As Football Manager 2012 Is Released, A FM Addict Confesses

I am hopelessy, ridiculously addicted to the Football Manager series. I don't care who knows it. My love for the game has seen me mess up my GCSE's, throw away my hopes for good A-Levels grades, and miss at least two exams at university. I was a tester on Championship Manager 4, the worst the company has ever had, as I spent too much time playing and not enough time registering faults (I take no blame for it being amongst the weakest in the series).

I am sitting at a desk in an office in Old Street, and thinking about how I'm going to line up my Spurs side when I get home - and I haven't even started a game with Spurs yet. When I would guide my team to a Cup Final, I would play the national anthem before kick off, and I would rise, hands behind back, a tear in my eye, thinking of my father (who would have been at work at the time, blissfully unaware his son had a problem no one knew about).

I still can't bring myself to think about Magnus Hedman's miracle performance knocking my brave Barnet out of the Worthington Cup in 2002, and if I had my way, my first-born son would be called Ibrahima. I have a problem, and the latest installment of the management sim will do nothing to stop me from weaning myself off the habit.

As ever, more has been added to the game, but this time you hardly notice the difference at all. The 3D engine once again takes another step in the right direction, the Match Preparation screen has been integrated into the tactics section, the assistant manager is even more helpful, and the individual player team talks are an act of genius. This is the most thorough Football Manager game yet, even if it seems not much has changed. For this, Sports Interactive must be highly praised. The snazzy-sounding Adaptive Layout System makes the game easier to navigate, putting much more information on a single screen than ever before.

The ability to add another league at any point in your save game - be it domestic or foreign - is the big change that we've been crying out for since time immemorial, enabling you to country hop without the game dragging your memory back to the dark ages. Should you wish to go down the nomadic, Roy Hodgson route, you now can.

As ever, it will be the additions made by the community that will add longevity to the game. FM 2010 saw me download all the English leagues down to level 10, and thus embark on taking Wingate & Finchley to the big time, in the way a friend of mine turned Rushden & Diamonds into European giants in 2001. It's things like that which keep us coming back for more, and keep the game in your CD drive - or, thanks to Steam, constantly open on your hard drive - until the next version is released.

Yes, the differences between this year's game and its predecessor is barely noticeable, and it is true that, for the first timer, it might be somewhat overwhelming to get into at first, but the seeming simplicity of the game - despite the engine under the hood being as detailed as ever - make it not just the best Football Manager game yet released, but a classic to rank alongside the 1990's classics. You must buy this game, and become as lost to the world as I have (proudly) been since 1994.

Classic video football games...