A few days ago, on March 19th, this blog turned three years old. In the grand scheme of the internet, that’s quite a long time. Light years, in fact. Estimates say that between 60% to 80% of blogs are abandoned within a month of being set up. I am no stranger to that statistic. In my time, I have setup countless other blogs for varying purposes, only to stop all activity within a matter of days. That’s not necessarily surprising. I think most people don’t know what running a blog – or any website that has regular updates for that matter – involves. Most that are created through services such as Blogger and WordPress.com, are personal memoirs. A public diary of their lives, if you will. There’s your problem. With a market interest of almost nil, and the depressing realisation that little exciting happens in your life that is worth talking about, it’s little wonder people give up so easily.
And it’s not easy either. Nowadays, I struggle to write even on a month basis. A combination of other work and a lack of things to talk about on a regular basis makes writing something every thirty days a challenge. I suppose it’s because of the way I view things. Like many people, I started blogging because I wanted people to hear what I had to say. Apart from the fact I am almost a complete nobody, I’ve realised that writing on a personal website is probably not the best way to go about this. If I want to write about my life (and to be fair for the most part, I don’t), then I can effectively say goodbye to my visitors. There is an undeniable decrease in site traffic whenever I post something about my life or what the Home Secretary has recently said. Evidently, people aren’t interested.
But isn’t that what I orginally setup this blog for? Of course it is, the clue is in the URL. This is my website, come hear what I have to say. I think at times I forget this, with my never ending quest for more visitors. I’ve become so blinded by my obsession in finding small niche-topics to talk about, I’ve created what is now a complex mess of topics with no clear direction. And now this is beginning to hurt. People might come on to see my thoughts on Keek.com, only to find that the next few posts are about Derby County. What’s the solution to this? There is none. I decided to write about a website – that’s it. If it doesn’t bear to make resemblance to what I have written beforehand, then so be it. If I lose visitors then who cares? I want to be a resident internet-writer, but I need people to come follow me, rather than for me to draw them in with a lone-post on something that they may find interesting.
What’s the difference between writing to lure people in, then begging for followers on twitter through retweets? That’s not what it should be about.
And so I need to change my entire mentatility with regards to this website. I’ve got other websites that are far more appropriate for me to channel my obsession with drawing in visitors. Three years ago, I was raging over the Premier League, detailing the day I had a few teeth removed and reviewing some games. That’s what interested me and it is precisely that sort of thing I should return to.
I may have changed as a person in that time, seeing things differently. But I’d sooner return to my blind state of not particularly caring how many people saw my musings, then slave over statistics that indicate site traffic is down on the last month. To hell with that.
Name: iClub Manager
File Size: 9.1mb
Developer/Version: CotrinoApps/1.2.5
Price: £0.69
Football Manager has established itself as the leading brand in Football Management simulation, known for its complexity and attention to detail. In 2009, the series was branched out to the iOS. Though the game was cut down significantly, it remained extensive and has improved on all fronts (on all platforms) to this day, with the latest copy 2012, currently being sold on the app store for £6.99.
Though it is undeniably a good game, it may not be suited to all football fans. Indeed, because Football Manager excells so greatly in its attention to detail, it alienates the casual consumer group, who want a simple, easy to use game which they can play anywhere for any amount of time.
iClub Manager is another one of the growing list of football management simulations that are available for download. The gameplay focuses on picking your teams lineup and formation, deciding who is trained, playing on the transfer market as well as dictating the price of match tickets. There is little beyond this to write home about. Even for the least enthusisatic, there isn’t much here. But by no means is this a bad thing. When you think in terms of its feature list, you almost certainly compare it to its Football Manager counter part, an even to a lesser extent the recent Championship Manager. As far as I’m concerned these are two different games in pretty much all aspects.
The game features a weird and wonderful range of teams, from all around the world including ‘Moscow’, ‘London’, ‘Rio de Janeiro’, and ‘Granada’. As expected, iClub Manager does not hold any of the rights to real-life football teams. However, its inbuilt editor allows you to change team names and budgets so the more committed of you may spend an hour or so converting the teams to the resepective English counterparts.
Nonetheless, the decision to branch out the teams to so many different countries will undoubtably help in its appeal to people around the world. People buying this shouldn’t expect the Premiership. Where the game has been limited, it has capitalised on to provide us with a delightful set of teams to battle out against.
Transfer dealings are heavily simplified, and this works well in the context of the game. There are no transfer windows, instead you can buy and sell players as you please throughout the entire season. In your stages of your career, as you manage lower division teams, you will find yourself heavily restricted on who you can buy. But remain patient and keep monitoring the market as the odd gems are available for a bargain price wich does wonders for your teams position and finances. Selling players is as simple as switching their status to ‘On’ the market. Offers will come in (at varying speeds dependent on the individual circumstances of a player). The AI may come across as stubborn, rarely offering much for my players and in return, asking a lot for theirs, but you will get used to this.
Picking your team is also a very straightforward business and there is little flexibility. There are just six formations to choose from and I found their effects marginal. Because they for the most part serve a very small purpose, you probably won’t be bothered all to much by the lack of choice here.
