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| This is a game from my favourite soccer manager series. It includes the English, Dutch, Italian, German, Spanish, Scottish, French competitions (tell me if I missed one). It has great features and just the basic features every soccer manager game has. In this game, you can not only coach your team, buy players, sell players etc. But you can also look for sponsors, advertisors on the side boards, advertisers in the magazine and more. |
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| Another feature is to build greater or smaller seating capacity and buildings like bars and programme stalls around the stadium. You have contact with your assistent manager, your chairman, your "Alan Agent" and your players. You can't do ingame play or anything, but you can view the match and the graphics aren't too bad. This is not half of what you can do in this game. This is a real topper and I highly recommend it! |
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| Reviewer: Abandon5000 |
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This was my first game for my family's PC and it is hard to surpass if you are a fan of management simulations. To put it succinctly, Ultimate Soccer Manager 98-99 (USM) was way ahead of its time in terms of AI capabilities and the sheer attention the detail put into the gameplay. It is clear this game has been produced very meticulously and this allows the quality to shine through.
When you start the game you have a choice from a number of leagues; the English Premiership, La Liga, Serie A, the list goes on. There are so many impressive features included in this game it is hard to pinpoint one as the most prominent. To start with, unlike the Championship Management series, the player is not restricted to managing the team. Players can enjoy the ability of managing the business side as well as the peformance side of a football club. The management of the business entails such enjoyable extras as setting the prices for season tickets, club shop merchandise (replica shirts etc.) and even the prices of the snack outlets. All profits supplement the finances of the club, which can be used say to improve the condition of the stadium and/or increase its capacity.
Of course, the business side of the game is a pleasant distraction from what players really want to focus on: the team. As a manager you can select your squad and field that team in hope of snatching those ever-crucial three points, naturally. However, the duties of a manager don't stop there. Managers can scrutinise the training routines of the squad to ensure the development of top players. The transfer market has always been an attractive arena to fans of management simulations, as it allows players to wheel-n-deal like Premiership managers such as Harry Redknapp and find a diamond in the rough, or make an always-enjoyable big-money splash on a football superstars like Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Batistuta or Cantona.
USM 98-99 has many good qualities, and really is a leader in the retro management simulation market. However, like any game it does have its drawbacks. As previously mentioned money can be raised via the business side of the game but cannot be transferred over to a manager's war crest in the transfer market. So, unlike the Championship Manager series, in order to accrue any money for the transfer market (that is, after spending what the club provides) players must be sold before they are bought. This is most annoying if you aim to build a formidable squad filled to the brim with world-beaters. All in all though this game is at the least well worth a punt and at the most it is a challenger for the greatest football management simulation game of all time. |
| Reviewer: Ggizzle12345 |
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| Copyright 2000 - 2008 Abandonware Games 5000 |
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