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The evergreen Football Manager has been released for yet another season and it is as compelling as when it first hit the market many moons ago. There must be a version of this game for just about every micro on the market (and I can even remember a ZX81 version!).

The game is essentially a text game of strategy and planning, buying, selling, transferring and selecting players to get your team strength as high as possible in five areas: energy, morale, defence, midfield and attack before playing a match. Full league tables, promotion and relegation, FA Cup and the option to save or load a game is provided.

The graphic replay of match highlights is an effective way of adding tension to displaying the results, better than a simple pause and you can really get into it. I actually cheered or groaned as goals were scored for or against us.

This is the ultimate accolade, and this is probably one of the best strategy and simulation programs on the market, time has not aged it at all.

An important consideration with this kind of game is the ease with which you can grasp the essentials and the degree of options during play. The clear, well designed screen displays make it simple to read and understand, even without resorting to the detailed instructions supplied, and the variations are plenty, including the occasional "luck" or random element. if you are keen on this sort of program then Football Manager is an absolute must, and if you are not sure if this type of game is your forte, then this is the one to try. You'll soon be hooked!

A Monster Hit.