. Because of the challenge and the short learning curve, this is an excellent classic download. It is a great play as soccer managers go.
Written by:
~Shannon
