Championship Manager 4 - PC

Football management fans, the wait is over - Championship Manager 4 is here at last. The management game to end all management games? Could well be, as this time around, Sports Interactive pulls out all the stops for CM4, and then some.

Championship Manager has long been regarded as the daddy of the footy management sim, and rightly so. The amount of club and player information alone is staggering, and the developer's worldwide net of willing (and unpaid, according to the official CM magazine) researchers certainly provide plenty of choice regarding potential world-beating teams and players. Fancy managing Supersport United in the South African league? A couple of clicks will secure you the job. How about taking Doncaster Rovers through the Conference play-offs and into the Nationwide proper? Thrilling stuff if you can manage it, and therein lies the rub. Any management game is potentially full of frustrations as well as delights - that's why we keep coming back. We are, it would seem, gluttons for punishment. Real football management at the top of the tree - Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSG and the like - must be something of a dream job. The pressure is always on, yes, but there will be pressure to succeed, and maybe even survive, wherever you manage, and that applies to the clubs in CM4. So, whether you're going for the Premiership title with Arsenal or surviving on a shoestring with Barnet, the task before you is spelled out clearly. Failure is not an option.

Championship Manager 4 includes the option to fully customise the coaching of individual players and the way your team trains. There is an enhanced contract negotiation system, and a more efficient and user-friendly network game option with the facility to accommodate up to 16 players. The other major improvement in CM4 is the completely new 2D match engine which allows you to watch the action unfold in full, or just the highlights - it's your call.

Released in the UK at a time when there are just a handful of games left in the British leagues - arguably the most exciting part of the season - Championship Manager 4 will find a ready-made audience for sure. Those who know Sports Interactive's pedigree are assured that CM4 is enough of a leap forward to warrant a purchase and write a different chapter in their chosen team's history. more