Football Manager 2011

Sticking with the communications theme, a new improved contract and transfer negotiating system has been put in place which enables you to negotiate directly with player agents. This strips away much of the protracted back and forthing that usually takes several days to conclude, instead replacing it with a one screen negotiation solution that lets you thrash out a deal right there and then.

You and the agent put in offer and counter offer until you either agree a deal or you storm out, whipping the greedy bastard around the face with a calculator while screaming something about avarice and starving babies in Somalia.

Again, it's not revolutionary, but as with the new board and player interaction features, it does seem to inject an added human element to what has previously been a sterile transfer and contract related experience.

Next up is FM2011's vaunted new training system, which as yet, is not entirely convincing. To me the new system looks very much like a slightly embellished version of the old one, with copious sliders determining how long players spend practicing certain disciplines.

While there does appear to be a better selection of position-specific options that enable you to more clearly define training schedules based on players' positions, there doesn't seem to be enough here to suggest it'll transform the way you approach this part of the game.

What does impress however is just how much the match engine seems to have been polished and improved since last year. Again, it's nothing revolutionary, but there's enough here to suggest it could be the best 3D match engine to date.

Perhaps this'll even be the year when 2D purists abandon the top down view, especially now you can create your own free kick and corner routines with the new set-piece creator - another feature with bags of potential.

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Attribution

Players appear to move with greater fluidity than last year (there's still some rigidity but it's getting there), turning with more lifelike shuffles, lurching for the ball when they lose control and even peeling away to celebrate when the net bulges.

Crowds and stadia have also been improved slightly. While spectators may look a little like cardboard cutouts bobbing on waves, their movements and context sensitive reactions do add atmosphere and believability to match days.

Goalkeepers also appear improved (there's still work to be done before release as they do display occasional moments of inexplicable stupidity), diving and moving with greater realism. They also make saves and come for crosses with more conviction and their bodies now contort as though their spines are made from bones rather than a plank.

It's clear that Sports Interactive has been busy iterating on its already hugely successful model and the results, although not immediately apparent, reveal themselves more and more with every hour of play. The tweaks and polishes look as though they could add up to an embellished, clearer, deeper and more rewarding experience than FM2010.

However, the burning question remains: will it be enough to warrant another outlay just 12 months after purchasing FM2010? It's likely to be a close call this year, but we'll find out soon enough.