Football Manager 2016, PC review: New modes make this a much needed update

Developer: Sports Interactive - RRP: £34.99

It’s that time of the year again, as ‘self proclaimed’ football managers across the world gear up to take their chosen team to glory! That’s right, Football Manager 16 is here.

Fans of the previous games will know that the developer, Sports Interactive, has often gone for smaller in-game tweaks each year, rather than large ‘game changers’ and this year sees no exception. However, there are several new game modes to check out, including fantasy draft, create-a-club and FM Touch.

A new partnership with Prozone Sports sees even more in-depth match analysis and multi-match highlights now allow you to keep an eye on rival teams performances throughout the season. Players can now see exactly which part of the goal their players are shooting at most, stats on team tackles won and lost and how many passes each individual player makes and receives; to name just a few.

The new match highlights system, offered after every round of games, gives you the chance to watch highlights of the other matches and with real improvements to the 3D match engine, this is actually quite enjoyable.

After previous struggles with FM Editor, the team behind Football Manager 16 has made it much simpler to put you and your friends into the game with a new create-a-club mode. You can customise the club badge and colours, affiliations with other teams and rivalries with other clubs. It also allows you to create new players to put into the game, so you can watch you and your friends step out onto the field every match.

FM Touch is the new cross-compatibility mode and is a useful new addition to this year’s game. By allowing players to continue their saved games on whichever device they want, how can your loved ones ever drag you away from that title-winning game?