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GAME REVIEWED: Premier Manager '99

RELEASED BY: Gremlin

PRICE: £44.99

REVIEWED BY: A.K.

REVIEW: -

Premier Manager '99 has a lot to live up to because it's predecessor, Premier Manager '98, set the standards for football management simulation, and they were pretty good standards indeed.

The main additions to the game are sponsors, ground improvements, whole new squad interface and new training options. The best addition though is the opportunity to enter the Italian Leagues and manage any Italian team in Serie A or B. The game includes up-to-date English and Italian divisions and player information, and passport like photos of most of the players in the game, which you only get to see if you're negotiating the player's contract. The ageing system has been improved so that world class players aren't playing for third division teams when they are forty years old.

The transfer market isn't much different than the one featured in Premier Manager '98 with all the available players, showing their name, rating, value and status. You can still make offers for players not available on the transfer market. If you don't have enough money to buy a player you can always send a scout out to keep track of his performances.

The game design isn't all that different from the first game also and you still can't see the game as it is being played but you can still change your formation or tactics during the game while staring at the screen watching the clock running up to the ninetieth minute. You do though get to see the highlights of each game you manage, if you wish to. The highlights were made using the improved Actua Soccer 3 game engine and still has commentary from Barry Davies.

The biggest disappointment of the game is again the inclusion of only one Scottish football team, this time it is Celtic (Boo!) and the exclusion of the rest of the teams in the Scottish League.

The game still includes injuries, penalty points, contracts and training to keep the player alert so he can still put his best team out each week. the in-game music has improved slightly, but doesn't stop the game getting boring after a few hours game-play.

Some players may think Premier Manager '99 is too much like Premier Manager '98. It is addictive for the first few days, then you have to leave it a couple of day to play it again so you don't get bored. The new additions mentioned at the start, make Premier Manager '99 the best football management simulation out for the Playstation at the moment. Still room for a lot of improvement, for example watching the game as it is played and a full list of Scottish teams. The game attracted a lot of gamers when Gremlin added an option of building your stadium. Most gamers were dissapointed to find that you could not actually see you stadium while and after building it up. In our opinion at CCM Reviews, Gremlin will have to add the option of seeing your stadium to attract more punters. If this option was added in Premier Manager 3 then it will be the best managment game for the Playstation. But Gremlin should get some competition this year with a management sim release from Eidos and Anco. But for now this is the best football management simulation available.

 

SCORE:

87%

LINKS: www.gremlin.com


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Last updated: March 20, 1999.