The Gaming Log: II

This week in my gaming log, I thought that I would take a look at Football Manager 2012. I bought this game for PC about 2 months ago, after a friend begged me to buy it, as he had no one to play online with, not on a game anyway (nothing implied there... honestly.). Once again, this was my partner in crime, Luke, who begged me to buy it. So it being only a tenner, I thought: "Why Not?". In this blog I will describe the game for those of you who haven't played it, and share some of my experiences.

Football Manager 2012

Getting Started, Eventually.
After purchasing the game for £10 from game-station, I wasn't expecting much, and after 2 hours of sitting at my computer watching the install, I was rather regretting my decision. Even when loading up the game, I could have walked to the moon and back. But once I had finally got the game going Luke then decided to tell me that I needed to download two more things. Firstly "LogMeIn Hamachi" a server hosting piece of software, which also took a hike up Kilimanjaro to install, and then after all that the Football Manager Editor, but we will get onto that later.

The FM Editor
Next I make the ridiculous decision to say, "I'll host Luke" to which Luke says "load up the Editor then." After approximately 2 minutes of loading time a large white screen pops up before my eyes, with very little on it. I click on the file button, load the most recent database update and begin to search through the options.  Personally I think that the editor is a great idea, as it means you can edit the Football Manager database directly. This is great, because I can write off Portsmouth's debt, give them a £1billion to spend, and new star striker Lionel Messi. Which, obviously is very realistic.

However some problems are arisen when this then goes to playing the game. Nonetheless I wrote off our debts, gave us a few million to strengthen our squad, put us back in the premier league, with a new fantasy team of Messi, Ronaldo, Pique & Xavi and I even made Fratton Park from this..:

...Into this;

I'm sure the extra 80,000 seats will be filled, and loads more season tickets sold.

Anyway, after editing the world to make it a better place, and then ruining it by giving Chelsea some extra cash for Luke, we loaded up the game, ready for a few hours of winning matches.

Pre-season
Once we have connected and are in the game, we set about starting the season, and when It gets to our first game, we realise I have done it wrong. I bought all foreign players into the Portsmouth team, and removed all the others, so I ended up with no "Home Grown" players. You need 8 in the premier league to be allowed to compete. (FYI: A Home grown player is one that has spent at least 3 years between the ages of 15-21 in the country.) believe it or not. Ronaldo and Lampard were my only home grown players. So it was back to the editor, to edit the "days in Nation" setting in the Player data. So while I was there I created me, made me a Central Midfielder and maxed out my attributes.

Finally we are back in the game and we can finally play. Thankfully we could skip through the pre-season matches as Luke made sure to tell me about the "Team Policy" settings, which meant I could assign my assistant manager to any of the club's runnings, such as friendly matches, contract renewals and even pre-match team talks. However this meant that for the first 2 hours of playing, we were skipping hour by hour the days from 1st July all the way to August 13th, when the season kicked off. Stopping only for transfers.


Actually Playing

Here is a basic screen from the game, Wimbledon's Fact Page

Apart from the many criticisms I have stated above, the actual game-play of the game is brilliant. The menu's are simple and quick to navigate, tactics are easy, scouting is easy, even challenging a team to a friendly is easy. Transfers even have a very handy "Don't show unrealistic transfers" button, which does exactly what it says on the tin, and shows you the best players, that actually will come to your team. As you can imagine, for Portsmouth, it isn't that many. So I was left with the squad I had, which wasn't really a problem. So I sorted my tactics, and then spent pre-season waiting for Luke to buy every player under the sun. But thankfully August 13th came and we could start our first game. The menu's flickered away, Teamsheet, Tactics, Team Talk until I clicked the "Play" button, and my computer began to load the TV view or my match..

TV View

After a couple of seconds the greatest graphics I have ever seen filled my page.(I could see why the game was only a tenner.) Look at that stadium detail! I mean that stand behind the goal must have taken them donkey's years to make. Concrete steps. Literally pushing the boundaries of what computer graphics can do. Even the players must have taken them ages, especially to make them all look exactly the same, and even to make their rounded heads and bodies look pointy. Impressive.
- Yeah, if your last game was Space Invaders, or you could quite afford an Atari VCS console from 1982.
Yeah that black box thing to the right.
 the thing that is nearly double my age at 30 years old.
Anyway, killing the joke now, but to be honest, I was expecting a little more for a game that starts at £29.99
Having said that, after a while It does begin to grow on you. You find yourself starting to love the limited graphics, and comedic outcomes of the game. It becomes a bit of a gimmick.

