My first impression was, 'this is **** and it's basically FM10 and it's not worth paying £30 for'..
But, the longer I've played the more I'm enjoying it, I still don't know if I'll buy the full game yet. I like the match preparation, I've used it to my advantage already with Aston Villa when I was about to play Stoke and a week in advance chose to practice defending set pieces, and they didn't cause us a problem from them all game. It's a great feature in the game and really help's the tactical side of the game, and making it more in-depth.
The 3D replay thing is alright, it's okay to watch. Generally the 3D is better this year though, when your watching the game in 3D, as your about to watch a highlight the 3D kinda blends in and doesn't just jump out of no where when there's a highlight, and it makes the game flow a bit more, so it seems.
I like the agents part, it's alot more fun and interesting negotiating with a player's agent, and seeing if you can get a cheeky cheap deal on the players contract. Also, because of the agents some quality players are going cheap where they're offering the players out to you and ridiculously cheap prices. I've already been offered Santa Cruz at £3.5m, Phillipe Mexes for £5.5m, and Bassong for around £4.6m. Generally it makes the game a lot of fun, and you get a bit of a buzz off getting those players on the cheap and it feels like a nice achievement.
I've already started a save with Aston Villa, and bought some players like Coentrao, Zamora, and Enyeama, and all of the negotiations went on for a while due to how long the agent will go with you to get a deal done. The ME (match engine) is good, I haven't found any faults in it at all yet, and you can really play how you want to play on this game. If you're looking for flowing football, that's what you'll get without doubt if the tactics are right. I've already seen my Villa team pass Chelsea off the park and win comfortably 3-0.
Also the interaction and chat system is brilliant. You can really talk to your players this year in an easier interface to use aswell, it's all a 1 click thing, choose your answer and you'll go onto your next question or you'll end the conversation. I haven't really tried talking to my board properly yet as I was given £18m at Aston Villa so didn't need to ask for funds etc.. but you can ask for the board to fund the transfer of a player if you haven't got the money, and you even get the chance to try and persuade them into doing it in a conversation, giving examples of how the player would be a benefit to the club and why they should fund the move.
The game is good with these points, and it does make it sound like a quality game, but FM 2010 isn't far off this on my first impression. It's basically the same, except for the agents, the match preparation, and also the new interaction system.
It's a fun game and I'd definitely recommend giving the demo a download, whether you buy the full game for around £30 for a few new add on's and a bit of an improvement in the match engine, it's up to you.
