It’s unlikely to convert fans of the Football Manager series, but LMA Manager 2006 remains the standout alternative if you're looking for one.
Match Engine
The match engine has always been the heart and soul of the LMA Manager series. Others have tried, but have never succeeded in capturing football and integrating the management aspects into the match engine that way in which LMA Manager does. It is the definite alternative if you just don’t like the 2D match engine that Football Manager offers.
One of the noticeable differences between LMA 2005 and LMA 2004 was that the speed in the match engine had increased significantly. LMA 2005 did get rid of a lot of the bugs from the 2004 version, but the speed increase detracted from the realism. LMA 2005 saw high scoring games with every team seemingly able to play at the speed and precision of Brazil. The speed in LMA 2006 has again been dropped back to a more realistic speed, and the annoying niggles are less than ever.
While it’s definitely an improvement over last year, the engine is showing it’s age. There just aren’t as many animations as what you would find in Pro Evolution Soccer, so it limits the abilities of the players somewhat and produces some unrealistic moments. Players still fall over needlessly too often and shooting can do with improvement. There are too many shots hit high and hard and not enough low and placed shots. Players also shoot too often from wide areas when a cross would be a better option.
Cut-scenes have been introduced this year and look similar to what they did in Club Football 2005. You can now create your manager in full 3D and watch him celebrate or show his disappointment as he walks up and down the sideline. Graphically it doesn’t match FIFA or PES but it is an improvement over the close-up graphics from LMA 2005. From the normal viewing camera angle the graphics seem pretty much the same, or even worse, than last year. However the stadiums do have more detail.
The sound has good and bad points. It certainly has a distinct sound of English crowds, and certainly sounds realistic if you play in any league in the UK. However there are times where the sound doesn’t match what’s happening on the pitch. The crowd react early to some shots, with an “oooh?before the ball even reaches the goalkeeper. Then there’s the post-match commentary, which is so bad it makes even PES’s commentary look good.
Technically the match engine is disappointing by today’s standards. However, most importantly, it still reflects the tactics that you set out. This is where other games fail to succeed with the match engine. LMA get the basics right and then add the gimmicks later, while other’s had the gimmicks but not a solid foundation. It is still not the simulation that Football Manager offers, and probably never will be. Unlike Football Manager, you can watch a full match with your own eyes and not have to use up half your day. Not quite as realistic, but after all it is a game and may be what you prefer.
Interface
I have always loved the interface of LMA Manager. Codemasters have put great thought into it, meaning that you can navigate screens with a flick of the left or right trigger. This is how it has been for the past few years and thankfully they haven’t changed it. The interface does have a different look, but is still more effective than ever. Training now has it’s own section and in general it’s easier to find your way around.
Tactics
LMA Manager 2006 features a good amount of tactical options that aren’t a hassle to tweak. You set the tactics with sliders and the graphs help to visualise how the tactics will look in-game. Most of the tactics you set are team tactics, although you can set individual positions and give players role’s such as being the target man.
The level of tactics is not as in-depth as Football Manager. But as I always say with any LMA Manager game, the beauty in the tactics is that you actually notice the changes you made during the 3D matches. 3D match engines have failed in the past because they are pretty but have no core. This is not the case with LMA Manager 2006. Unless you are fanatical about your tactics, you’ll find tactically that LMA Manager 2006 does the job.
Player Database
All the players are rated with sliders and not numbers. The preferred position of players is also represented nicely in a graph, with different shading depending on how preferred that position is, something that has now been adopted by the popular Football Manager series. But again, as you would expect from a console game, it is not quite as in-depth as Football Manager 2006 for the PC. It is not nearly as accurate either. As an Arsenal fan, I notice inconsistencies compared to real life. Such as Robert Pires taking set-pieces with his left foot, Pascal Cygan being rated higher than Kolo Toure or Robin Van Persie preferring to play on the wing rather than as a striker. In general it’s mostly accurate but minor errors like these make it lag behind the likes of Football Manager’s player database.
Transfers
Codemaster have put a lot of emphasis on restructuring the transfer market in LMA 2006. In previous LMA, the options of transfers were rather limited. Worse still was the 1.5x transfer bug that LMA veterans have gotten used to. In previous LMAs, if you offered 50% more than what the player were valued at, you’d pretty much have a guaranteed signing. This is still the case with many transfers in LMA 2006, but clubs now sometimes reject, saying that they will require a huge offer to consider selling that player. You now also have the option of attempting to swap players instead of cash, or if you’d prefer you could attempt to pay via monthly instalments which means you can be more flexible in your negotiating. This was one area Codemasters really needed to improve on and this year they’ve delivered with a much more realistic transfer system.
Scouting
The scouting system in the LMA series has always been a favourite of mine. When assessing players, your scout would first file a rough report on the player and deliver a more accurate one in a few weeks time. The scouts also give an indication on the player’s strengths and weaknesses. I’d imagine that LMA’s scout reports are similar to what real life player scouts would put together. Why other football management games don’t follow LMA’s example in this area is beyond me.
Training
Training has been expanded and now has it’s own dedicated section. The training reports have been expanded so you can now get individual reports on how each player is progressing. This is even available for your youth team players, with recommendations on whether they are good enough to be promoted or not.
But the greatest innovation is the introduction of being able to watch your training matches. Sit back and watch as your A-team faces off against your B-team. This is a great way to assess the type of form your players are in, and can help to unearth some fine players who previously you may not have considered good enough. It’s also handy to test your tactics out so you have some sort of idea how they’ll hold up in a real match.
Adding further to the training is the possibility to upgrade your training facilities. The initial outlay may take a lot from your bank account, but over years you’ll reap the rewards as your young guns benefit from the improved facilities.
Overall
LMA Manager 2006 is not in the same class as Football Manager 2006 in terms of depth and realism. It is more suited for those who prefer a lighter approach and just want to have some fun. It does its job well and with some great innovations there’s every reason to upgrade from LMA 2005 to the 2006 version. It’s clearly the pick of the bunch of console football management games.
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