Category: Reviews

Retro Review: Giant Killers

Published on by Chris Fuller

If you’ve followed Fuller FM for a while, you’ll know that every once in a while, I like to look at some football management games from outside of Sports Interactive’s catalogue. The quality doesn’t always compare well to Football Manager, but every now and then, a decent bargain comes along.

Today’s review is going to be a bit different from my previous ones. For starters, instead of reviewing a free-to-play or cheap alternative to FM, I’m going back over 20 years for my first ever Retro Review.

So what am I reviewing today? Ultimate Soccer Manager? Premier Manager? Unfortunately not, but once I can get my hands on one of those games, I’ll be sure to review them for you lot right here.

Instead, I’ve been playing a title that is rather less glamorous – and far more obscure – than its late-1990s adversaries. It’s time to look at Giant Killers. Continue reading “Retro Review: Giant Killers” →

Review: Premier Manager 10

Published on by Chris Fuller

It’s time for another of my occasional football computer game reviews. This is the oldest game I’ve reviewed so far, having come out back in 2009 – when the world was gripped by a pandemic (and an ongoing financial crisis), and Manchester was home to the Premier League champions. How times change.

Despite being a decade out of date, this game dropped on Steam in April, offering some retro football gaming action for only a couple of quid. At such a low price, surely it’s worth a shot… isn’t it?

The name may inspire nostalgia in gamers of a certain age, but does this game live up to its reputation? Let’s look at Premier Manager 10.

Continue reading “Review: Premier Manager 10” →

Review: Soccer Manager 2020

Published on by Chris Fuller

Last spring, I started an occasional series here on Fuller FM where I review football management computer games from outside the Sports Interactive catalogue.

The very first game I reviewed was Soccer Manager 2019. I was pretty scathing of that game, particularly singling out its ‘ice-skating’ players and its obsession with microtransactions, and gave it only 2 stars out of 5. (That review also happened to be one of my most-viewed blog posts of 2019.)

The sequel has been on Steam for a while now, so I thought I’d see for myself if things have changed for the better over the past year. Here is my honest review of Soccer Manager 2020…

Continue reading “Review: Soccer Manager 2020” →

Review: New Star Manager

Published on by Chris Fuller

Hello there, folks. This is Chris from Fuller FM, back once again with another of my occasional soccer management game reviews.

I bought a couple of Football Manager alternatives during Steam’s winter sale right at the end of last year. I reviewed Club Soccer Director PRO 2020 a few weeks ago and wasn’t exactly gushing with praise… but maybe this next title will be more to my liking? Seeing as it comes from a developer with over 15 years of developing quality football games, the signs look promising.

New Star Manager, this is your time to shine. Don’t let me down.

Continue reading “Review: New Star Manager” →

Review: Club Soccer Director PRO 2020

Published on by Chris Fuller

It’s been a while since I did one of these reviews, isn’t it? With that in mind, I guess it’s time to have a look at one of the newest football management games available on Steam right now.

I picked this particular title up in Steam’s winter sale and played through a season in the first week of the new decade. Is it any good? Well…

Strap yourselves in, folks, because this is Club Soccer Director PRO 2020.

Continue reading “Review: Club Soccer Director PRO 2020” →

My thoughts on Football Manager 2020

Published on by Chris Fuller

As you might have noticed, things have been a little quiet here at Fuller FM lately. I took about a month away from blogging for health reasons and then started a weekly career series on Championship Manager 99/00 (you can find Part 1 and Part 2 in the links provided).

Why nothing about Football Manager 2020 yet? Well, unlike with Football Manager 2019 (and Football Manager 2017 as well), I didn’t pre-order the latest version or play it on launch. Instead, I held fire and waited for the demo, which came out alongside the full version on the evening of Monday 18 November.

So, for the past week-and-a-half, I’ve been getting to grips with FM20 while taking the reins at Birmingham City for six months. Here are my thoughts on the latest installment of Sports Interactive’s hit franchise… Continue reading “My thoughts on Football Manager 2020” →

Review: Women’s Soccer Manager

Published on by Chris Fuller

Welcome to another of my occasional reviews of a football management PC game that is outside Sports Interactive’s catalogue. With the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicking off this week in France, I thought I’d look at one of the few computer games that covers women’s football.

I have been playing this particular game for about a month now, which is perhaps a promising sign. However, I can’t find a single professional review online, and Steam’s reviews are a minefield of sarcasm, poorly-written banter and open sexism (no surprises there). I hope that you will find this article more informative and useful.

So let’s not delay any longer. Let me introduce you to Women’s Soccer Manager. Continue reading “Review: Women’s Soccer Manager” →

Review: Soccer Manager 2019

Published on by Chris Fuller

Contrary to what you might think, Fuller FM is not a blog solely dedicated to the Football Manager series. Every now and then, I will also cover any other football management computer games – retro or modern – that catch my eye.

This is the first installment of a new, occasional series in which I will review a pretender to Sports Interactive’s virtual football throne. I’ll look into the background of each game, explain which features I liked or didn’t like, and then give a star rating out of 5. The top Champions League-quality games are awarded 5*, and the hapless Sunday Leaguers only get 1*.

Today, I will be looking at a free game that I have been playing on-and-off over the last few weeks. I think Rock Paper Shotgun summed it up pretty well when they labelled it “a scrappier and slimmer FM”. Welcome to Soccer Manager 2019. Continue reading “Review: Soccer Manager 2019” →