However, injury crisis’s are to be expected. If your don’t properly prepare yourself (keeping enough backup squad members), your team can be crippled within a matter of weeks. Combine that with the odd suspension and you have a perfect storm, forcing you to pick a heavily weakened team, killing your season. I’m not suggesting this doesn’t happen in real life. As a Derby County supporter, I am more than accustomed to having most of the squad on the medical table. But thse moments can be frustrating. Often they occur out of nowhere to the latter stages of the season and that can really dent your seasons plans, occuring atleast once a season.
Maybe I’m just unlucky to have six first teamers out, with a routine match against a bottom-of-the-league side causing a further two injuries as well as two players getting suspended. Frustrating as it is, it does at least provide a bit of an interesting end to even the most straight forward of seeasons. Indeed, I’m sure these bouts of injury’s are down to something I’m doing (or more so, what I’m not doing) rather than the game itself just being a pain in the arse.
If the worst comes to worst you can field injured players, though your performence will be penalised as a consequence.
Once you’ve decided the weeks plan and laid out the weekened’s lineup, you relinquish control of your team. There is little concept of ‘Matchday’. After a prolonged loading screen, your are given the results of all the matches that have taken place along with goalscorers, sending offs or bookings. It is a matter then of dealing with these and any injuries that have arisen in time for the next match. After this, aside from the occasional transfer deal, or an expansion to your stadium, there is little more to the game.
And why should there be? This is a simple simulation whereby you can get through a whole season in around half an hour. You get straight into the thick of the action without a moments pause. There is no long (and ultimately boring) pre-season campaign to have to contend with, media-conferences to worry about or your relationship with players. You simply strive to build the best team there is and climb the footballing ladder. You are forever bound by your manager rating (maximum of 10 stars) which, along with your performence in the season just gone, determining what jobs are offered to you. You can’t skip the system, you start off small and work your way up. Because the game is quick, this happens within a matter of days and by the end of the week you feel an old hand, possibly journeying through many different clubs of all situations and backgrounds, or remaining with the same team from the very start. It’s your decision.
On a final note, there is a strong focus on disciplined-finance. The vast majority of jobs that are offered to you are on the basis of ensuring that you remain in the division with an acceptable balance in the bank. Some may be frustrated, wanting to concentrate on the league position rather than how much is in the bank. I for one certainly enjoy the emphasis on simply keeping your finances in order, particularly at a time when stories of clubs who have mismanaged theirs are so common in the news.
This game is not a major simulation. This is something you can pickup, play and have a career. A career that can be as long or as short and in any style you want. What it lacks in functionality, it makes up in just being a fun little game to keep you pre-occupied. And at the end of the day, that’s all iPhone apps should really be about?
FINAL SCORE: 690/1000 YES download.
Name: Strategery
File Size: 6.6MB
Developer/Version: Affogato LLC/3.5.3
Price: £1.49
General Comments
A simple, well-executed, fast-paced, world-domination game based on the ‘RISK‘ board game, to occupy yourself with anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes.
The Good
The gameplay is very flexible. Options range from the size of the board (from a handful of ‘countries’ to what it describes as ‘epic’ in proportion), difficulty levels, battle types and how your bonus army units are placed. In doing so, you can create a game for the bus journey to school, or whilst you wait on your Uncle Bens 2 minute egg fried rice to cook in the microwave.
Graphically, it is very sleek. The colours are sharp and are very nice to look at. The simplicity works again in its favour. Comparable games such as EA’s RISK has some pretty complex sprites that clutter the screen. In addition, there are no silly and unnecessary animations when attacking/defending your territory as is in the afore mentioned EA title, which serve no purpose other than to increase game time.
I am yet to encounter any problems with the online multiplayer portion of the game that isn’t my own fault. The addition of ‘Pass and Play’, though rarely used (the iPod/iPhone is a rather solitary device – iPad less so), is welcome.
The Bad
As you increase the difficulty ratings, the AI naturally become more aggresive against you. Your dice rolls (which determine the outcome of battles), certainly appear to work far less in your favour. Though I can appreciate that there are few ways in which you can make the game harder for the player, it can become quite frustrating with a heavily advantaged computer (usually one colour in particular) attacking you relentlessly, and winning on a consistent basis. Though beating the computer in ‘Brutal’ is a great feeling, it is more so out of relief rather than joy. Or perhaps I’m just spoilt by modern-gaming habits.
It is worth mentioning that in the lower difficulty settings, I can find no evidence to say that AI deliberately go out to get you. Indeed, it often feels like they intentionally leave you alone. This is a great way to get to grips with the game.
I have no real complaints here, but playing on any setting above ‘Normal’ does not seem worth the effort on many occasions.
The Ugly
It would be very harsh to claim that there were any big problems or major let downs with this title. If you’re looking for a simple, easy to play, RISK-esque game, then Strategery is for you. However, if your looking for a more indepth and more accurate replica of the original board game (one that will take long-periods of tactical planning), then Strategey with its fast-paced action, is probably not quite what you’re looking for.
FINAL SCORE: 899/1000 YES download.
