Football Manager 2014 doesn't do anything new to attract a broader audience, but armchair team managers are bound to enjoy it.

Football Manager 2014 is a fantastic game . Chances are, if you're reading this, you already know that. Chances are, if you're seeking out information about Sports Interactive's peerless football management sim, you're keen enough and knowledgeable enough that you've already made your decision.

Astounding depth and accuracy of research; Very comprehensive simulation of modern football; Almost immeasurable replay value; Increased accessibility thanks to guides and tutorials

Can be difficult to intuit some of the stats and feedback

Sports Interactive returns with another deep football management sim.

+ Huge database of players and clubs; Streamlined modes for simpler gameplay; Improved transfer dealings; Best FM match day engine yet

- It will consume your life

El Clasico.

Tactical depth is the greatest the series has ever seen; Real-time transfer negotiations add to realism; Player personalities are much more lifelike and diverse; Match Plan Wizard speeds up the game for more casual players; Detailed match engine makes games worth watching

Still missing key licenses; including the Barclays Premier League

The best possible Football Manager game lays between the two modes, and in the years to come the gap will close between them. Sports Interactive will also face increasing pressure to add the ability to cross-save between all versions of the game, and package some versions together – a free mobile...

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

arrives on the scene amid bold claims from developer Sports Interactive, who have assured fans that this season's instalment is the "most authentic" to date.

The tactics-related changes introduced by Football Manager 2014 are truly significant and it will be interesting to see how fans react to them and to the way they change the simulation experience.

+ Tactical re-design; + Extensive interactions with players and journalists; + Improved interface

- Some transfer issues; - 3D matches still disappoint

Sports Interactive has been banging out Football Manager - nee Championship Manager - games with remarkable regularity in the last 21 years. More remarkable still is the consistency in quality. It's hard to think of any other franchise in gaming that has delivered time and time again.

The most in-depth management experience yet; improved 3D match engine; new tactics system; better transfer negotiations; hundreds of other minor and major tweaks; Steam sync for multiple device use

It will eat away your life if you let it; stacks of spreadsheets and numbers won't appeal to all players; graphics won't match up to FIFA (but that's not the point

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