Football Manager 2015 review: latest version on song to hit the back of the net

£44.99; PC, Mac, PS Vita, Anroid, iOS; Sports Interactive

Football Manager 2015 may have felt like it’s already been around forever due to the early release of the Beta version, but Sports Interactive have finally released the full version of this season’s game so it’s time to take stock.

Thankfully the full version brings back normality in that the absurdly high scores and freak own goals appear to have fizzled out, at least at Premier League level. The rough edges have been smoothed out and the game play is much better for it, with FM 2015 easily the most advanced version yet – unsurprisingly.

The first update of the Beta version ironed out the glitch that saw the easy selection process of right-clicking a player to allocate them to the first available position restored, severely cutting down the time it takes to finalise preparations before a match.

Getting to the match is delayed that little bit longer with the introduction on tunnel interviews, but while some users may find this an unnecessary distraction, it brings a fresh new look to the whole press conference experience with new material and questions that immediately react to your team selection – about as realistic as you can get really.

A new and in-depth scouting network can also be utilised, although one criticism is that it takes far longer to fully scout a player of some obscurity as multiple reports will be required to narrow down their stats and skills. Instead, you’ll receive a range for each attribute, and example being 10-15, before their actual rating is finally identified a few weeks down the line.

There seems to be more interaction with the players themselves too, with the more ambitious ones looking to try and force a move away whereas it was fairly easy to keep hold of an unhappy player in the past.

This might prove a problem when managing a team lower down the league system when you find a gem among your squad, but the benefit will be a more realistic career experience.

Without a doubt though, the best development is the in-game play. Players, particularly the more naturally talented ones, will perform neat and intricate flicks and passes that make the matches more enjoyable to watch, rather than just skipping through it to get to the result. After all, it’s the football that you buy the game for, so you may as well get the most from the actual matches.

Football Manager 2015 has added some nice touches to a game that was already fool proof, but the question remains of how to make a simple and successful game better? For that, we’ll have to wait until next year.