The FM series is a strange beast, in that without ever actually having any gameplay in a traditional sense, it manages to get under my skin like few other sports games can. True to form, albeit with refinement rather than the wholesale changes we saw last year, Football Manager 2014 had me animated...

User-friendly UI; Incredibly deep; Classic mode

Awkward animations; Repetitive meetings

To love Football Manager or to hate Football Manager ? It's a complicated relationship. Like football in the real world, Sports Interactive's long running series takes you from the highest highs to the lowest lows, without much care for your mental well-being.

Great: Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding it back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

review? After all, the franchise is one of the most sophisticated simulation (or for those who are still hanging onto the outdated view, "glorified spreadsheet") games available.

Trying to explain the appeal of Football Manager to a non-fan – especially a non-football fan – seems impossible. It is a visually dry, time-consuming game not far removed from a full-time office job.

The next generation of consoles has nearly arrived. With them comes the next generation of sports games, featuring improved graphics and advanced features.  Then there's Football Manager 14 , the other kind of sports game.

The Football Manager formula is as complex and addictive as ever, but a compulsion to keep playing shouldn't be mistaken for revelatory advances. 2014 is a marginal improvement for the series, but retains several of its shortcomings.

And that fully-featured behemoth is still Football Manager through and through, despite the changes discussed above. The sensation of playing the same excellent simulation from a slightly different angle is rewarding however, and it's refreshing that after so many years of upping the complexity...

Another year, another iteration of Football Manager has arrived at the doorsteps of PC Gamers everywhere and whilst these games don't radically change from year to year, this year's Football Manager makes some drastic alterations to its formula that could make it either sink or swim.

Deep, exciting and, for the first time, as human as real football, Football Manager 2014 has hit the back of the net.