Give It a Chance.
If you ignore it's faults and imperfections this is actually a pretty amazing game. The simplicity of it, and the uncontrollability of each match keeps you on the edge of your seat. I find myself shouting at the screen, cheering my team on, and even getting a bit wound up when things don't go my way. So despite a large amount of this blog, slagging off the game, I genuinely love it. I now spent hours every night playing with Luke or George (another person Luke begged.) or sometimes on my own, playing my Portsmouth season. It's just so satisfying when you win a game, especially If it was hard work. Which sometimes, this game is.


Links and Things
Just a quick nod in the direction of the other stuff Obsidian Corp is doing

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ObsidianCorpGaming

Twitter: @theObsidianCorp

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheObsidianCorp 

And of course check out our other Blogs, by clicking on The Obsidian Corp at the side!

Thank you from everyone at the Obsidian Corp

James "Womble" Richardson

Love and Football: A New Season

Football kicks of properly tommorow, all at the same time for the first time in a while. All four main divisions of English football play their first set of fixtures this weekend. So I thought as my first topical post I would discuss my opinions and hopes for the new season. As a Portsmouth Fan I'm going to discuss them, and mainly the premier league. But I will also offer a few predictions to the other leagues and some things to look out for. So here we go;

The Premier League

This is set up to be one of the most impressive seasons ever in the Premier League, Manchester City made it look close and kept the adrenaline pumping right till the last second of the season last year, but we shouldn't have doubted them. But Manchester United have signed the Top Goalscorer Van Persie, and Fergie is seeking his revenge on the their Sky Blue rivals. Could Chelsea even be a surprise package in the top 2 as their young signings are looking to be stars of the future. Maybe, after their Champions League success and Roberto Di Matteo can inspire them to a title challenge, who knows? What I am really hoping for is another close exciting season, where teams move positions in the league every time they score or concede. Last season was a taste, but I desire more. The relegation fight could be closer than ever with all the bottom teams upping their game towards the end of last season, it's almost too close to call, Wigan favourite to go down, but they have been for the last few years, and they pull of miracles every season with Roberto Martinez. So all areas of the table are being highly contested and I think there could be some really big shocks this year.

Here's My Predictions for the Premier League this week;

Arsenal 1-2 Sunderland - A lack of Van Persie could cause a Struggle at The Emirates, as the new faces like Podolski could take a while to settle. Whereas Sunderland look very impressive last season, with Larsson and Bentner. So I think they will beat the Gunners
Fulham 3-0 Norwich - Fulham impressed me at the end of last season, I think they will continue that form. Whereas Norwich started brilliantly last year, but fell towards the end, a more consistent season is needed if they are to survive.
QPR 0-1 Swansea - A very tight defense last year, so I think Swansea will just get a victory. Close Game though as I think QPR are a good side, and without Joey Barton they can play some proper football.
Reading 1-2 Stoke City - I think the newcomers will put up a good fight at home, but stoke are a good side and should overcome the Berkshire side.
West Brom 0-2 Liverpool - Brendan Rogers will hopefully inspire Liverpool to 5th or 6th place this season. So a win at the Hawthorn's is important to kick off their season. Albion on the other hand need to be in the mid-table this season, to silence their critic who dub them a "yo-yo team"
West Ham 0-0 Aston Villa - The two teams strikers are the worst part of their teams. So a 0-0 I'm affraid. I really think Villa could struggle this year, and I hope not, as alot of the people I know support them, but I can't see them being safe from the drop with games to spare. West Ham might also be in the fight down the bottom, unless they sign some top players soon.
Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham - I hope Newcastle can carry on their form from last season, but AVB's Spurs will be very tough to beat in the fixture. I can only see a high score, maybe Newcastle will steal it due to the brilliance of Cissé, but I think Spurs can hold on.
Wigan 0-4 Chelsea - Despite a magical end to last season, key players have left Wigan and untested players have arrive, so I think another slow start for the Latics. Chelsea have lost Drogba, but an impressive transfer spree should see them scoring. Torres to hit form?
Man City 5-2 Southampton - You would think that a Portsmouth supporter would write off their rivals this season, but I am thinking that Southampton will finish the top of the bottom half, maybe 13th or so. Their impressive style of play last season was good to watch, but most of all they won matches. Unlucky not to win the league, but Lambert, Lalana and Co will be looking to tear up the premier league this season. Manchester City, obviously favourite to retain their title, and personally I think that they will, but I think in more impressive style, Ballotelli should hit incredible form this season, and Tevez back and Aguero on form as always, It could be incredible to watch. Even their defense is impressive, with my personal player of the season last year Vincent Kompany in the centre, a newly on-form Lescott, and Micah Richards impressive, it could be an unbeatable team. I think because this team is now gelling and playing together, it could be more powerful that ever. Yikes!
Everton 1-3 Manchester Utd - now this will be an interesting game, Everton are always a very tough side to beat and I thought Moyes got it bang-on last year with Jelavic, Pienaar and Co. But with the departure of star Aussie Cahill, people are questioning them. Personally I think that this is a great move, he is beginning to get on a bit, and wasn't so influential last season as he has been in previous years, so I think the Toffees will be fine. Man U have signed the Premier League top goalscored Robin Van Persie, forking out £24m, this will either be brilliant or a flop. Personally I think that Van Persie will do great with Fergie, and might even teach young Wayne a few things and improve him. I'm expecting god things, but I don't think title winning things.

