A&B Computing


Football Director
By CDS
BBC B/B+/Master 128

 
Published in A&B Computing 6.04

Football Director

Football management games for the Beeb are not new - two or three lurk somewhere in the back of my games collection. So, first, is there room for another one? Secondly, is this the one?

The answers? Yes, and maybe. This is the result of a licensing deal between CDS and D&H Games and it promises "the ultimate football challenge". I'm always suspicious of claims like that but can see that the football fan would find mind in this package to please him - four leagues with twenty teams in each to choose from for a full 38 game season, home and away. Once you've chosen which team to manage, you can inspect your team, swap, trade, sell or buy players and then play games. No graphics here - just a quick run through the game which grants goals to each team with no apparent reasoning. At any stage you can restructure your team, taking time to control your finances through a relationship with your bank.

And it's probably the money element that gives this game its unusual feel - rather more than the usual buy and sell is involved. You have to pay wages, you can mortgage assets to raise capital and you have to bid blind for players on the transfer list. As well as the regular season, you can also play international matches.

Football Director

There is, however, one really serious problem with the game as supplied - the almost complete absence of documentation. As it stands, the game is largely a matter of guesswork and trial and error - although some "helpful hints" are given, such as "The Government charges a 33% tax on player transfers".

This is robust software: there are no obvious flaws, given the need to really enjoy football to want to play it. The lack of graphics are not serious, given that this is a management game, rather than a sports simulation, and the game can be as complex as you want to make it.

Football fans - check this out.

Dave Reeder

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