League Predictions:

1st: Manchester City
2nd: Chelsea
3rd: Manchester Utd
4th: Newcastle
5th: Liverpool
6th: Spurs
7th: Arsenal
8th: Everton
9th: Fulham
10th: Swansea
11th: Sunderland
12th: Stoke City
13th: Southampton
14th: West Brom
15th: Reading
16th: Norwich
17th: West Ham
18th: Wigan
19th: Aston Villa
20th QPR

The Championship

I think that there could be another very dominant force to take the reigns this season in the Championship, like Portsmouth, Reading and other teams have done before, I think someone will run away with it, and the mot interesting battle will become 2nd place. I'll predict the notable places for Championship with my reasoning. I think it will be the Battle of the 'B's

1st: Blackpool, I think that last season was a blip, and they finished 4th. Their team had the potential, but didn't quite challenge enough. So this season will see them walk their way back into the Prem.
2nd: Bolton, Still premier league quality, and I think they will go straight back up, but it won't be easy, as some teams have invested strongly this year.
Play-off Winner: I am torn between bitter rivals Birmingham and Leicester, but I think that the Blues of Birmingham will just beat the Foxes simply due to the fact that Leicester is full of individual players which I don't think will gel until mid-season, By then the Brummies will have opened up a lead, and will finish above Leicester, then take that form to Wembley and beat them.

Relegation:
Barnsley, Peterborough and Sheffield Wed. The newly promoted Wednesday might fall short of keeping up with the Championship next year, so might fall back down. Barnsley sit in mid-table every season, but this year i believe different, some fans are not impressed with the amount being put into the club, and I think this could see them drop down. Peterborough did't impress me last season, despite some high-scoring matches. towards the end they faltered and scraped staying up, but this season I feel they wont be so lucky.

Portsmouth

One of the most talked about clubs this summer has been a drowning Portsmouth, as an avid supported and lover of the club, I thought I had to voice my opinions. Due to mismanagement and high players wages Portsmouth are in administration for the second time. 3 years of money trouble has seen us drop from the Premier League to League 1, and the recent pull out of Hong Kong millionaire Belu Chainrai means Portsmouth are without a bidder and have been circling the drain. However in the last few days, Portsmouth have had 10 points reinstated and been granted permission to sign players on frees and loans and have thus secure 10 players on short term deals. These players have had a terrific pre-season, even beating a full-strength Bolton side 3-0. Could this be an miracle, Michael Appleton, a new Pompey legend could be putting together a very competitive side, and I think that we, providing we stay out of more financial trouble, might even challenge the top half. Even if we do have the points deduction at a later date. Izale McLeod and Luke Rodgers at the helm of Pompey's strike force and an impressive little winger, Keiran Djilali could mean we might score a few, and with players like Dumbuya and Ex-Chelsea Jon Harley, we might have a decent defense aswell. so my prediction for Portsmouth this season is 10th Position. Ready to challenge the Play-offs next year. Providing there is no more financial trouble and we don't go bust. But fingers crossed! PLAY UP POMPEY!

A Summary

As you can see I'm a very opinionated football fan and I have made some fairly strange predictions. I hope no one is offended. I love football, and I respect every team in the football league, even Southampton. So please comment below, as I'd love to know your predictions, and feelings about your team. Maybe you think your team can challenge this season, or you don't think a team is good enough. Feel free to comment and discuss, ad I'm sure I'll get involved aswell.

Links and Things

Just a quick nod in the direction of the other stuff Obsidian Corp is doing

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ObsidianCorpGaming

Twitter: @theObsidianCorp

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheObsidianCorp

And of course check out our other Blogs, by clicking on The Obsidian Corp at the side!

Thank you from everyone at the Obsidian Corp

James "Womble" Richardson

A Quick Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my Blog. My name is James Richardson, better know as 'Womble' to my friends, and peers.

Well, anyway, let's get started.

This blog is basically going to about teenage boy stuff, So, Sports, Video Games and Girls. Basically i will be expressing my opinions on various topics each week and I will try to keep it updated with a few posts each week.

I'll probably do a Sports post, which will mainly be football, on one day. Then a Video games post, mainly Xbox Games and Minecraft. Any maybe a soppy emotional girls one every few weeks.

So I hope you enjoy my random ramblings across the coming weeks, and Thank you for reading. :)